4 Blackwater guards sentenced

Mary Bruno

Mary Bruno Jun 30, 2025

Feb 6, 2018

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                <h1>4 Blackwater guards sentenced</h1>
                <h2><p>The former Blackwater Worldwide guards killed 14 unarmed Iraqi civilians at a Baghdad traffic circle in 2007. In the aftermath, Blackwater came to represent the unaccountable abuse of power by U.S. forces. The Washington Post reports that Nicholas A. Slatten, 31, received a life sentence for firing the shots</p></h2>
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               <p>By <a href="/author/mary-bruno-crosscut-com/">Mary Bruno</a></p> 
              <p><time datetime="2025-02-04T05:00:00-08:00">Feb 6, 2018</time></p>
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            <p>The former Blackwater Worldwide guards killed 14 unarmed Iraqi civilians at a Baghdad traffic circle in 2007. In the aftermath, Blackwater came to represent the unaccountable abuse of power by U.S. forces. The Washington Post <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/four-blackwater-guards-sentenced-in-iraq-shootings-of-31-unarmed-civilians/2015/04/13/55b777e0-dee4-11e4-be40-566e2653afe5_story.html?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_wonk&ref=dev.cascadepbs.org">reports</a> that Nicholas A. Slatten, 31, received a life sentence for firing the shots that started the massacre. The three other defendants — Paul A. Slough, 35; Evan S. Liberty, 32; and Dustin L. Heard, 33 — will serve 30-year sentences for manslaughter and attempted manslaughter. The guards insist they acted in self-defense.</p>
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The former Blackwater Worldwide guards killed 14 unarmed Iraqi civilians at a Baghdad traffic circle in 2007. In the aftermath, Blackwater came to represent the unaccountable abuse of power by U.S. forces. The Washington Post reports that Nicholas A. Slatten, 31, received a life sentence for firing the shots that started the massacre. The three other defendants — Paul A. Slough, 35; Evan S. Liberty, 32; and Dustin L. Heard, 33 — will serve 30-year sentences for manslaughter and attempted manslaughter. The guards insist they acted in self-defense.

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By Mary Bruno

Mary was Crosscut's Editor-in-Chief and Interim Publisher. In more than 25 years as a journalist, she has worked as a writer, editor and editorial director for a variety of print and web publications,