U.S. court upends murder conviction of Blackwater contractor
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
08/04/2017 02:38 PM EDT
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court has overturned the first-degree murder conviction of a former Blackwater security contractor. The court has ordered a new trial for the man who prosecutors said fired the first shots in the 2007 slayings of 14 Iraqi civilians at a crowded traffic circle in Baghdad.
In a split opinion, the three-judge panel in Washington ruled Friday the trial court erred in 2014 by not allowing Nicholas Slatten to be tried separately from his three co-defendants. The 33-year-old contractor from Tennessee is serving a life sentence. The slayings strained international relations and drew scrutiny of American contractors' role in the Iraq War.
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http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/04/blackwater-contractor-conviction-overturned-241333
