Murderous Blackwater guards will finally face charges!
WASHINGTON (PNN) - June 6, 2012 - The Fascist Police States of Amerika Supreme Court ruled this week that it will not allow the four private security guards indicted in a 2007 Iraqi massacre to appeal charges related to the slaying.
Four former employees of Blackwater Worldwide - Paul Slough, Evan Liberty, Dustin Heard and Donald Ball - will once again face criminal charges for their roles in the September 16, 2007 killing that left 14 Iraqi civilians dead. Twenty others were wounded during the massacre, which erupted near Nisour Square in downtown Baghdad.
The Supreme Court weighed in this week to decide on whether or not to allow an appeal that could have meant the dismissal of manslaughter and weapons charges against the employees. A federal judge had previously ruled that the defendants’ Fifth Amendment rights that protect them against self-incrimination were violated in the case because prosecutors used statements in the original trial that should not have been allowed in court. However, an appeals panel fought that decision, which brought the case all the way to the Supreme Court this week.
On the prosecutions part, federal attorneys say that they have enough evidence to continue with the case. That claim was enough for the Supreme Court to reject hearing the appeal. The country’s top justices made their decision on Monday without comment and now the four defendants will likely stand trial in the slaying.
A fifth guard, Nicholas Slatten, was previously let off the hook for his role in the slaying. Jeremy Ridgeway, a sixth participant, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and attempted manslaughter.
"None of these victims was an insurgent, and many were shot while inside civilian vehicles that were attempting to flee," Slatten told investigators.
In the years since the Nisour Square massacre, Blackwater changed its name to Xe Service LLC and then Academi, under which it currently operates.
