Five former Blackwater security guards surrendered to federal authorities today in Utah “over charges stemming from the 2007 shootings in Baghdad that killed 17 Iraqis.” Subsequently, the Justice Department unsealed a 35-count indictment charging the five former security guards “with voluntary manslaughter, attempt to commit manslaughter, and weapons violations.” From the Justice Department press release:
If convicted of the charges against them, the defendants face a potential maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment for each count of manslaughter, seven years of imprisonment for each count of attempt to commit manslaughter, and a mandatory minimum imprisonment of 30 years for the firearms count.
The charges represent the “first prosecution under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA) to be filed against non-Defense Department private contractors.” A sixth guard “admitted in a plea deal to killing at least one Iraqi in the shooting.”
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