Spc. Christopher Shore is charged with third-degree murder.
Shore says a fellow soldier charged in the case - Sgt. 1st Class Trey Corrales - shot the man numerous times and ordered Shore to "finish him off."
Shore says, however, he fired off to the side, intentionally missing the man.
Meanwhile, Corrales learned Wednesday will not face the death penalty if convicted of premeditated murder.
Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, the 25th Infantry Division commander, decided Tuesday to court-martial Sgt. Corrales, who is based in Hawaii. But the alleged crime didn't warrant a capital case, he said.
``He looks at the gravity of the offense, the evidence, how egregious it was,'' said Maj. Gary Johnson, the command staff judge advocate for the 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
Corrales, of San Antonio, is accused of shooting an Iraqi after his platoon captured the man during a raid on a house suspected of harboring men who were planting roadside bombs.
Corrales is accused of leading the man outside the house, telling him to run and firing several shots into him as he backed away.
An after hours call seeking comment from Corrales' defense attorney, Frank J. Spinner, was not immediately returned.
At minimum, Corrales would be sentenced to life with parole if convicted. He would have to serve at least 10 years before becoming eligible for release.
Corrales will also be tried for ordering Shore, who was in his his platoon, to shoot the Iraqi after he shot the man himself. And he will be charged with impeding an investigation by planting an AK-47 rifle next to the victim after he had been shot.
A date has not been set for Corrales' trial.
Mixon last month decided Shore should be court-martialed for third-degree murder.
(AccessNorthGa.com's Ken Stanford contributed to this report.)
http://accesswdun.com/article/2008/1/205632