outstanding, looks like we might just get a good start to the new year.
Well said and I agree for the majority. I feel that these certain people knew exactly what happened they should come forth and tell the true story. Either they didnât do anything wrong and should stop being harassed over it, or they did something terrible and should receive the strong arm of the law for it. Letâs just hope theyâre keeping their mouths shut because the guys didnât do anything bad. But typically you keep your mouth shut for the opposite reason and I think everyone can see that.
Do you have a link to read a synopsis of the event? News places are just slanting it so you donât even know if they were being shot at.
donald ball was in the same company as me in the marine corps. he was in weapons plt, while i was in 3rd plt. he never seemed like an evil guy. when i first heard about this, i didnt believe it. i didnt know him that well, but when my buddy told me about this i didnt really buy it. i had a feeling something was up. im glad hes not going to prison or anything.
Same here Dude⌠same here.
I was referring mainly to folks who frequent forums who probably have heard all sorts of rumors about what happenedâŚnot the defendants themselves. Frankly in their shoes I wouldnât say a damn thing because anything you say can and will be used to crucify you. The story has built in legs because people like to believe that the guys working these contracts are bloodthirsty mercenaries who get their rocks off by killing people. Here we know better than that.
I heard an interview with that assclown Scahill that made me want to tear the ears off his head where he spoke as if he knew what happened at Nisoor and blamed it on Eric Prince because of a culture he created that referred to Iraqis as a âracist termâ (Hadji) and where people âbraggedâ about their âkillsâ (After, of course, accusing Prince of murder to keep certain people from testifying)âŚand heâs the âBlackwater expertâ the media turns to frequently. So you arenât going to get a fair shake out of them.
Thank GOD
Good.
Very. VeryâŚGood.
From the little bit I know of this situation I would say this is cause for celebration.
If anyone knows these guys buy them a round for me.
Great news!
I donât know much about the underlying facts, but they got off on what most people would call a technicality. The charges werenât dismissed because the court found that they did nothing wrong. This decision was a slap against the government improperly using immunized statements, not a vindication of the contractorsâ actions.
Again, I have no idea whether they did or did not commit any wrongs here - but the court didnât decide that.
I just finished reading the article in the LA Times, I hope the feds take their time reading the opinion of the judge and let it stay with this as the final decision.
Good luck to Blackwater.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/la-na-blackwater1-2010jan01,0,1469598.story
If the US Attorney wants to continue the prosecution, heâs going to have to find new and different charges. US Attorneys are good at this.
Judge Ricardo Urbina today dismissed all charges against the five Blackwater defendants with prejudice. Here is the opinion. The dismissal was based on the Governmentâs multiple violations of Kastigar v. United States through its improper use of compelled statements and admissions (under Garrity v. New Jersey) made by the defendants to State Department investigators.
ADDED: Someone doesnât want this publicly aired. US Attorneys arenât this dumb.
Yup.
âŚand I doubt the feds will let it go at that.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/01/us/01blackwater.html?pagewanted=2 :
"The judge also criticized prosecutors for withholding âsubstantial exculpatory evidenceâ from the grand jury that indicted the defendants, as well as for presenting âdistorted versionsâ of witnessesâ testimony and improperly telling the grand jury that some incriminating statements had been made by the defendants but were being withheld. "
Withholding information from the Grand Jury isnât what most would consider a technicality. Would they have no billed it had the GJ gotten the information that the AUSA withheld?
Well, I for one do not want to see this end right here. This is essentially stating that private contractors are allowed to get away with murder. One of them pled guilty, investigations say the killings were unprovoked, and these guys arenât in prison?
Unless people come forth and tell the truth about what happened, everything still points to them being responsible for the deaths of those civilians.
No.
This decision is stating that the government cannot require you to give a statement, then use that statement to prosecute you.
Do some Goggling with the word âGarrityâ in it.
I would also encourage you to do some searches regarding âMarine Hadithaâ, if you believe that every investigation the government does is accurate and complete.
No, itâs stating that prosecutorial misconduct can kill a case before it even begins. Whether the .gov lets it end here or pushes forward remains to be seen. Given that the current Administration is so sensitive to international opinion, there will be motivation to reopen the case. After all, âAmerican mercenaries free after American judge says American prosecutors make mistakeâ is going to sound like a whitewash beyond our borders.
One of them pled guilty
Sucks to be him at this point.
investigations say the killings were unprovoked, and these guys arenât in prison?
Itâs called the Fifth Amendment. This has absolutely nothing to do with guilt or innocence.
Unless people come forth and tell the truth about what happened, everything still points to them being responsible for the deaths of those civilians.
Maybe Iâm misreading this. It sounds like youâre saying âunless they prove theyâre innocent, theyâre guilty.â Someone was out sick the day they taught civics in Civics Class.
Todd you were nicer about it than I would have been.
Volucris, we have agreed on other thread but I must say that I feel you are way off base here. it is easy to armchair QB from our safe warm homes. We were not there. We were not under fire.
Did civilians die? Possibly, maybe even probably. But we are talking about a hostile are where these men have to constantly be on their guard. These guys didnât just walk up and start opening fire on anything that moved.
Yes, he didâŚto get reduced jailtime. He could have been the only guy there that day who did anything wrong.
âŚor he could have simply cracked at the prospect of the entire weight of the United States Federal Government coming down on him like the fist of an angry God. He may have thought that he was screwed no matter what and tried to cut a deal to keep himself from being crushed.
Thatâs how plea deals work.
investigations say the killings were unprovoked, and these guys arenât in prison?
Do you have the details of that investigation handy? Somehow I doubt it. My point made earlier was that details on this incident are noticeably scarce
. There are some rumors and some inuendo, but no hard facts floating around out there that give anyone not familiar with the intimate details of the situation sufficient cause to pronounce the accused guilty.
Unless people come forth and tell the truth about what happened
How do you know they havenât? Youâre assuming that the government here is on the side of the angels. What if they arenât?
, everything still points to them being responsible for the deaths of those civilians.
Again, what âeverythingâ do you have that none of the rest of us do? Iâve already stated pretty clearly that media reports are notoriously unreliable.
I am glad the judge stood up to the government and insured these menâs rights were not trampled on.
Unfortunately they are not going to be able to walk away from this just yet. The Iraquis are going to sue them and the current administration will probably not just drop the issue.