Breaking: Judge dismisses all charges in Blackwater shooting

[theHandpuppet]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/31/AR2009123101936.html

Judge dismisses all charges in Blackwater shooting

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.

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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....

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[rfranklin]

1. Perfect justice

Now everyone can forget and Blackwater, I mean, Xe can go on without consequence.

[fascisthunter]

2. Some Very Evil Element is Protecting this neo-nazi-paramilitary

there is much more involved with Blackwater than I think we realize.

[FreakinDJ]

3. Why are we posting this every 15 minutes

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7367583

[gristy]

4. It's in LBN too. Where it belongs.

Posted before either of these 2.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4206116