Four Blackwater guards sentenced in Iraq shootings of 31 unarmed civilians

[babylonsister]

"Fine young men"?


Four Blackwater guards sentenced in Iraq shootings of 31 unarmed civilians
By Spencer S. Hsu and Victoria St. Martin April 13 at 4:05 PM


A federal judge in Washington handed down prison terms of 30 years to life behind bars to four Blackwater Worldwide guards convicted in a deadly 2007 shooting that killed 14 unarmed Iraqis and injured others in a Baghdad traffic circle.

U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth sentenced Nicholas A. Slatten of Sparta, Tenn., to life in prison. Slatten is the only of the four guards convicted of murder in the incident, in which American security contractors fired assault rifles and grenades into halted noonday traffic, a low point of the U.S. war in Iraq that sent relations between the two countries into a crisis.

Three other guards, Paul A. Slough of Keller, Tex.; Evan S. Liberty of Rochester, N.H.; and Dustin L. Heard of Knoxville, Tenn., were convicted of multiple counts of manslaughter and attempted manslaughter in the Sept. 16, 2007, incident at Baghdad’s Nisoor Square. All three were sentenced Monday to 30 years plus one day in prison.

“It’s clear that these fine young men panicked,” said Lamberth, an Army veteran and Reagan appointee who served as chief district judge from 2008 to 2013.

American security contractors killed 14 unarmed Iraqis by firing machine guns and grenades into a Baghdad traffic circle. The first of four sentences has been passed down.

While defendants have filed appeals, Monday’s sentencing brought an emphatic end to the U.S. government’s years-long effort to demonstrate accountability for American security contractors’ conduct on the battlefield.

more...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/four-blackwater-guards-sentenced-in-iraq-shootings-of-31-unarmed-civilians/2015/04/13/55b777e0-dee4-11e4-be40-566e2653afe5_story.html

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

1. That's what happens when you out source the military

They probably thought they'd get away with it.

[madokie]

2. Why does this make me smile?

I guess its because of the fact we had no business in Iraq to begin with and murder is murder, whether it be an american or an Iraqi or anyone else. Murder is murder, terror is terror. What we as a country did to the Iraqi is terrorize them as well as destroy their country, way of live and Lives. Lives matter, whether they be white brown or black, lives matter.

[babylonsister]

3. I was gratified that justice was FINALLY served. nt

[madokie]

4. Yes very much so

Its been a while since I gave you a so here it is. Thanks for all you do to bring us relevant news and have been doing it for years now. Awesome

[proverbialwisdom]

5. More.

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/04/13/blackwater-guard-sentenced-life-prison-role-notorious-2007-massacre
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2013/10/18/doj-brings-fresh-manslaughter-charges-against-blackwater-mercenaries-iraqi-massacre

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/apr/13/former-blackwater-guards-sentencing-baghdad-massacre

...Getting to this point was a long, protracted legal journey.

The first time the case was brought to trial in 2009 it was thrown out by a federal judge after a judge found statements from the defendants to have been compelled, and were therefore impermissible in court.

But Vice-President Joe Biden promised during a trip to Iraq that the government would pursue a fresh prosecution, and an appellate court ruled that the errors made by the investigators did not rule out a prosecution.

For anyone wondering, as I did before checking, this is not the Wikileaks "Collateral Murder" video story.

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/04/04/five-years-wikileaks-collateral-murder-video-matters-more-ever
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/05/wikileaks-exposes-video-o_n_525569.html

[malaise]

6. Wow

How did I miss both yours and Spanone's threads on this huge story.