Who is Marine A? Why was Alexander Blackman released from jail and what has he said about killing Taliban soldier?
‘MARINE A’ Alexander Blackman who was jailed for shooting dead a wounded Taliban soldier has spoken out about the killing.
The ex-Royal Marine was released from prison in April 2017 after his murder conviction was quashed following a three-and-a-half year battle.
Here’s everything you need to know about the historic case:
Who is Alexander Blackman?
The 42-year-old was originally known as Marine A to protect his identity from terrorists.
He grew up in Brighton and has two sisters and a brother, according to the Justice for Marine A website.
The keen sportsman is a skilled canoeist who competed at national events.
He joined the marines aged 23 and married his wife Alex in 2010 after the pair met in the Somerset town of Taunton.
At the time of the 2011 killing Blackman was serving in Helmand province with Plymouth-based 42 Commando.
Blackman was ''dismissed with disgrace'' from the Royal Marines after serving with distinction for 15 years, including tours of Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland.
Why was Sgt Blackman accused of murdering someone in Helmand Province?
Sgt Blackman shot an injured Taliban insurgent in the chest in 2011 before quoting Shakespeare at him.
He said: "There you are. Shuffle off this mortal coil you c***.
"It's nothing you wouldn't do to us".
He then told soldiers: "Obviously this doesn't go anywhere, fellas. I just broke the Geneva Convention."
The shooting was captured on film but has not been released out of fears it could be used as terrorist propaganda.
Dramatic footage that has been released shows troops cheering as an Apache warship fires some 139 rounds at militants trying to sneak up on British positions.
Another clip shows Sgt Blackman and Jack Hammond, known as Marine C, find an AK47, a hand grenade and spare ammunition next to the injured fighter.
Blackman ordered colleagues to move the enemy fighter out of sight from British Army surveillance cameras mounted on balloons.
What happened when Blackman was found guilty of murder?
Blackman was convicted of murder in November 2013 by a court martial in Bulford, Wiltshire, and sentenced to life with a minimum 10-year term.
It was the first such conviction of a serving British soldier since the Second World War.
Judge Jeff Blackett told Blackman at his sentencing: “If the British Armed Forces are not assiduous in complying with the laws of armed conflict and international humanitarian law they would become not better than the insurgents and terrorists they are fighting."
Why was Blackman's murder conviction quashed?
Marine A's murder conviction was reduced to manslaughter after a three and a half year battle in the courts on Wednesday, March 15.
Appeal Court judges ruled “exemplary” soldier was suffering from an undiagnosed mental illness when he pulled the trigger and that his conviction should be of the lesser charge by reason of diminished responsibility.
His sentence was reduced to seven-years which meant he was eligible for release at the halfway point on April 24, three days before he was finally let out of jail.
Five judges cleared him of murder based on psychiatric evidence that provided him with a defence of diminished responsibility.
Psychiatrists provided "uncontradicted" evidence that he was suffering from a mental illness - an adjustment disorder - at the time of the killing.
Blackman, who denied murder, had claimed during an appeal in 2014 that he thought the soldier was already dead, and he was taking his anger out on a corpse.
The Taliban fighter he slayed had been injured in an attack from an Apache helicopter.
Judges found the conditions Blackman was fighting in were a "breeding ground" for mental health problems.
When was he released?
Sgt Blackman was released from jail on Friday April 28 weeks after his murder conviction was overturned.
He was pictured being driven away from Erlestoke prison in Wiltshire jail crouching in the back seat of a black motor.
His wife Claire, 45, said she felt “like a child waiting for Christmas” in the hours leading up to his release.
What has Marine A said about the killing?
Sgt Blackman has revealed he told his wife she could leave him after he was charged with murdering an Afghan insurgent.
In his first TV interview since his release, he told the BBC: "I said 'this wasn't what you agreed to when you got married,' if she didn't want to stick around or to part company at that point or any point throughout the process, it would be something I'd understand - I'd wish her well for the rest of her life."
Sitting by her husband's side, Mrs Blackman said: "I said 'don't ever say that to me again. This isn't what I signed up for (but) my marriage vows are my marriage vows and I'm with you all the way'."
Marine A spent a long time thinking about the killing but said he could not explain why he shot dead the Taliban fighter.
When asked why he did it, he said: "I really couldn't tell you.
"Like I say I have spent a lot of time thinking about it and I haven't got a definitive answer."