Marine A may be free within two weeks as sentence is cut
THE Royal Marine sergeant who shot and killed a wounded Taliban insurgent could be released within two weeks after his sentence was reduced yesterday but he will not be allowed to return to the Armed Forces.
There were jubilant scenes at the Royal Courts of Justice in London as Alexander Blackman, 42, also known as Marine A, had his sentence cut to seven years after his murder conviction was overturned and replaced with manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
He must only serve half of this term, meaning he could be released within a fortnight because of time already served.
But the Marine – earlier described as a “war hero” by his lawyer Jonathan Goldberg QC – will not be allowed to return to the job he loved.
Meanwhile, a former Special Forces chief said that soldiers were too concerned about ending up in court to do their jobs properly.
Major General John Holmes, former director of Special Forces, told The Daily Telegraph: “It has a huge effect if he goes into battle with a kind of doubt in his brain restricting how he can execute his task because he might end up in court – he is not going to do a very good job.”
The packed court was quiet as Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, the Lord Chief Justice, read out a short summary of the verdict. Cheering erupted following a shout from the public gallery of “he’s free” after the panel of four senior judges filed out.
Appearing via video link from prison in Wiltshire, Blackman did not react immediately when the sentence was announced but gave a thumbs up to his supporters after the judges had left.
Outside bottles of champagne were popped and a hip flask was passed around as supporters toasted Blackman and his wife Claire.
A piper began to play as retired Marines brandished banners for passing cars and hugged each other.
Speaking outside the court to a large crowd an emotional Mrs Blackman said she was “overjoyed” at the decision.
“This is the moment we have been fighting hard for,” she added.
Passing sentence, Lord Thomas said Blackman’s exemplary service record must be weighed against the negative press the case had caused for the Armed Forces.
The judges said there should be “no question” of dismissal with disgrace from the Armed Forces, Blackman’s original punishment, though he will still be dismissed. He will also not be subject to a reduction in rank, which means he will leave the Marines as a colour sergeant and will receive his full pension as if he had left voluntarily.
Last week, Mrs Blackman told the court that the dismissal with disgrace was the “hardest aspect to bear”.
Richard Drax, MP for South Dorset, who has supported the campaign, said he should be freed immediately. “What on Earth is the point in keeping a man like this in prison for any longer? He’s paid the price for this moment of illness.”
Helmet-camera footage from September 2011 showed Blackman shooting a wounded insurgent in the chest at close range with a 9mm pistol. He then said: “Shuffle off this mortal coil, you c---. It’s nothing you wouldn’t do to us.”
He was convicted of murder in November 2013 by a court martial in Bulford, Wiltshire, and sentenced to life with a minimum term of 10 years. Two other soldiers were acquitted. Earlier this month the Court of Appeal ruled that his conviction should be reduced to manslaughter because he was suffering from adjustment disorder, a mental illness.
The court heard that he had been an “exemplary soldier” before his deployment to Helmand’s Nad-e-Ali district in March 2011. There he had suffered from stress from being under constant attack as well as a perceived lack of support from his superiors.
Earlier the judges rejected a media appeal to release the footage, recorded by another soldier known as “Marine B”, of the killing because it “would be recorded and used by terrorist organisations to radicalise others”.