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Jury: Ex-Blackwater contractors guilty in 'outrageous' Nusoor Square shooting

danarhea

danarhea

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(CNN) -- After marathon deliberations, a federal jury found four ex-Blackwater Worldwide contractors guilty Wednesday in a deadly 2007 mass shooting in Baghdad's Nusoor Square.
Nicholas Slatten, 30, of Sparta, Tennessee, the team's sniper, was found guilty of first-degree murder while armed in the slaying of the river of a white Kia sedan in the Baghdad traffic circle. Prosecutors said Slatten kicked off the incident when he opened fire.

The other verdicts:

-- Paul Slough, 35, of Keller, Texas, was found guilty of 13 counts of voluntary manslaughter, 17 counts of attempted manslaughter and one firearms offense;

-- Evan Liberty, 32, of Rochester, New Hampshire, was found guilty of eight counts of voluntary manslaughter, 12 counts of attempted manslaughter and one firearms offense;

-- Dustin Heard, 33, of Maryville, Tennessee, was found guilty of six counts of voluntary manslaughter, 11 counts of attempted manslaughter and one firearms offense.
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At least, when Americans murder women and children, there is an American judicial system that will make them pay for their heinous crimes. Let the title of "baby killers" rest with ISIS, who truly deserve the name. Americans hold themselves to a higher standard, and woe to those who violate it. Excellent verdict. :)

Article is here.
 
danarhea said:
At least, when Americans murder women and children, there is an American judicial system that will make them pay for their heinous crimes. Let the title of "baby killers" rest with ISIS, who truly deserve the name. Americans hold themselves to a higher standard, and woe to those who violate it. Excellent verdict. :)

Article is here.
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It would be interesting to know the political leanings of the jury.
 
lifeisshort said:
It would be interesting to know the political leanings of the jury.
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Are you kidding me? Seriously?? Who gives a rat's ass about the politics? These animals coldbloodedly murdered unarmed women and children. I would like to believe that wanting justice in this case crosses ideological and party lines, but alas, I was wrong, at least in your case.
 
danarhea said:
Are you kidding me? Seriously?? Who gives a rat's ass about the politics? These animals coldbloodedly murdered unarmed women and children. I would like to believe that wanting justice in this case crosses ideological and party lines, but alas, I was wrong, at least in your case.
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So you were there and know this for a fact? Seems to me you had your mind made up when you first heard about this. I am reticent to believe these guys would do this but I am not privy to all the info the jury heard. If however they were like you and were anti Blackwater in particular and anti US being in Iraq from the start and liberal at heart then these guys didn't get a fair trial. That is why I would like the inside info on the jury.
 
lifeisshort said:
So you were there and know this for a fact? Seems to me you had your mind made up when you first heard about this. I am reticent to believe these guys would do this but I am not privy to all the info the jury heard. If however they were like you and were anti Blackwater in particular and anti US being in Iraq from the start and liberal at heart then these guys didn't get a fair trial. That is why I would like the inside info on the jury.
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That's right. You were NOT there. The jury heard the evidence and handed down their verdict. And it was already a demonstrated fact that those who were shot in cold blood had no weapons. But wait, maybe that 9 year old girl could have been hiding something, right? Jeez, this conversation is getting disgusting. I'm done.
 
danarhea said:
That's right. You were NOT there. The jury heard the evidence and handed down their verdict. And it was already a demonstrated fact that those who were shot in cold blood had no weapons. But wait, maybe that 9 year old girl could have been hiding something, right? Jeez, this conversation is getting disgusting. I'm done.
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That black kid in Ferguson had no weapon either but as the facts come out it appears to be a good shooting. Are you as quick to assume the cop is a murderer as you are these Blackwater guys? In Viet Nam there were many similar incidents where you couldn't tell who was firing and where it was coming from so innocents suffered. It is called war.
 
lifeisshort said:
That black kid in Ferguson had no weapon either but as the facts come out it appears to be a good shooting. Are you as quick to assume the cop is a murderer as you are these Blackwater guys? In Viet Nam there were many similar incidents where you couldn't tell who was firing and where it was coming from so innocents suffered. It is called war.
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War has it's limits. Since you brought up Viet Nam, let me bring up Lt. Calley, who ordered the murder of unarmed women and children at My Lai. The military courtmarshalled his ass, and Calley was convicted. Here's the deal. War might be hell, but the American way is to punish those who commit atrocities and genocide against unarmed civilians. Lt. Calley was not fit to wear the uniform. By the same token, the mercenaries who committed the atrocities in Iraq had no business being over there, and thank god, they were not in uniform, representing the US military. They are a disgrace to everything that is decent about our country.

BTW, why don't you now tell us all about how the political leanings of our soldiers who sat on the jury that convicted Lt. Calley were the reason for his guilty verdict.

Jeez............
 
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lifeisshort said:
It would be interesting to know the political leanings of the jury.
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I would like to see the evidence and find out how many of the jurors are combat veterans. It's supposed to be a jury of their peers, afterall.
 
lifeisshort said:
So you were there and know this for a fact? Seems to me you had your mind made up when you first heard about this. I am reticent to believe these guys would do this but I am not privy to all the info the jury heard. If however they were like you and were anti Blackwater in particular and anti US being in Iraq from the start and liberal at heart then these guys didn't get a fair trial. That is why I would like the inside info on the jury.
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Do you have an understanding of how the jury selection process goes? If there were significantly "anti-blackwater" and "anti-US" then that's the fault of these gentleman's laywers doing a ****ty job in selecting the jury.
 
danarhea said:
War has it's limits. Since you brought up Viet Nam, let me bring up Lt. Calley, who ordered the murder of unarmed women and children at My Lai. The military court marshalled his ass, and Calley was convicted. Here's the deal. War might be hell, but the American way is to punish those who commit atrocities and genocide against unarmed civilians. Lt. Calley was not fit to wear the uniform. By the same token, the mercenaries who committed the atrocities in Iraq had no business being over there, and thank god, they were not in uniform, representing the US military.

BTW, why don't you now tell us all about how the political leanings of our soldiers who sat on the jury that convicted Lt. Calley affected his guilty verdict.

Jeez............
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The military is subject to the UCMJ, because soldiers have a right to be judged by a jury of their peers. Civilians can't define where the line lies, nor when it has been crossed.

There are examples in every war of excesses. The political climate of the period defines what is a war crime and what isn't, which is very wrong and unjust. That's why charging someone with murder, especially 1st degree murder, in a war is as stupid as handing out speeding tickets at The Daytona 500.
 
lifeisshort said:
That black kid in Ferguson had no weapon either but as the facts come out it appears to be a good shooting. Are you as quick to assume the cop is a murderer as you are these Blackwater guys?
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You realize there is a GIGANTIC difference between a situation not even a year old that hasn't even reached the point of potentially going to trial.....and a multi-year old case that has been investigated and tried, right?

If coming to a conclussion on in 2014 about something from SEVEN YEARS AGO is a "quick" decision to you then god help you if you ever decide to actually take your time thinking a situation over.
 
danarhea said:
War has it's limits. Since you brought up Viet Nam, let me bring up Lt. Calley, who ordered the murder of unarmed women and children at My Lai. The military courtmarshalled his ass, and Calley was convicted. Here's the deal. War might be hell, but the American way is to punish those who commit atrocities and genocide against unarmed civilians. Lt. Calley was not fit to wear the uniform. By the same token, the mercenaries who committed the atrocities in Iraq had no business being over there, and thank god, they were not in uniform, representing the US military. They are a disgrace to everything that is decent about our country.

BTW, why don't you now tell us all about how the political leanings of our soldiers who sat on the jury that convicted Lt. Calley were the reason for his guilty verdict.

Jeez............
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As I said you had these Blackwater guys convicted in your mind from the beginning and your comparing them to the Lai massacre proves that. The Blackwater incident resembles that in no way because it was never proven or even alleged that orders were given ahead of time to massacre civilians. Now back to reality. In urban warfare with lots of civilians on scene there is bound to be civilian casualties if our troops come under attack and that in no way compares to Lai. The question I posed about the makeup of the jury is proven even more valid by your continued response to this subject and I hope the facts come out as they did in the OJ trial.
 
Zyphlin said:
You realize there is a GIGANTIC difference between a situation not even a year old that hasn't even reached the point of potentially going to trial.....and a multi-year old case that has been investigated and tried, right?

If coming to a conclussion on in 2014 about something from SEVEN YEARS AGO is a "quick" decision to you then god help you if you ever decide to actually take your time thinking a situation over.
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Why did you put quotes around "quick" decision? If you feel the need to put words in my mouth to make your case then you have a weak case.


If coming to a conclussion on in 2014 about something from SEVEN YEARS AGO is a "quick" decision to you then god help you if you ever decide to actually take your time thinking a situation over.
 
apdst said:
I would like to see the evidence and find out how many of the jurors are combat veterans. It's supposed to be a jury of their peers, afterall.
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I'd like to know how many of the convicted Black Water guys are combat veterans.
 
Zyphlin said:
Do you have an understanding of how the jury selection process goes? If there were significantly "anti-blackwater" and "anti-US" then that's the fault of these gentleman's laywers doing a ****ty job in selecting the jury.
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Ever hear of the OJ trial? How did THAT jury get seated?
 
lifeisshort said:
So you were there and know this for a fact? Seems to me you had your mind made up when you first heard about this. I am reticent to believe these guys would do this but I am not privy to all the info the jury heard. If however they were like you and were anti Blackwater in particular and anti US being in Iraq from the start and liberal at heart then these guys didn't get a fair trial. That is why I would like the inside info on the jury.
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You can be anti-mercenary (because that is what these morons are) and still be pro US being in Iraq.

All those contractor companies were evil from the start, looking for profit, no loyalty whatsoever to the US. Let companies hire those crooks, not the military.

Iraq for Sale: War Profiteers, watch it some time. There are some ex-mercenaries there giving their perspective on the ****tiness of the companies.
 
lifeisshort said:
Why did you put quotes around "quick" decision? If you feel the need to put words in my mouth to make your case then you have a weak case.
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Because I was referencing your specific use of "quick" in talking about how "quick to assume" you accused him of being that "these blackwater guys" were murderers.
 
apdst said:
The military is subject to the UCMJ, because soldiers have a right to be judged by a jury of their peers. Civilians can't define where the line lies, nor when it has been crossed.

There are examples in every war of excesses. The political climate of the period defines what is a war crime and what isn't, which is very wrong and unjust. That's why charging someone with murder, especially 1st degree murder, in a war is as stupid as handing out speeding tickets at The Daytona 500.
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These Blackwater mercenaries were NOT members of the US military. They were paid civilian mercenaries. Therefore they do not have the right to have a jury composed of military servicemen, since military servicemen are NOT their peers, thank God.
 
Luftwaffe said:
You can be anti-mercenary (because that is what these morons are) and still be pro US being in Iraq.

All those contractor companies were evil from the start, looking for profit, no loyalty whatsoever to the US. Let companies hire those crooks, not the military.

Iraq for Sale: War Profiteers, watch it some time. There are some ex-mercenaries there giving their perspective on the ****tiness of the companies.
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Fine but that is a good question. Were anti mercenaries on the jury?
 
Zyphlin said:
Because I was referencing your specific use of "quick" in talking about how "quick to assume" you accused him of being that "these blackwater guys" were murderers.
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If you don't put quotes around words I never said we can have a better conversation, thank you.
 
lifeisshort said:
As I said you had these Blackwater guys convicted in your mind from the beginning
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Dana's been here since 2007...do you have evidence to back this claim up? Or are you proclaiming to be a mind reader? Or are you just guessing and stating an opinion and acting like it's fact because of your overly inflated value you place on your own opinion?

It would be absolutely accurate if you wanted to say that Dana is baised and negative towards mercenary forces used in a war zone...that is actually verifiable based on his past statements. But I've seen nothing of him articulating that he believed these gentleman to be guilty any time prior to the post in question that occured AFTER they were found guilty.
 
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