Guard's Plea Led To Blackwater Indictments

Federal Case On Shooting Deaths Of Innocent Iraqis Built Largely On Fellow Guard's Testimony

(CBS/AP)  The indictment of five Blackwater Worldwide security guards for their involvement in the shooting deaths of 17 unarmed Iraqi civilians was based largely on the testimony of a sixth guard, who recounted for federal prosecutors how the guards opened fire on a car "that posed no threat" to them.

Jeremy Ridgeway pleaded guilty to one count each of manslaughter, attempted manslaughter, and aiding and abetting in the deal.

In his plea agreement with prosecutors, Ridgeway admitted there was no threat from a white Kia sedan whose driver, a medical student, was killed and his mother, in the front passenger seat, was injured during the deadly 2007 shooting at a Baghdad traffic circle.

Prosecutors unsealed a 34-count indictment against the other guards, who they say opened machine gun fire on innocent Iraqis, some who were trying to surrender, and launched a grenade into a girls' school during the attack, court documents show.

The charges carry mandatory 30-year prison terms for use of a machine gun.

A federal judge on Monday ordered the guards to report Jan. 6 to a District of Columbia courthouse, where they are expected to plead not guilty. Defense lawyers unsuccessfully tried to get the trial moved to Utah.

The guards "must be held accountable for their actions, not just for the integrity of the American people, but for the Iraqi men, women and children whose lives have been destroyed," FBI Assistant Director Joseph Persichini said at a Justice Department news conference in Washington.

The five Blackwater guards - all decorated military veterans - declined comment as they surrendered in federal court in Utah. They maintain they were protecting themselves from what they believed was an imminent car bomb attack.

"Prosecutors allege that the men shot and killed Iraqis 'upon a sudden quarrel or heat of passion' - that's the language in the indictment," writes CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen. "But it also tells us what the defense is likely to be - that this was an accident triggered by scared young guards who were in over their heads in Iraq."

"We think it's pure and simple a case of self-defense," defense attorney Paul Cassell said Monday as the guards were booked. "Tragically, people did die."

Hassan Jaber was wounded that day - shot in the arm and back as he tried to escape, reports CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer from Baghdad. A year later, he says that today's arrests are a step in the right direction - but not justice. He says there were more than five guards firing that day.

Jaber, like other wounded victims, got $7,500 compensation from the U.S. Embassy in Iraq, which he used to pay for medical care. But, Palmer reports, his body is still full of shrapnel.

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Read The Indictment
Facts In Ridgeway Guilty Plea
Information On Ridgeway Case

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Defense attorneys sought to move the case to Utah, where one of the five guards lives, in hopes of appealing to conservative jurors who may be more sympathetic to the war in Iraq than those in Washington.

But the Justice Department argued that the case should remain in Washington and a federal magistrate in Salt Lake City agreed, although defense attorneys can appeal for the right to return to Utah.

Outraged Iraqis have waited more than a year to see how the U.S. would respond. The shooting by the largest U.S. security contractor in Iraq on a busy street in the capital sparked international condemnation, launched congressional hearings and inspired anti-American insurgent propaganda.

Prosecutors said the slain included young children, women, people fleeing in cars and a man whose arms were raised in surrender as he was shot in the chest.

The drama is far from over. After more than a year of investigative missteps and fierce debate, the Justice Department now faces stiff challenges to the evidence and legal grounds at the heart of its case.

Most importantly, prosecutors must prove they did not rely on protected statements the guards gave to State Department investigators within hours of the shootings.

The State Department gave limited immunity to all the guards in the four-car convoy, promising not to prosecute them based on the initial statements recounting how the violence began. The move left Justice Department and FBI investigators with a crime scene long gone cold and with limited forensic evidence to bolster their case.

"We fully expect that the defendants will raise the issue," said Assistant Attorney General Patrick Rowan. "We've been very careful and very painstaking in the way we have investigated this case, the way we have assembled evidence. And we fully expect to prevail when the court hears that issue."

Defense attorneys also will argue that the guards cannot be charged under a law intended to cover soldiers and military contractors since the men worked as civilian contractors for the State Department. Rowan, however, said Blackwater was supporting the military's mission in Baghdad and the law therefore applies to them.

It is the first time prosecutors have used that argument to prosecute contractors. The Justice Department recently lost a somewhat similar case against former Marine Jose Luis Nazario Jr., who was charged in Riverside, Calif., with killing four unarmed Iraqi detainees.

"This is going to be a very dense, technical case with a ton of pre-trial issues that will have to be resolved before the first witness is called," writes Cohen. "The defendants are going to raise jurisdiction and venue questions and seek a ruling from the court that these domestic charges can't be brought against them for conduct in Iraq."

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.

They are charged with 14 counts of manslaughter, 20 counts of attempted manslaughter and one count of using a machine gun to commit a crime of violence. The machine gun charge, typically used in drug cases, carries a 30-year minimum prison sentence.

The sixth guard, who is cooperating with the government, is Jeremy Ridgeway of California. He pleaded guilty to one count each of manslaughter, attempted manslaughter, and aiding and abetting.

The Moyock, N.C.-based Blackwater has not been charged in the case.

[tincup356]

The only reason "privatized security" has been used in Iraq is simple....George W Bush and his daddy sit on the board of directors of Carlyle Group,which controls 85% of the pentagons "private security" budget.So in a nutshell...Bush has been skimming the till,Carlyle profited 6 billion last year. Just another disgraceful , dishonest, thing Bush has done....he should be charged with war crimes and treason.

[obamaslady]

What happened to the good old days when ''we - our military personel ''only'' - fought a war, we; our American military, fought it. We didn''t have these a@@holes from Blackwater doing any d*mn thing for our military because the military did it all - from the cooking to the fighting on all fronts and everything in between. So, why all of a sudden with Bush & Co, do we have to have ''outsiders'', belonging to ''security firms'', doing anything, especially our fighting'' in ''America''s name'' when they [Bush & Co] hoped that they would not be held accountable for any wrong-doing? These guards were wrong to kill INNOCENT Iraqi''s and yet, their superiors and our military heads need to take responsibility for all of this otherwise, I don''t think we will ever manage to get back our good name back in Iraq or the ME ever again if we allow these people to get away with murder, particularly those at the top.

[messiahx4eve]

WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) - "President George W. Bush on Tuesday defended his doctrine of pre-emptive war and warned that the United States must remain willing to "to take the fight to our enemies across the world." Down to his waning days in office, Bush is trying to define his own legacy, never more clearly than during his sprawling account here of how the U.S. armed forces have changed under his watch.
The president declared that today''s military is "stronger, more agile and better prepared" than the one he inherited in 2001. It was a defense against criticism that Bush has stretched the military to dangerous levels with wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan."

Here is an exerpt of the bushwacker using AGAIN, his texass wisdumb to set the record straight about his "legacy". Blackwater was "assured" by the bush regime of no reprisals, hence here we are today, in the REAL world. Examples of bush & cheney aka chip & dip logic in godplaying. Sacrifices must be made and by others if all necessary, NOT the truly guilty ones, but their stooges instead.

[xxunknown]

So these guys will be prosecuted for killing a handful of Iraqis while the U.S. government illegally invaded, and, by some counts has murdered 1 MILLION Iraqis. We are living is Orwellian times. Can U say fall guys?
Posted by kassandras1
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Its surely is like a boot stamping on a human face forever

[hitoyou11]

These scum need to be put away. So fare away they never get out. Scum like this needs to be treaed like scum. They could not get a real job. So they became killers. Scum that is all they are.

[celiene]

How much have we (and are we), as taxpayers, been paying Blackwater (and others) to ''fight'' this chosen war? How much are we paying Halliburton, Brown Root? How much has BushCo. profited from this folly? WHEN will we say enough? HEY CBS - give us some numbers! The crimes that have been committed over there - are too numerous to be counted. REMIND US - and tell us what it is costing us. The time for mollycoddling the Governmement is OVER! TELL THE TRUTH - and let the chips fall where they may.

[celiene]

When you have a FOR-PROFIT entity (which employs criminals and people who cannot enter the military for same reasons) in the midst of war - there is NO incentive to end that war. GET PRIVATE CONTRACTORS OUT! That is what the military is for, dammit! (Same with for-profit prisons - which *** Cheney was indicted for in Texas - NO INCENTIVE to rehabilitate...) WHAT in the F has happened to us??

[evian_ycnan]

So, the insurgency all began when an angry crowd dragged 4 of these so-called "contractors" from a car in Falujah and tore them limb from limb and burned the bodies, and now it will end when 5 of these so-called "contractors" are convicted of murder and manslaughter.

The insurgency began to quiet down when the FBI began investigating these 6 "contractors".

[hatesthecolt]

Prosecuting these guys for breaking the law doesn''t make them fall guys for people who broke other laws. If these guys did what was alleged, they need to be sent to jail.