CAMP PENDLETON – The only Marine who didn't fire a shot when his unit executed a man last spring in Hamdaniya, Iraq, was sentenced yesterday to the longest prison term yet in the case.

Lance Cpl. Robert B. Pennington showed no emotion when military judge Col. Steven Folsom sentenced him to eight years in prison and a dishonorable discharge.

Folsom actually handed down a 14-year prison sentence, but military law allowed Pennington to receive the lighter punishment that was part of his plea agreement with the Marine Corps.

While Pennington was stoic, his parents, civilian lawyer and fiancee were not.

“We're in shock,” said stepfather Terry Pennington. “I can barely speak to you.”

Mother Deanna Pennington added: “This is really a punishment for our family. I'll be serving that sentence with him.”

Fiancee Krystal Morey cried when asked for her reactions.

David Brahms, Pennington's civilian attorney, declared “sadness, sadness” in describing the verdict.

“I've been doing military law for 44 years and this case has affected me the most,” Brahms said. “This is an extraordinary young man whose future has been damaged beyond repair.”

Brahms had hoped Folsom would deliver a sentence less than the plea agreement Pennington had signed. He and several military legal analysts declined to speculate on why Pennington received the heaviest penalty yet in the case when he only pleaded guilty to conspiracy and kidnapping.

By comparison, the four other Hamdaniya defendants who also made plea agreements were given prison sentences of less than a year to 21 months.

In all, eight Camp Pendleton servicemen are accused of carrying out a plot designed to intimidate insurgents in Hamdaniya, a small town northwest of Baghdad.

As part of his plea agreement, Pennington confirmed previous testimony in the case: His unit snatched Hashim Ibrahim Awad, took him to a roadside hole, bound and gagged him, then shot dozens of rounds into his body. The squad tried to make it look as if Awad started a firefight after being discovered trying to plant a roadside bomb.

Though Pennington didn't fire at Awad, he was portrayed as being instrumental in shaping the plot that led to his death. Pennington also admitted to helping kidnap the victim and gagging his mouth before the execution.

During Pennington's weeklong plea-agreement and sentencing hearing, prosecutors played video footage that showed him making statements about wanting to kill Iraqis. In addition, a co-defendant testified that Pennington mocked Awad's bullet-riddled brain and played with the man's hand as he put the corpse into a body bag.

Yesterday, prosecutor Maj. Donald Plowman asked the judge to hand down a 20-year prison sentence. During his closing statement, Plowman said that on the night Pennington and his squad mates killed Awad, they were as bad if not worse than the insurgents in Iraq.

“(Pennington's) actions dishonor our county and dishonor our Marine Corps,” Plowman told Folsom. “Send a message that this type of behavior will not be tolerated.”

Military prisoners with jail terms longer than five years usually serve their time in a brig at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. A sentence lesser than that benchmark might have allowed Pennington to stay in the Miramar Marine Corps Air Station brig. Such an arrangement would have made it easier for his parents, who live in Hawaii, to visit him.

Pennington, who has been confined since the military began its Hamdaniya investigation, was credited yesterday with 340 days of prison time already served. Brahms said he would file a clemency request with the Marine Corps to see if his client's sentence could be reduced.