New York Times: Ex-Blackwater Guards Given Long Terms for Killing Iraqis
WASHINGTON — One by one, four former Blackwater security contractors wearing blue jumpsuits and leg irons stood before a federal judge on Monday and spoke publicly for the first time since a deadly 2007 shooting in Iraq.
The men had been among several private American security guards who fired into Baghdad’s crowded Nisour Square on Sept. 16, 2007, and last October they were convicted of killing 14 unarmed Iraqis in what prosecutors called a wartime atrocity. Yet on Monday, as they awaited sentences that they knew would send them to prison for most if not all of their lives, they defiantly asserted their innocence.
“I know for a fact that I will be exonerated, in this life and the next,” said Paul A. Slough.
“I am very sorry for the loss of life,” Dustin L. Heard said. “But I cannot say in all honesty to the court that I believe I did anything wrong.”
“As God is my witness,” Evan S. Liberty said, he fired only at insurgents who were shooting at him.
More News On Ex-Blackwater Guards Being Given Long Term Prison Sentences For 2007 Iraq Killings
One Blackwater Guard Gets Life, 3 Others Get 30 Years in Iraq Shooting -- Military.com/AP
Four Blackwater guards sentenced in Iraq shootings of 31 unarmed civilians -- Washington Post
Ex-Blackwater guards plan appeal after judge hands down sentences in Iraq shooting deaths -- AP
US guards sentenced to prison for 2007 Iraq killings -- France 24
Four US Blackwater guards are jailed for the deaths of 14 Iraqi civilians -- Euronews
Ex-Blackwater contractors sentenced in Nusoor Square shooting in Iraq -- CNN
Blackwater contractors sentenced for death of 14 Iraqis -- The Hill
US Blackwater guards jailed for Iraq deaths -- BBC
Former Blackwater guards sentenced for massacre of unarmed Iraqi civilians -- The Guardian
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