Marine A "should not be treated like a common criminal" He said: "The responsibilities of a sergeant trying to close with the enemy and also keep his men alive are immense and the pressures greater than most of us will ever have to endure in the whole of our lives. The cumulative effect of several intense and dangerous combat tours cannot help take their toll. Nor should we forget that Marine A volunteered, time and again, to put his own life on the line to protect us back at home. Yes, he should be severely punished for his actions, but, no, he should not be treated in the same way as a common criminal. Marine A's sentence will be decided on December 6. Col Kemp's comments follow a call for a lenient sentence from Maj Gen Julian Thompson, who led 3 Commando Brigade during the Falklands war. Gary Streeter MP, whose South West Devon constituency covers many Royal Marines, said: "My own view is that it's very hard for those of us who have never served to understand the pressures of the battlefield. He said: "While no one can condone this, I am hopeful that the sentence will be given by those who do have battlefield experience and that they will take into account those battlefield pressures." Oliver Colvile MP, whose Plymouth constituency also holds many marines, said: "I have quite a lot of sympathy for him because I don't know what mental pressure he might have come under." But he said politicians should not try to influence the military justice system. He said: "We have to recognise that the Armed Forces have got to do things in their own way." Two other marines, B and C, were acquitted of the same charge last week at Bulford military court, in Wiltshire. Marine A told the court martial he was ashamed of his actions and had thought the unnamed Taliban fighter was already dead when he shot him. The film clips shown to the court show Marine A shoot the badly wounded man in the chest at point blank range with his 9mm pistol. He then tolls the rest of his patrol to keep quiet, because he has just broken the Geneva Convention.