WASHINGTON (AP) – The summer-long trial of four Blackwater security guards in the shootings of more than 30 Iraqis has been a grim retelling of lives snuffed out and the daily life-and-death decisions amid the chaos of war.
Wrapping up almost 6,200 miles from Baghdad, the trial is the best hope the survivors and the families of the victims have for accountability for the violence at Nisoor Square on Sept. 16, 2007. After 10 weeks of arguments and testimony, the case goes to the jury Tuesday.
One of the guards, Nicholas Slatten, faces up to life imprisonment if convicted of first-degree murder. The other three – Paul Slough, Dustin Heard and Evan Liberty – face mandatory minimum sentences of 30 years in prison each if convicted on a gun charge and one other felony.
In the seven years of legal proceeding it took to get the case to trial, the world has largely moved on. But for federal prosecutors seeking prison terms – and for the accused and their defense lawyers looking for the jury’s understanding – the case comes down to a question of justice.
To drive home the horror of permanently disabling gunshot wounds, prosecutors had one Iraqi witness partially disrobe to show his injuries to the jury of eight women and four men. The 12-person panel includes a few military veterans and government employees.