Slatten, a 33-year-old contractor from Tennessee who was the sniper on a team protecting state department officials, is serving a life sentence. During his trial, prosecutors said he saw killing Iraqis as “payback for 9/11”. The Washington appeals panel also ordered new sentences for Slough, Liberty and Heard, who were found guilty of 13 charges of voluntary manslaughter and 17 charges of attempted manslaughter and sentenced to 30 years each. The government described the killings as a one-sided ambush of unarmed civilians, while the defense said the guards had opened fire only after a white Kia sedan seen as a potential car bomb began moving quickly toward their convoy. Blackwater, which is based in North Carolina, is now known as Academi, having previously been sold and renamed as Xe Services.

Source: The Guardian August 04, 2017 19:30 UTC