CAMP PENDLETON -- After a jury convicted a Marine on Thursday morning of negligent homicide in the stabbing death of an Iraqi army soldier, he pleaded with the jurors to spare him a prison sentence and let him resume his service.

"The Marine Corps is what I am," Lance Cpl. Delano Holmes said in halting, tear-filled remarks in a hushed base courtroom, never addressing the incident that placed him there. "I beg you, please allow me to go back. All l am asking for is another chance."

The jury could have convicted 22-year-old Holmes of the more serious charge of unpremeditated murder, which carries a possible life prison term, but instead chose the lesser offense after about six hours of deliberation.

He faces a maximum of eight years in prison. The three officers and five enlisted men on the jury also convicted Holmes of making a false official statement. The jury will hear final arguments from the prosecution and defense this morning before deliberating Holmes' fate.

An Indianapolis native, Holmes sat stoically throughout the trial and never testified. He showed no reaction when the verdict was announced, but cried throughout a rambling, 17-minute address at the end of the day.

His remarks were made in the form of what the military calls an unsworn statement, meaning he could not be questioned by prosecutors.

Holmes' lead attorney, Steve Cook, said after the conviction was announced that his client was "disappointed" and had counted on being acquitted in the death of Iraqi army Pvt. Munther Jasem Muhammed Hassin.

A machine gunner from the Michigan-based Marine Reserve 1st Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, Holmes' attorneys said he killed the Iraqi out of fear for his own life when the two began fighting about 5:45 a.m. during guard duty in a tower just outside Camp Fallujah on Dec. 31, 2006.

It was the first time he had been assigned such duty and had never met the Iraqi until that night, his attorneys said.

Holmes told investigators the fight broke out after he slapped a lit cigarette out of the much smaller Iraqi man's hands, fearing it would expose the men to a possible sniper attack. Before lighting the cigarette, the Iraqi had used an illuminated cell phone, Holmes claimed in statements to investigators.

His attorneys called several witnesses to support an assertion that the Iraqi may have been signaling snipers in nearby apartment buildings. Some of those witnesses testified that many Iraqi army soldiers were not considered trustworthy.

In closing arguments Wednesday, prosecutor Capt. Brett Miner rejected Holmes' version, saying it made no sense and pointing out the Marine is nearly a foot taller and 65 pounds heavier than the Iraqi.

Holmes had told the investigators that he used his bayonet to stab Hassin because he believed the man was reaching for an AK-47 and would shoot him.

An autopsy showed Hassin suffered 17 stab wounds, 26 slashes and one deep cut that nearly sliced his nose from his face. Some of the wounds nearly severed his spine.

During his disjointed remarks, Holmes spoke of being a Christian, of ministering to other Marines in the base brig where he has been held since February and the difficulties he faced growing up.

"It seems like most of my life, I've been a child of misfortune," he said.

Before he spoke, a parade of Marines who served with Holmes in Iraq testified about his dedication and reliability. Each said they would gladly serve with him again.

"He's an outstanding Marine," Sgt. Jesse Falke testified. "He always held himself in very good character," he said, adding he would have no hesitation to return to a battlefield with Holmes at his side.

Jenni Crowley, a Presbyterian youth minister from Indianapolis who was his foster mother during his senior year of high school and is seeking to adopt him, told jurors that Holmes had persevered through many challenges as a teenager.

"He will overcome this and move on to the goals in his life," she said.

Holmes is the second U.S. service member convicted of killing an Iraqi soldier since the Iraqi army was re-established in late 2003, according to military records. In 2004, Army Pvt. Federico Daniel Merida was found guilty of shooting an Iraqi soldier after the two had sex. He received a 25-year prison term.

Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.