If convicted, Richmond, 20, faces a maximum penalty of death or a mandatory minimum of life in prison with the possibility of parole. If sentenced to death he would become the seventh soldier on the military's death row.

Richmond, a native of Gonzales, La., is assigned to Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment.

The Army said Richmond is the third U.S. soldier to be court-martialed for murder in the Iraq war.

In making his decision, Maj. Gen. John R.S. Batiste, commander of the 1st Infantry Division in Iraq, acted on a recommendation made by an Army investigator and evidence provided by Richmond's attorney.

On April 8, Richmond was charged with one count of unpremeditated murder. The Army would not disclose specifics.

On Feb. 28, soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment were conducting a morning search for known terrorists in Taal Al Jal, near Al Huwijah — a city of more than 85,000 people, mostly Sunni Muslims, about 40 miles southwest of Kirkuk.

According to reports, the middle-aged Iraqi man was running and "resisting apprehension," but the Army did not elaborate. The Army's case was based largely on the claim that Kadir was flex cuffed at the time he was shot.

Richmond had his weapons confiscated and is suspended from active duty but is not being detained, said his father, Edward Richmond Sr. He said his son told him that he was following the Army's rules of engagement when the incident happened.