Jurors’ Note Hints at Conviction in Blackwater Case

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/02/us/blackwater-iraq-shooting-trial-manslaughter.html

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WASHINGTON — Jurors who have for weeks been deliberating in the murder and manslaughter case against four former Blackwater Worldwide security contractors passed a note to the judge on Wednesday that suggested they were leaning toward conviction on at least some counts.

The trial revolves around a 2007 shooting in Baghdad’s Nisour Square, where a team of Blackwater contractors fired into a crowded intersection, killing several unarmed civilians. The contractors say they were ambushed and that the deaths were an unfortunate consequence of urban warfare.

The defendants are four former Blackwater guards. Dustin L. Heard, Evan S. Liberty and Paul A. Slough face charges of manslaughter and of using a firearm to commit a crime. Nicholas A. Slatten, who the government said fired the first shots, was charged with murder after prosecutors missed a deadline and let the statute of limitations expire for all other charges.

A fifth guard, Jeremy P. Ridgeway, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and became a crucial witness against his former colleagues.

In their note, jurors asked whether the firearm charge applies to defendants convicted of involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors are seeking convictions for voluntary manslaughter. The note suggests that, at least for some of the counts, jurors are leaning toward convicting, but for the lesser charge.

Manslaughter carries a sentence of up to 15 years per count, or up to eight years for involuntary manslaughter.

Jurors began deliberating on Sept. 2 and have offered no hint until now about their discussions.