Murder conviction in Blackwater case tossed

WASHINGTON — A U.S. appeals court on Friday threw out the firstdegree murder conviction of a former Blackwater Worldwide security guard sentenced to life in prison in the killings of 14 unarmed Iraqi civilians in a Baghdad traffic circle in 2007.

The court also ordered resentencings for three others convicted in the case.

The September 2007 shootings fomented deep resentments about the accountability of American security forces during one of the bloodiest periods of the Iraq War.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit panel ruled that the trial court “abused its discretion” in not allowing Nicholas 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 massacre.

In a split ruling, the court also found the 30-year terms of the three others who had been convicted of manslaughter — Paul Slough, 37, of Keller, Texas; Evan Liberty, 34, of Rochester, N.H.; and Dustin Heard, 35, of Maryville, Tenn. — violated the constitutional prohibition against “cruel and unusual punishment.”

They received 30 years because the men were also convicted of using military firearms while committing a felony, a charge that has primarily been aimed at gang members and never before against security contractors given military weapons by the U.S. government.

Lawyers for the four men were not immediately available for comment.

It could not immediately be determined if Slatten would be retried. Spokesmen for the U.S. Justice Department and U.S. Attorney Channing Phillips said Phillips’ office “is reviewing the opinion and has no further comment at this time.”

The four security guards opened fire on the Iraqis, including women and children, at Nisour Square.

In overturning the 30year 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 Lamberth of Washington, D.C. — should instead tailor more “nuanced” penalties based on each defendant’s wrongdoing.

U.S. Circuit Judge Judith Rogers disagreed, saying that the claim “lacks any merit whatsoever.”

Prosecutors said the four defendants, among 19 Blackwater guards providing security for State Department officials in Iraq, fired machine guns and grenade launchers in a reckless way after one falsely claimed their convoy was threatened by a car bomber. The guards said they acted in self-defense.