Originally Posted by
bugged on the right
No cameras, no phones, no laptops, not even an Etch a Sketch, no journalists, no prisoners, no witnesses.
The difference between "murder" and "lawful killing" is that the latter is carried out with the sanction of the State under specific, internationally-recognised conditions.
Killing someone outside of those conditions removes the act of killing from the protection that the State offers. Admitting that you recognise what you are doing is wrong hardly helps your defence and brings into question your judgement and fitness to carry out the job given to you.
I believe any appeal in this matter would depend on whether former Royal Marine Sgt Blackman's state of mind was correct. A positive outcome will pose many questions about how we can expect Service personnel to behave, and whether military discipline is worth a hill of beans.
Although I have made myself uniquely unpopular with some old friends on this matter by not joining in the "Free Sgt Blackman" campaign, it is worth noting that more recently, a single mum was given 2 1/2 years for targeting a paedophile, with whom she had no connection, and stabbing him to death with a knife she brought from home for that specific purpose.
Given that this is a legal issue, and the law seems to have some flexibility on the sentencing, for this reason and no other, I fully support the (mainly ex) Marines and Paras who turned out to lobby the issue. It is their right to do so.