'Marine A' To Be Sentenced For Manslaughter On March 24

Alexander Blackman, the Royal Marine who killed an injured Taliban fighter in Afghanistan, will be sentenced for diminished responsibility manslaughter on March 24.

His previous murder conviction was quashed by five judges at the Court Martial Appeal Court in London.

They found that the killing wasn't a "cold-blooded execution" as a court-martial had earlier concluded, but the result of an "adjustment disorder".

The judges said that Blackman had been "an exemplary soldier before his deployment to Afghanistan in March 2011", but had "suffered from quite exceptional stressors" during that deployment.

The sentencing will take place on March 24 at 10.30am.

In a letter posted on Twitter, the Commandant General of the Royal Marines says the way its men and women are prepared for operations is fit for purpose.

Major General Robert Magowan, who is also Commander UK Amphibious Forces,  says he recognises the case has been an emotive one for the Corps family and a difficult time.

He writes Royal Marines have his "assurance that we will continue to identify lessons and act upon them."

Royal Marine Cassidy Little, who knows Alexander Blackman and served with him Afghanistan, has been giving his reaction to the letter to Forces News: