Daily Mail Editorial

Over this Remembrance weekend, the case of the Royal Marine who murdered a gravely-wounded Taliban fighter during an engagement in Afghanistan has served as a potent reminder that the dead are not the only casualties of war.

Fierce debate rages over whether ‘Marine A’ – a sergeant with 15 years of previously unblemished service – deserves the harshest penalty the law allows, or should be treated with leniency because the unimaginable stress and provocation he endured in the weeks leading up to the killing may have unhinged his judgement.

Even within the Army, opinion is sharply divided. The Chief of Defence Staff, General Sir Nicholas Houghton, says there can be no ‘special pleading’ for the ‘heinous crime’ of murder.

But in today’s Mail, Colonel Tim Collins, who fought with distinction in Iraq, argues passionately that, although his actions cannot be condoned, Marine A ‘deserves our understanding’.

The colonel’s words must be heeded – carrying as they do the authority of a man best known for his stirring eve-of-war address to his troops urging respect for the enemy.

When the court-martial meets to decide the minimum term of Marine A’s mandatory life sentence, the panel should certainly not underestimate the gravity of his offence.

But equally, they should never forget this man was under relentless siege in a distant, hostile land fighting for his country. He is no common criminal and the public would be profoundly disturbed if he were to be treated as one.

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