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Verdicts may be near in Blackwater case

The jury mulling the fate of four former Blackwater guards charged in connection with an alleged massacre of Iraqi civilians in 2007 has given its first sign, amid its fifth week of deliberations, that at least some verdicts could be near.

In a written question Wednesday from the foreman, the jury asked whether a charge of using a firearm in a crime of violence would apply if jurors conclude that one or more of the men committed involuntary manslaughter. The question suggests that the jury is prepared to convict at least one of the three men facing that firearms charge in conjunction with manslaughter charges.

A fourth Blackwater contractor is charged with first-degree murder but does not face the firearms charge because of a procedural quirk.

After a brief hearing Wednesday afternoon, U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth ruled in favor of the defendants and stated his plan to instruct jurors that involuntary manslaughter doesn't qualify as the kind of violent crime that triggers the weapons enhancement. Jurors are likely unaware of it, but the weapons charge carries a 30-year mandatory minimum sentence.

Prosecutor Paul Martin had asked Lamberth to insert the phrase "or involuntary manslaughter" into the list of charges that could allow the firearms count.

"We aren't asking for much more than three words and a comma," Martin told Lamberth, provoking laughter from defense attorneys because of the dramatic difference in prison time such an adjustment could mean.

Defense lawyers cited cases from various parts of the country holding that crimes like vehicular homicide, assault and drunken driving are not considered crimes of violence even though they can result in injury to a person.

Opening arguments in the case took place in June, nearly seven years after the shootings that left 17 people dead and a score or more injured. Closing arguments came at the end of August.