Former Blackwater guards plead not guilty

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Blackwater Worldwide security guard Donald Ball leaves federal court Jan. 6 in Washington after pleading not guilty to manslaughter charges.


Former Blackwater guards plead not guilty
By Jesse J. Holland - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jan 7, 2009 17:29:10 EST

WASHINGTON — Five former Blackwater Worldwide security guards pleaded not guilty Tuesday to federal manslaughter and gun charges resulting from a 2007 shooting in a crowded Baghdad square that killed 17 Iraqi civilians and injured dozens of others.

The five — all decorated military veterans — stood silently in a line behind their lawyers as their not-guilty plea on all charges was entered in front of U.S. District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina in federal court.

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.

Saying the case was complex, Urbina set jury selection to begin Jan. 29, 2010, with opening arguments Feb. 1 for former Marines Donald Ball of West Valley City, Utah; Dustin Heard of Knoxville, Tenn.; Evan Liberty of Rochester, N.H.; and Army veterans Nick Slatten of Sparta, Tenn., and Paul Slough of Keller, Texas.

The Iraqi government has labeled the guards “criminals” and is closely watching the Blackwater case. The shooting strained diplomacy between Washington and Baghdad and fueled the anti-American insurgency in Iraq, where many Iraqis saw the bloodshed in Nisoor Square as a demonstration of American brutality and arrogance.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/01/defense_blackwater_010609/%2e