Judge dismisses all charges in Blackwater shooting

[DEDixon 39]

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.

[SMOKE 1,426]

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.

i hope they fry his sorry a$$.

[slim 1,525]

Good for them! It turns my stomach when brave men who're doing their job are brought before a court some 20,000 miles away.

As for the snitch, if he's lucky he'll end up with a slap on the wrist for self-incrimination. If he's "handled" he'll simply disappear. I can't believe anyone would be stupid enough to rat on their own team members.

And anyway, why is this being tried in Federal Court? Didn't this happen in Iraq?

[Peikko 1,575]

It doesn't really tell us anything except that the governnment prosecutor was unable to build a case using proper sources of information. As there are a lot of cases that never get to trial because of a lack of evidence, cases where most people would like to see the 'offender' fried, it seems rather bizarre to 'celebrate' this as a victory for truth and justice.

That said, good luck to them, they are free to go.

Slim, it does help if you read the OP article, it tells you why this wasn't prosecuted in Iraq.

[NickD 203]

Good for them! It turns my stomach when brave men who're doing their job are brought before a court some 20,000 miles away.

As for the snitch, if he's lucky he'll end up with a slap on the wrist for self-incrimination. If he's "handled" he'll simply disappear. I can't believe anyone would be stupid enough to rat on their own team members.

And anyway, why is this being tried in Federal Court? Didn't this happen in Iraq?

Same question if Iraqi citizens were killed in Iraq, and Iraq is suppose to have it's own government, case should be tried in Iraq. Our federal courts have no jurisdiction there.

Now if one of our US armed service in the military guys did that, they would hang his a$$.

[merijan 0]

Good for them! It turns my stomach when brave men who're doing their job are brought before a court some 20,000 miles away.

As for the snitch, if he's lucky he'll end up with a slap on the wrist for self-incrimination. If he's "handled" he'll simply disappear. I can't believe anyone would be stupid enough to rat on their own team members.

And anyway, why is this being tried in Federal Court? Didn't this happen in Iraq?

Brave men and women doing their job... okay .. i guess the fact our govt pays them three or four times as much to do the job of US soldiers does not bother you. I guess the information time and again of how corrupt Blackwater is does not bother you. I guess that is all ok.. yes going to another land that is NOT yours and killing people and destroying their land for .. what was the reason again????? ok ..anyway whatever....

[Nagishkaw 510]

ok ..anyway whatever....

I guess.

[DEDixon 39]

Brave men and women doing their job... okay .. i guess the fact our govt pays them three or four times as much to do the job of US soldiers does not bother you. I guess the information time and again of how corrupt Blackwater is does not bother you. I guess that is all ok.. yes going to another land that is NOT yours and killing people and destroying their land for .. what was the reason again????? ok ..anyway whatever....

blackwater exists because we won't bring back the draft (i guess).

so, without the draft and without the blackwater we are talking about here, it would simply be another company. although there is an element of corruption within, you should try to put a number to the degree of corruption. i mean, if it was totally corrupt and running wild, there would be a lot more to report on besides the few cases against them.

[slim 1,525]

Brave men and women doing their job... okay ..

Certainly, as opposed to those who "defend truth and justice" from the safety of a Stateside courtroom.

i guess the fact our govt pays them three or four times as much to do the job of US soldiers does not bother you.

Nope. They do a specialized job and are contracted to do so, so in theory, you're arguing apples to oranges. Soldiers have a pretty open-ended contract. However, if you want to say it's unfortunate that they're being paid five to ten times more than the average soldier I would almost agree except for the fact that the guy stocking the PX is also making that much money. In my opinion (and remember what opinions are like!) the guy carrying the rifle should make more.

I guess the information time and again of how corrupt Blackwater is does not bother you. I guess that is all ok..

What information? Any "so-called information" doesn't bother me because Blackwater operates in an environment where certain things need to be done and sometimes those certain things aren't exactly agreeable with the rest of us back home. If we were to make them adhere to what's agreeable say, in a courtroom back here in the States, then chances are they probably couldn't accomplish their mission over there.

And yes, I have no problem with our government funding that. I mean, after all, we already pay millions of dollars to assassinate people from above. Why not share the wealth?

yes going to another land that is NOT yours and killing people and destroying their land for .. what was the reason again????? ok ..anyway whatever....

That's kind of an American tradition!

This time the reason is oil. Communism and global economic domination are in there somewhere too as we're doing a helluva job surrounding Iran to piss off the Chinese and Russians. If we can keep this up, we'll have them out of Africa soon as well!

Let's just hope our dollar holds up!