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Blackwater guard's murder conviction tossed; mandatory sentences for three others unconstitutional

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A federal appeals court has ordered a new trial for a Blackwater security guard convicted of murder in the slaying of 14 unarmed Iraqi civilians in 2007.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit overturned the conviction of Nicholas Slatten, finding the trial court had abused its discretion when it refused to allow him to be tried separately from three other guards. Reuters, BuzzFeed News and the Washington Post have reports on the opinion (PDF), issued Friday.

The appeals court, in a 2-1 decision, also found that the mandatory 30-year sentences for the other three guards violated the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. A judge dissenting on that issue said the Eighth Amendment challenge “lacks any merit whatsoever.”

Evan Liberty, Paul Slough and Dustin Heard had been found guilty of manslaughter, attempted manslaughter and firearm charges.

None of the three defendants had prior convictions, the appeals court noted. “Although the government is free to impose harsh, mandatory penalties for first-time offenders,” the court said, “a regime of strict liability resulting in draconian punishment is usually reserved for hardened criminals.”

Prosecutors had contended that Slatten fired the first shots; at a new trial Slatten will be able to introduce alleged statements by a co-defendant after the attack that he, rather than Slatten, fired the first shot. The statements are admissible under an exception to the hearsay rule, the appeals court said.