Marine Cpl. Trent Thomas, convicted by court martial of kidnapping an Iraqi and conspiracy to make it look as though the Iraqi had been attacking the Marine squad was sentenced to a bad conduct discharge and reduction in pay but no prison time.

He could have received life in prison. I’m surprised he didn’t get a prison term but I wasn’t privy to all the evidence presented in the court martial.

Since he expressed his desire to remain in the Corps this might very well be a punishment worse than prison for him.

Thomas, of Madison, Ill., was among seven Marines and a Navy corpsman accused of snatching 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad from his house, marching him to a nearby ditch and shooting him after they botched an attempt to capture a suspected insurgent.

Prosecutors said squad members tried to cover up the killing by planting a shovel and AK-47 by Awad’s body to make it look like he was an insurgent planting a bomb.

A military jury of three officers and six enlisted Marines deliberated Thomas’ sentence for less than an hour before returning its decision.

On Thursday, Thomas told the court he wanted to continue serving.

“I’ve never been good at anything until I came to the Marine Corps,” said Thomas, who served three combat tours in Iraq and was awarded a Purple Heart for the 2004 siege on Fallujah. “It’s pretty obvious Michael Jordan was meant to play basketball. Tiger Woods was meant to play golf. The Marine Corps, it’s me.”

The final terms of Thomas’ punishment are subject to review by Lt. Gen. James Mattis, the commanding general overseeing the case, but he can only reduce the sentence.

Hopefully, he will be able to live a productive life outside the Corps.