WASHINGTON, Jan. 6, 2009
Blackwater Guards Plead Not Guilty
Five Accused Of Manslaughter In 2007 Shooting Deaths Of Iraqi Civilians Say They're Innocent
-
(CBS/AP)
-
In The Spotlight Under Fire A look at Blackwater USA, the State Department's top private security contractor.
The Blackwater guards were arraigned in front of U.S. District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina on Tuesday.
The not guilty pleas were entered by former Marines Donald Ball, Dustin Heard and Evan Liberty; and Army veterans Nick Slatten and Paul Slough.
Prosecutors said the men unleashed a gruesome attack on unarmed Iraqis, including women and children.
The Blackwater guards contend they opened fire after coming under attack when a car in a State Department convoy they were escorting broke down.Read The Indictment
A sixth guard - Jeremy Ridgeway of California - has pleaded guilty to one count each of manslaughter, attempted manslaughter, and aiding and abetting. He has agreed to cooperate with investigators.
In advance of the arraignment, the judge unsealed the arrest warrant for Ridgeway, reports CBS News producer Stephanie Lambidakis.
The government believes the document knocks down defense claims that the convoy was fired upon, reports Lambidakis. The government says they don't believe the radio logs released by defense lawyers in which a guard reports incoming fire. That guard was apparently in the "belly of the vehicle" and didn't see anything first-hand.
Blackwater radio logs made available to The Associated Press by a defense attorney in the case last month raised questions about prosecutors' claims that the guards' shooting was unprovoked. The log transcripts describe a hectic eight minutes in which the guards repeatedly reported incoming gunfire from insurgents and Iraqi police.
The North Carolina-based Blackwater is the largest contractor providing security in Iraq. Most of its work for the State Department is in protecting U.S. diplomats in Iraq. The company has not been charged in connection with the shooting. However, last month, an internal State Department report said Blackwater may lose its license to work in Iraq and recommends that the agency prepare alternative means to protect its diplomats there.
© MMIX, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Add a Comment
- Hopefully these Blackwater terrorists-for-rent will never again see the light of day.
Posted by rusure5
If rusure5 thinks they are Terrorists they must be innocent freedom fighters. - Reply to this comment
- Hopefully these Blackwater terrorists-for-rent will never again see the light of day.
- Reply to this comment
- Under the Military Extraterritorial Justice Act, US civilians and contractors accompanying the force are subject to prosecution under US law. Otherwise, back when there wasn''t an Iraqi government, they could act with impunity with no consequences.
More importantly though, who thought private security was a good idea to begin with??? - Reply to this comment
- Blackwater thugs? Yep, there''s a jail cell for you!
- Reply to this comment
- These are hired KKK for BUSH / CHENEY ...
Next up BUSH will serve life in Prison. Michael Connell a/k/a Mike Connell wife is still alive and oh yeah don''t think for a second you can''t trace back the the server duh. - Reply to this comment
- If we fought a war that was well warranted, we would not have to rely on these hired cowboys, our fighters would follow the Geneva Convention Rules of War, and our counntry would not be hated as much as we are today.
- Reply to this comment
- They didn''t commit these horrendous crimes in the US. Why the trial here?
The US is out of venue. The victims are Iraqi. Iraq deserves the Justice. - Reply to this comment
- send them back over there to face justice, they broke the law, plain and simple.
- Reply to this comment
