Blackwater Guards Charged With Manslaughter

By Harry Kimball, Newser Staff

Posted Dec 8, 2008 12:18 PM CST

(Newser) – Five former Blackwater guards involved in a 2007 shooting that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead turned themselves in today and were charged with voluntary manslaughter, attempted manslaughter, and using firearms in the commission of a crime, CNN reports. The men, all in their 20s, were arraigned in Salt Lake City and face hundreds of years in potential sentences on the charges in the 35-count federal indictments.

Defense attorneys are expected to challenge the Justice Department's jurisdiction—at issue because Blackwater was working for the State Department, not the military—and to push for a change of venue from Washington. An FBI investigation determined that the shootings were unprovoked, and the Iraqi government ruled the killings "premeditated murder."

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Blackwater Worldwide security guard Evan Liberty today in Utah. (AP Photo)

Blackwater Worldwide security guard Donald Ball, left, and his attorney, Steven McCool, arrive at federal court to surrender in Salt Lake City today. (AP Photo)

Plainclothes contractors working for Blackwater USA take part in a firefight in Iraq. (AP Photo)

An Iraqi traffic policeman inspects a car destroyed by a Blackwater security detail in al-Nisoor Square in Baghdad, Iraq last year. (AP Photo)

Blackwater Worldwide security guard Dustin Heard, left, arrives with his attorney, David Schertler. (AP Photo)

Blackwater Worldwide security guard Nick Slatten, left, listens to his attorney, Thomas Connolly, in Utah. (AP Photo)

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Mr. Ball will be charged with firearms offenses that carry mandatory penalties of up to life imprisonment. It would be outrageous to charge my client with offenses relating to guns issued by the State Department. - Steve McCool, attorney for Donald Ball

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