QUOTE OF THE DAY

"The appropriate punishment in this case, your honor, is no punishment," Puckett said. A Marine sergeant who led a squad that killed 24 unarmed Iraqis will spend no time in confinement, despite a military judge's recommendation Tuesday that he spend three months in the brig.

Military judge Lt. Col. David Jones said his hands were tied by a plea agreement that prevents any jail time for Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich. Wuterich pleaded guilty to negligent dereliction of duty as part of a deal with prosecutors. The minor charge carried a maximum sentence of 90 days, which is what Jones recommended. But because of the way the military system works, the terms of the deal with prosecutors weren't known to the judge until after he made his sentencing recommendation in court on Tuesday. Prosecutors asked Jones to give Wuterich the maximum sentence of three months confinement, a reduction in rank and forfeiture of two-thirds of his pay.