This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34217252
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Calls to review murder sentence of Sergeant Alexander Blackman | Calls to review murder sentence of Sergeant Alexander Blackman |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A campaign has been launched to review the case of a Royal Marine jailed for life for killing a Taliban insurgent. | A campaign has been launched to review the case of a Royal Marine jailed for life for killing a Taliban insurgent. |
| Sergeant Alexander Blackman was convicted of murdering the injured captive in Afghanistan but his supporters say it was manslaughter. | Sergeant Alexander Blackman was convicted of murdering the injured captive in Afghanistan but his supporters say it was manslaughter. |
| Author and campaigner Frederick Forsyth said the court martial that convicted Blackman "stank from top to bottom". | Author and campaigner Frederick Forsyth said the court martial that convicted Blackman "stank from top to bottom". |
| Joshua Rozenberg, who presents Radio 4's Law in Action, said it would be "an uphill struggle" to reopen the case. | Joshua Rozenberg, who presents Radio 4's Law in Action, said it would be "an uphill struggle" to reopen the case. |
| A new legal team - led by Jonathan Goldberg QC - is seeking a review, arguing that he should have been convicted of the lesser charge of manslaughter. | A new legal team - led by Jonathan Goldberg QC - is seeking a review, arguing that he should have been convicted of the lesser charge of manslaughter. |
| Blackman, of Taunton, Somerset, was convicted in 2013, but his 10-year minimum term was reduced to eight years on appeal. | Blackman, of Taunton, Somerset, was convicted in 2013, but his 10-year minimum term was reduced to eight years on appeal. |
| 'Battle fatigue' | 'Battle fatigue' |
| Blackman's wife Claire told the Daily Mail: "The fact that he is now serving a life sentence for killing a dying Taliban insurgent is just wrong, this was war. | Blackman's wife Claire told the Daily Mail: "The fact that he is now serving a life sentence for killing a dying Taliban insurgent is just wrong, this was war. |
| "Had the roles been reversed that man would have tortured my husband before killing him | "Had the roles been reversed that man would have tortured my husband before killing him |
| "We will not give up the fight to bring Al home." | "We will not give up the fight to bring Al home." |
| Mr Forsyth, who is leading the campaign, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the evidence that Blackman was "nearly feral with exhaustion" was not produced at court. | Mr Forsyth, who is leading the campaign, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the evidence that Blackman was "nearly feral with exhaustion" was not produced at court. |
| "There is a very, very clear case that you can get a fighting man so tired, so consumed by battle fatigue and combat stress that he is hardly even thinking straight and there is provision in British law for that," he said. | "There is a very, very clear case that you can get a fighting man so tired, so consumed by battle fatigue and combat stress that he is hardly even thinking straight and there is provision in British law for that," he said. |
| Mr Forsyth said the verdict had been a five to two majority, but Mr Rozenberg said the argument that it was unfair to have a majority verdict was dismissed so "it would be hard to overturn that". | Mr Forsyth said the verdict had been a five to two majority, but Mr Rozenberg said the argument that it was unfair to have a majority verdict was dismissed so "it would be hard to overturn that". |
| Mr Goldberg said there are three routes to a manslaughter verdict including loss of control, unlawful act manslaughter and diminished responsibility and he said all could be argued in this case. | Mr Goldberg said there are three routes to a manslaughter verdict including loss of control, unlawful act manslaughter and diminished responsibility and he said all could be argued in this case. |
| The psychiatric evidence required for the argument of diminished responsibility "ought not be hard to find here", Mr Goldberg said, as he believes Blackman suffered from battlefield stress syndrome. | The psychiatric evidence required for the argument of diminished responsibility "ought not be hard to find here", Mr Goldberg said, as he believes Blackman suffered from battlefield stress syndrome. |
| Mr Goldberg said this was not presented to "any of the previous courts" as grounds for reducing murder to manslaughter "as we think it should have been". | Mr Goldberg said this was not presented to "any of the previous courts" as grounds for reducing murder to manslaughter "as we think it should have been". |
| He said if Blackman had been convicted of manslaughter he may not have been jailed because of the "extraordinary circumstances". | He said if Blackman had been convicted of manslaughter he may not have been jailed because of the "extraordinary circumstances". |
| 'A scapegoat' | 'A scapegoat' |
| The killing, on 15 September 2011, took place after a patrol base in Helmand province came under fire from two insurgents. | The killing, on 15 September 2011, took place after a patrol base in Helmand province came under fire from two insurgents. |
| One of the attackers was seriously injured by gunfire from an Apache helicopter sent to provide air support and the marines found him in a field. | One of the attackers was seriously injured by gunfire from an Apache helicopter sent to provide air support and the marines found him in a field. |
| Footage from another marine's helmet-mounted camera showed Blackman shooting the Afghan prisoner in the chest at close range with a 9mm pistol. | Footage from another marine's helmet-mounted camera showed Blackman shooting the Afghan prisoner in the chest at close range with a 9mm pistol. |
| Blackman told him: "There you are. Shuffle off this mortal coil." | Blackman told him: "There you are. Shuffle off this mortal coil." |
| The court martial board in Bulford, Wiltshire, found Blackman guilty of murdering the insurgent. Two other marines were acquitted. | The court martial board in Bulford, Wiltshire, found Blackman guilty of murdering the insurgent. Two other marines were acquitted. |
| It was the first time a member of the British armed forces had faced a murder charge in relation to the conflict in Afghanistan, which began in 2001. | It was the first time a member of the British armed forces had faced a murder charge in relation to the conflict in Afghanistan, which began in 2001. |
| Blackman was also "dismissed with disgrace" from the Royal Marines. He had served with distinction for 15 years, including tours of Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland. | Blackman was also "dismissed with disgrace" from the Royal Marines. He had served with distinction for 15 years, including tours of Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland. |
| Blackman had denied murder, claiming he believed the victim was already dead and that he was taking his anger out on the corpse | |
| The Mail claims crucial evidence was deliberately withheld from the original court martial and it says it will reveal "extraordinary and compelling new evidence" in the "coming days". | |
| The paper reports that it has seen confidential papers which claim panel members who convicted Blackman were "deliberately kept in the dark and were therefore blind to the facts that would help him". | The paper reports that it has seen confidential papers which claim panel members who convicted Blackman were "deliberately kept in the dark and were therefore blind to the facts that would help him". |
| The paper claims the court martial was never given evidence of alleged operational failings by Blackman's commanders which meant his troop was "isolated, under-manned, under-resourced and under daily Taliban assault". | The paper claims the court martial was never given evidence of alleged operational failings by Blackman's commanders which meant his troop was "isolated, under-manned, under-resourced and under daily Taliban assault". |
| All of this was "directly affecting his state of mind at the time of the shooting", which led to Blackman not receiving a fair trial, it is claimed. | All of this was "directly affecting his state of mind at the time of the shooting", which led to Blackman not receiving a fair trial, it is claimed. |
| The Mail quotes Blackman, 41, as saying: "I made a split-second mistake, but I had been sent to a brutal battlefield to fight a war for my country. | The Mail quotes Blackman, 41, as saying: "I made a split-second mistake, but I had been sent to a brutal battlefield to fight a war for my country. |
| "At the end of my trial, the establishment lined up to portray me as evil, because it suited them… to show the world how politically correct we are. | "At the end of my trial, the establishment lined up to portray me as evil, because it suited them… to show the world how politically correct we are. |
| "I have been made a scapegoat for all that went wrong there." | "I have been made a scapegoat for all that went wrong there." |
| In May last year Blackman lost an appeal against his conviction, but the Court Martial Appeal Court in London decided to reduce the minimum term he must serve from 10 years to eight. | In May last year Blackman lost an appeal against his conviction, but the Court Martial Appeal Court in London decided to reduce the minimum term he must serve from 10 years to eight. |
| A parliamentary debate on his conviction - triggered after more than 100,000 people signed a petition calling for Blackman's release - was postponed in January at the request of his family. | A parliamentary debate on his conviction - triggered after more than 100,000 people signed a petition calling for Blackman's release - was postponed in January at the request of his family. |
| The Mail said the new information - plus fresh evidence of post-traumatic stress disorder - would form the basis of the new legal effort to persuade the Criminal Cases Review Commission to refer the case back to the Courts Martial Appeal Court. | The Mail said the new information - plus fresh evidence of post-traumatic stress disorder - would form the basis of the new legal effort to persuade the Criminal Cases Review Commission to refer the case back to the Courts Martial Appeal Court. |