WIESBADEN, Germany , Apr 1, 2005 - A decorated Army captain convicted in the shooting death of a wounded Iraqi was dismissed from the military Friday, but will serve no time in prison after insisting at his court-martial that the shooting was a mercy killing.

A relieved Capt. Rogelio "Roger" Maynulet, 30, threw his arms around his attorneys, wife and parents after the military court spared him a prison sentence. Prosecutors had sought a three-year term along with the dismissal.

Maynulet could have faced 10 years in prison after being convicted Thursday of assault with intent to commit voluntary manslaughter. He maintained throughout the trial that he acted to end the suffering of a man he was told was beyond medical help.

Maynulet said after the sentence that he was grateful to avoid imprisonment, but that having to leave the military would be difficult.

"It's bittersweet," he said. "I'm happy to have my life back, but I'm being forced out of my family. It's hard to leave the Army this way."

"Still, I'm definitely happy I'm not in confinement," he said.

Maynulet was leading his 1st Armored Division company on a mission near Kufa, south of Baghdad, on May 21, 2004, when it was alerted that a car thought to be carrying a "high-level" target was headed its way.

No details of the mission have been released, but it has been widely reported the company was told radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who led uprisings against U.S.-led forces in Iraq last year, was believed to be in the car.

The company chased the car and fired at it, wounding a passenger, who fled and was later apprehended, and the driver, who was pulled bleeding from the car by Maynulet's medic.

The medic pronounced the man untreatable and Maynulet later shot him in the head. The killing was filmed by a U.S. surveillance aircraft.

Prosecutors had sought the prison term and dismissal on the argument that the strength of the sentence needed to fit the charge and would send a signal to other U.S. soldiers that such behavior would not be tolerated.

"You commit a serious crime, you are out of the Army. This is not what we do here," prosecutor Maj. John Rothwell told the six-member jury before they retreated to deliberate for nearly three hours. "What kind of institution does the U.S. Army become if assault with the intent to commit voluntary manslaughter is an honorable act?"

Senior officers, however, had testified throughout the trial about Maynulet's exceptional skills as a leader, soldier and officer. Col. Michael Ryan, who commanded Maynulet in Bosnia and testified for him during the trial, said that the sentence was appropriate.

"I think the outcome was the proper outcome for the Army and for Roger," Ryan said. "If you look at the total event, justice was served on both sides."

Ryan, who now serves at the Joint Advanced Warfighting Program at the Pentagon, added that the court-martial was unique because of Maynulet's outstanding record and his good character. Maynulet was a recipient of the Bronze Star and Meritorious Service Medal.

"I know in Roger's heart, that he thought he was doing the right thing," said Ryan. "He was thinking about the person when he did it."

"It is unfortunate to lose a good leader, but when incidents like this happen, you just have to accept the rules," he said.