An appeals court vacated the first-degree murder conviction of a Blackwater guard and ordered a new trial on Friday.
Nicholas Slatten was charged with being involved in the 2007 incident where private security contractors working for the US government opened fire in Baghdad and left more than a dozen Iraqi civilians dead and others wounded. An appeals court on Friday ruled that he should have been tried separately from the other contractors involved.
“The Court concludes that the district court abused its discretion in denying Slatten’s motion to sever his trial from that of his co-defendants and therefore vacates his conviction and remands for a new trial,” the opinion states.
The court also called for the resentencing of the other Blackwater guards, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard.
All of the men have have been challenging their cases for years.
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