Federal jury returns guilty verdict for Blackwater security guards News
Federal jury returns guilty verdict for Blackwater security guards

[JURIST] A federal jury in the US District Court for the District of Columbia [official website] returned a guilty verdict on Wednesday for four ex-Blackwater security guards, now Academi [official website], who shot and killed 14 Iraqis and wounded 17 in a 2007 shooting in Baghdad. Nicholas Slatten was found guilty [NPR report] of first-degree murder, and three others were found guilty of multiple counts of voluntary manslaughter, attempted manslaughter and gun violations: Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard. The men were serving as private contractors, hired to protect members of the US Department of State (DOS) [official website], when they fired into a group of people [NYT report] in a crowded intersection in Baghdad’s Nisour Square. Counsel for the men claimed self-defense [AP report] and argued the men were fired on by insurgents and Iraqi police before opening fire themselves. The federal prosecution argued the men showed a grave indifference to the consequence of their actions and the shooting was not provoked. More than a dozen Iraqis were scheduled to offer testimony [NYT report] in the 11-week trial, which was dismissed [JURIST report] by the DC District Court in 2010. The trial has raised a number of legal issues, including federal jurisdiction over contractors working for the DOS, and Wednesday’s ruling is expected to face a number of appeals in the upcoming months and years.

Blackwater [JURIST news archive] and its employees have faced legal controversy in recent years for activities in the Iraqi war. In August 2012 Blackwater agreed to settle [JURIST report] federal criminal charges dealing with export and firearm violations. Also in 2012 Blackwater reached a confidential settlement agreement [JURIST report] with survivors and families of victims in the 2007 shooting incident. In 2011 two former Blackwater contractors were convicted of involuntary manslaughter [JURIST report] in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia for their role in the May 2009 shooting deaths of two Afghan nationals. Blackwater ceased operations in Baghdad [JURIST report] in May 2009 when its security contracts expired and were not renewed.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Laws of Burgos put into effect

The Spanish Crown put the Laws of Burgos into effect on December 27, 1512. These laws governed the relationship of Spanish settlers with the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean. The laws established the encomienda system of labor, promoted conversion to Catholicism, and safeguarded the indigenous peoples from physical abuse.  However, historians argue that the laws were ineffective at protecting the rights of the indigenous population. Learn more from the Library of Congress.

Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public bar smashing

On December 27, 1900, militant Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public smashing of a bar, at the Carey Hotel in Wichita, Kansas. Nation argued that destroying bars was an acceptable means of battling the liquor trade since the Kansas Constitution prohibited alcohol. Learn more about Carrie Nation.

World Bank created

On December 27, 1944, the World Bank was created during the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, USA. Learn more about the history of the World Bank.