A fresh appeal over the life sentence of “Marine A” has been welcomed by the former commanding officer of Arbroath-based 45 Commando.
Royal Marine Sergeant Alexander Blackman was found guilty of murdering a wounded Afghan captive but new evidence has prompted an independent review to conclude he faces the “real possibility” of having his conviction quashed.
His former CO, Colonel Oliver Lee, resigned his commission in protest after Blackman was sentenced in 2013.
But Col Lee said he is “extremely pleased” at the latest development in the case and said a “much more balanced and full picture” of the circumstances around the killing needed to be considered.
Blackman was found guilty of murder at a court martial at the Military Court Centre in Bulford, Wiltshire.
New evidence relating to his mental health at the time of the killing in Helmand, and the fact that an alternative verdict of unlawful act manslaughter was not available, means the case will return to the court.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission has referred the conviction to the Courts Martial Appeal Court.
Col Lee said the court martial should have taken greater account of the acute stress Blackman was under at the time.
He said: “I took a view that the proceedings against Sgt Blackman hadn’t been balanced and that in order for him to be dealt with justly
“I don’t seek to condone his behaviour or exonerate him from his responsibilities but in order for him to be dealt with justly, not leniently, a much more balanced and full picture of the situation in which he found himself needed to be presented to those who were making fundamental decisions surrounding his future.”
Blackman, who was serving with Plymouth-based 42 Commando, quoted Shakespeare as he shot his victim at close range with a 9mm pistol after the Afghan had been seriously injured in an attack by an Apache helicopter.
During the trial, Blackman, from Somerset, said he believed the victim was already dead and he was taking out his anger on a corpse.
Two other servicemen — known as Marine B and Marine C — were acquitted of murder.
