SACRAMENTO, CALIF. ? Friends and family are rallying around the seven Marines and a Navy medic charged with killing an Iraqi civilian, setting up Web sites to raise money and draw attention to what they claim is an unfair prosecution.

The troops are charged with premeditated murder and could face the death penalty if convicted. Supporters are scrambling to raise tens of thousands of dollars to pay defense attorneys.

Military prosecutors allege the troops kidnapped an Iraqi man from his home, tied him up, put him in a hole by the side of a road and sprayed him with bullets, then sought to cover up the crime. The troops are being held in the brig at Camp Pendleton.