Bravo to the judge for an excellent decision. In my opinion, the case the prosecution had against these guys sucked from day one and they overstepped their bounds totally. This is a war and these guys did the best they could in a bad situation. No one in this industry wakes up one day, and decides they want to purposely kill civilians while in the middle of being ambushed. –Matt
Edit: 01/01/2010 – Blackfive had a great post about this whole deal, and has been covering it pretty close over the years. There is also a pretty happy response on the forums, here, here, and here.
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Judge Dismisses All Charges Against Blackwater Guards in Baghdad Shooting
December 31, 2009
A U.S. judge has dismissed all charges against five Blackwater Worldwide security guards charged in a deadly Baghdad shooting.
WASHINGTON — A U.S. judge has dismissed all charges against five Blackwater Worldwide security guards charged in a deadly Baghdad shooting.
U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina said Thursday the Justice Department overstepped its bounds and wrongly used evidence it was not allowed to see. He said the government’s explanations have been contradictory and unbelievable.
Blackwater contractors were hired to guard State Department diplomats in Iraq. Prosecutors say the guards fired on unarmed civilians in a busy intersection in 2007, killing innocent people.
After the shooting, the guards gave statements to State Department investigators. Prosecutors were not allowed to use those statements in the case.
Story here.