Thread creep, but...
He was found guilty of murder, which to my mind, is exactly what it was. Pre-meditated and coldly carried out. He told his team what he was doing was illegal.
Now, his case was deplorably handled and the way he was dealt with smells fishier than Billingsgate; I think he was made an example of by a callous chain of command. He should have 'done time' so as to act as punishment and show that what he did was fundamentally wrong.