Yahoo News Jail has robbed me of half my marriage, Marine A's wife tells court as sergeant learns he must spend at least another weekend behind bars
The wife of Marine A has spoken of the pain of her husband’s wrongful conviction for murder robbing her of half of her marriage, as judges ruled that he must spend at least another weekend in jail.
Claire Blackman appeared as a surprise character witness at the Royal Courts of Justice yesterday, where supporters had gathered in the hope Alexander Blackman would finally walk free.
During the hearing, Blackman, who in 2013 was given a life sentence for the murder of a wounded Taliban insurgent in Afghanistan, was described by his defence barrister as “the last victim of a failed war”.
However despite his murder conviction having been reduced to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility on March 15, the panel of five judges decided to delay an eventual decision on when the 42-year-old will be released until next Tuesday.
It also emerged during the hearing that Blackman, from Taunton, in Somerset, could rejoin the Royal Marines in a non frontline role upon his release.
Occupying the witness stand dressed all in black and watched by her husband who appeared via video link from Erlestoke Prison, Claire Blackman said they had only spent half of the eight years together since marrying in 2009, due to him fighting abroad and then languishing in jail.
“Even in our current circumstances we laugh a lot,” she said.
Mrs Blackman, a 45-year-old NHS communications manager, also described the devastation her husband felt on being expelled from the regiment he served with distinction for 15 years, and welcomed the prospect of him returning to the Royal Marines as: “a real positive”.
“The arrest and the conviction were a huge shock,” she said. “But it was the dismissal in disgrace that was the hardest aspect of the whole episode to bear. I often said if you cut my husband in half you would see Royal Marine all the way through him.”
It was the dismissal in disgrace that was the hardest aspect of all to bear
Claire Blackman
During the packed hearing (which included an entire public row in the gallery allocated to retired officers ranked Colonel or above) the court heard a number of statements testifying to the exemplary character of Alexander Blackman, who had served six tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Jonathan Goldberg QC, defending, said over the course of his career Blackman estimates he has “personally and lawfully killed 30 of the Queen’s enemies on the battlefield”.
Mr Goldberg said his eventual mental breakdown – which led to him shooting the Taliban insurgent who had already been severely wounded by an apache helicopter in 2011 - was due to the pressures placed upon his men fighting in Nad-e-Ali, described as “the most dangerous square mile on earth”.
Profile | Sgt Alexander Blackman, known as Marine A
Mr Goldberg also provided the hearing with new evidence from a pathologist Dr Ashley Fegan-Earl. “He concludes it was inevitable the insurgent would have died within minutes anyway,” Goldberg added.
Among those in court was Lance Corporal Cassidy Little, a former Royal Marine who served under Blackman in Afghanistan and lost his right leg in an IED blast which killed two other soldiers.
A statement was read out by another Royal Marine Commando, Thomas Quinn, who served under Blackman in Helmand. “If he was to come back to the Royal Marines, I would follow him to hell and back without any questions,” he said.
At the end of the hearing, a crowd of a hundred or so supporters and veterans gathered on the court steps waving flags. Three cheers were given for Claire Blackman as she left the building.
In a short statement outside, she expressed her disappointment at the delay but added: “We will patiently await their ruling."
Alexander Blackman Marine A timeline
