A little over two and a half years ago, four former Blackwater Worldwide guards were convicted on charges related to the 2007 murder of 14 Iraqis in a public square.
The guilty verdicts on murder, manslaughter and gun charges marked a sweeping victory for prosecutors, who argued in an 11-week trial that the defendants fired recklessly and out of control in a botched security operation after one of them falsely claimed to believe the driver of an approaching vehicle was a car bomber. Jurors rejected the guards’ claims that they were acting in self-defense and were the target of incoming AK-47 gunfire.
Overall, defendants were charged with the deaths of 14 Iraqis and the wounding of 17 others at Baghdad’s Nisour Square shortly after noon Sept. 16, 2007. None of the victims was an insurgent.
Friday, the murder conviction was overturned by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and re-sentencing was ordered for the other three.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit panel ruled that the trial court “abused its discretion” in not allowing Nicholas A. Slatten, 33, of Sparta, Tenn., to be tried separately from his three co-defendants, even though he alone faced a murder charge for firing what prosecutors said were the first shots in the civilian massacre.
In a split ruling, the court also found the 30-year terms of the three others who had been convicted of manslaughter — Paul A. Slough, 37, of Keller, Tex.; Evan S. Liberty, 35, of Rochester, N.H.; and Dustin L. Heard, 36, of Maryville, Tenn. — violated the constitutional prohibition against “cruel and unusual punishment.”
The three 30-year sentences were applied on the manslaughter charges because the men used military weapons while committing the felony they were convicted of. The court split 2-1 on the decision and, as of this diary, whether or not Slatten will be retried remains unknown.
In overturning the 30-year terms, U.S. circuit judges Karen LeCraft Henderson and Janice Rogers Brown wrote “we by no means intend to minimize the carnage attributable to Slough, Heard and Liberty’s actions. Their poor judgments resulted in the deaths of many innocent people,” the judges wrote. But instead of using a “sledgehammer,” they said the sentencing judge — U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the District — should instead tailor more “nuanced” penalties based on each defendant’s wrongdoing.
U.S. Circuit Judge Judith W. Rogers disagreed, saying the claim “lacks any merit whatsoever,” calling the 30-year terms “appropriate” for the crime and that other security guards chose not to fire their weapons at all that day.
I do not know the law here but if the reasoning behind overturning these convictions is that these men are indeed guilty of murder and manslaughter of innocent people but they shouldn’t be sentenced like virtually any inner-city man gets sentenced for being connected to drugs, then I’m not buying it. Considering Blackwater founder’s cozy relationship with Trump’s administration, who is to say what level of “justice” will prevail.