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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
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December 31st,
2009 - Judge Dismisses All Charges in Blackwater Shooting News article from the Associated
Press |
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Judge
Dismisses All Charges in Blackwater Shooting By Matt Apuzzo Associated Press December 31, 2009 Washington - A federal judge
dismissed all charges Thursday against five Blackwater Worldwide security
guards accused of killing unarmed Iraqi civilians in a crowded Baghdad
intersection in 2007. U.S. District Judge Ricardo
Urbina said Justice Department prosecutors improperly built their case on
sworn statements that had been given under a promise of immunity. Urbina said
the government's explanations were "contradictory, unbelievable and
lacking in credibility." The decision throws out a
case steeped in international politics. The September 2007 shooting in busy
Nisoor Square left 17 Iraqis dead and inflamed anti-American sentiment
abroad. The Iraqi government wanted the guards to face trial in Iraq and
officials there said they would closely watch how the U.S. judicial system
handled the case. "We're obviously
disappointed by the decision," Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd
said. "We're still in the process of reviewing the opinion and
considering our options." Prosecutors can appeal the
90-page ruling. Blackwater contractors had
been hired to guard U.S. diplomats in Iraq. The shooting led to the
unraveling of the North Carolina-based company, which since has changed its
management and changed its name to Xe Services. The five guards are Donald
Ball, a former Marine from West Valley City, Utah; Dustin Heard, a former
Marine from Knoxville, Tenn.; Evan Liberty, a former Marine from Rochester,
N.H.; Nick Slatten, a former Army sergeant from Sparta, Tenn., and Paul
Slough, an Army veteran from Keller, Texas. Defense attorneys said the
guards were thrilled by the ruling after more than two years of scrutiny. "It's tremendously
gratifying to see the court allow us to celebrate the new year the way it
has," said attorney Bill Coffield, who represents Liberty. "It really
invigorates your belief in our court system." "It's
indescribable," said Ball's attorney, Steven McCool. "It feels like
the weight of the world has been lifted off his shoulders. Here's a guy
that's a decorated war hero who we maintain should never have been charged in
the first place." Urbina's ruling does not say
whether the shooting was proper, only that the government improperly used
evidence to build the case. After the shooting, the State Department ordered
the guards to explain what happened. Investigators promised the
men that their statements were to be used only for the internal inquiry and
would not be used in a criminal case. Such limited immunity deals are common
in police departments so officers involved in shootings cannot hold up internal
investigations by refusing to cooperate. The deal meant that
prosecutors had to build their case without using those statements. Urbina
said the Justice Department failed to do so. Prosecutors read those
statements, reviewed them in the investigation and used them to get search
warrants, Urbina said. The five guards had been
charged with manslaughter and weapons charges. The charges carried mandatory
30-year prison terms. It was unclear what the
ruling means for a sixth Blackwater guard, Jeremy Ridgeway, who turned on his
former colleagues and pleaded guilty to killing one Iraqi and wounding
another. Copyright 2009 The
Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Copyright © 2009 ABC News
Internet Ventures External link: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=9457712 Judge dismisses all charges
in Blackwater shooting By Del Quentin Wilber Washington Post December 31, 2009 A federal judge on Thursday
threw out charges against five Blackwater Worldwide security guards accused
of killing 14 people in a 2007 shooting in downtown Baghdad. In a 90-page opinion, U.S.
District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina ruled that the government violated the
guards' rights by using their immunized statements to help the investigation.
The ruling comes after a lengthy set of hearings that examined whether
federal prosecutors and agents improperly used such statements that the
guards gave to State Department investigators following the shooting on Sept.
16, 2007. "The explanations
offered by prosecutors and investigators in an attempt to justify their
actions and persuade the court that they did not use the defendants'
compelled testimony were all too often contradictory, unbelievable and
lacking in credibility," Urbina wrote. Dean Boyd, a spokesman for
the Justice Department, said, "We're obviously disappointed by the
decision. We're still in the process of reviewing the opinion and considering
our options." The five guards - Paul
Slough, Nicholas Slatten, Evan Liberty, Dustin Heard and Donald Ball - are
charged with voluntary manslaughter and weapons violations in the killing of
14 civilians and the wounding of 20 others. The Justice Department
alleges that the guards unleashed an unprovoked attack on Iraqi civilians in
Nisoor Square while in a convoy. One guard, Jeremy P. Ridgeway, has pleaded
guilty and was expected to testify against the others. Blackwater, which has
since renamed itself Xe, had a contract to provide security for the State
Department in Iraq. Mark Hulkhower, the defense
lawyer representing Slough, said he was obviously pleased. "We are very
gratified by the judge's thoughtful and reasoned opinion and we are very
happy that Mr. Slough can start the New Year without this cloud hanging over
his head." © 2009 The Washington Post
Company External link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/31/AR2009123101936.html |