CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (AP) - A military judge has granted a Camp Pendleton Marine's request to withdraw a guilty plea to charges of kidnapping and murdering an Iraqi man.
Corporal Trent Thomas asked to change the plea this morning, saying he no longer believes he's guilty.
Thomas now says he believes he was following a lawful order from his squad leader.
He told the judge - Lieutenant Colonel Tracy Daley - quote - "Sir, when my country gives me an order, I follow it."
The 25-year-old Marine pleaded guilty last month to seven felonies, including kidnapping, murder and assault. He was one of a squad of seven Marines and a sailor accused last year of hatching a plot to kill an Iraqi man in the town of Hamdania.
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