The Marine Corps has discharged the only Marine convicted in the 2005 killings of unarmed Iraqi civilians in the town of Haditha.
Spokesman Lt. Col. Joseph Kloppel said Tuesday that former Sgt. Frank Wuterich ended his service Friday. Wuterich had his rank reduced to private as part of a deal that spared him imprisonment. He pleaded guilty last month at Camp Pendleton, Calif., to negligent dereliction of duty for his role in the killings of 24 Iraqi civilians as the leader of the squad.
Wuterich's attorney Neal Puckett told the North County Times that Wuterich was given a general discharge under honorable conditions - one step below an honorable discharge.
Kloppel says the Marine Corps does not release details on a person's discharge.
