Third U.S. Afghan 'Kill Team' Soldier Sentenced

A U.S. soldier was sentenced to seven years in prison after becoming the third member of an alleged rogue army unit to admit his role in killings of Afghan civilians.

Private First Class Andrew Holmes, who struck a plea bargain on Thursday, will also be dishonorably discharged from the military, according to presiding judge Lieutenant Colonel Kwasi Hawks.

If the case had gone to trial and Holmes was convicted, he would have faced a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole.

With credit for 499 days of time served and potential time off for good behavior, the 21-year-old Holmes could be free much sooner, albeit with a dishonorable discharge.

Defense attorney Daniel Conway said after the day's proceedings that he will start the appeals process soon. "We're hoping to have him out by the time he's 25," Conway said.

Hawks had recommended a sentence of 15 years but the plea deal struck with prosecutors had capped that time to a maximum of seven years. Holmes also forfeits all pay and receives a reduction in grade to E-1.

Holmes on Thursday pleaded guilty to murder, but not to premeditated murder, during a court-martial hearing at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, in the western state of Washington.

Two other members of the alleged rogue unit, Jeremy Morlock and Adam Winfield, reached plea deals earlier this year as the U.S. Army works to conclude the high-profile war crimes case.

Both Holmes' mother Dana and father Forest took the stand on Friday.

Holmes' mother noted that her son's weight had dropped from 200 pounds (90 kilos) upon entry into the army to 132 pounds (60 kilos) upon his return from deployment in April, three months after the incident. Holmes required two days of hospitalization.

Holmes also gave an unsworn statement to the court, becoming choked up on a number of occasions. In one recollection, Holmes recalled fellow soldier Jeremy Morlock asking him, "Did your parents ever beat you because they loved you?"

He also said Morlock was the kind of leader "who would make you eat dirt, just to eat dirt."

In closing arguments, the prosecution accused Holmes of having "a depraved heart" when he pulled the trigger and decried Holmes' action the "antithesis" to the Army's mission in Afghanistan.

The defense counsel stressed that the accused was the most junior member of the unit and attempted to deflect blame toward the "psychopaths" in charge of the unit, specifically Morlock.

Upon reading the sentence, Hawks admonished Holmes for leveling his automatic at the 15-year-old Afghan boy and commented that he believed Holmes is still coming to grips with his actions that day.

Holmes was accused of being a member of a five-person "kill team" implicated in the slaying of three Afghans while stationed in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province in January 2010.

Two other soldiers -- Michael Wagnon and alleged ringleader Staff Sergeant Calvin Gibbs -- still await trial for their alleged role in the killings.

The soldiers were members of Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Division's Stryker brigade, based out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord south of Seattle.