CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- A military judge ruled Thursday that a popular satellite-imaging program can be used at the trial of a Marine accused in the death of an Iraqi civilian to pinpoint locations relevant to the killing.

Though Cpl. Trent Thomas' defense called into question the accuracy of Google Earth, Judge Lt. Col. David Jones said the program's images would "actually help the members (of the jury) to understand" what allegedly took place at the time Hashim Ibrahim Awad was slain in Hamdania.

Thomas has pleaded not guilty to premeditated murder, kidnapping, conspiracy and other charges in the 52-year-old Iraqi's April 26, 2006, death. He is also charged with assaulting another Iraqi 16 days earlier.

Thomas previously pleaded guilty, but a judge allowed him to withdraw his plea.

Pvt. Robert Pennington, in testifying at Thomas' hearing Thursday, used Google Earth to show locales relevant to Awad's kidnapping and killing.

Pennington, who pleaded guilty earlier to his role in the killing, testified he personally labeled each location using Google Earth software, along with comments at the bottom of each image.

Military prosecutor Capt. Nicholas Gannon said each of Pennington's descriptions of the area were "fair and accurate," and that the images were "merely an electronic representation" of Hamdania.

But military defense attorney Maj. Dale Saran argued Google Earth was not a fair and accurate representation at the time of the incident, claiming the images could be manipulated.

"The government wants to put in a moving map display," Saran said. "It's not the same as a photograph. To say this is nothing more than a blowup photo is really stretching things."

He called the images "an entire multimedia display narrated by Private Pennington."

Jones ruled that Pennington was familiar with the scene and knows the objects depicted in the photos.

Jones said the photos were accurate for the time of the incident, and he didn't find them confusing or misleading.

Jones asked the defense and prosecution to settle upon whether Pennington's comments at the bottom of the photos will be removed.

Thomas' trial is set July 9-20. One-third of his jury will be made up of enlisted Marines.

Jurors will not be told that the Marine faces a minimum sentence of life in prison if convicted of premeditated murder, but they can hear details of plea deals made by Thomas' co-defendants.

Pennington was reduced in rank from lance corporal and is serving an eight-year sentence in the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar brig.

Three other squad members are also serving sentences at the same brig.

Navy Corpsman Melson Bacos was released recently after serving his sentence in connection with Awad's death.

A total of eight servicemen were accused in the death of Awad, a disabled retired Iraqi police officer and father of 11.

Awad was known as "Hasim the Lame" because of the metal bar that was surgically implanted in his leg after he was injured in his country's war with Iran in the 1980s.

Bacos previously testified that the squad went to an area to find an insurgent, but when his family foiled their plans, they targeted Awad, who lived next door.

Lance Cpl. Tyler A. Jackson has testified that the squad leader believed Awad set up an explosive device that killed several members of their platoon and wanted to get back at him.

Everyone in the squad agreed, so Awad was taken to a crater where there had been an explosion, then was shot, Jackson has said. He said their squad leader radioed to his patrol base that the Marines fired on a man who they spotted digging a hole to plant a bomb.