Four Blackwater contractors involved in a 2007 Baghdad shooting incident that left 17 Iraqis dead, including a 9-year-old boy, and 20 wounded were sentenced to prison today. They were convicted in a U.S. federal court last fall after years of legal battles. One got life for murder; three others got 30 years each for manslaughter.
The incident remains highly controversial, partly because of confusion and differing accounts about what happened. The contractors claimed their convoy came under fire and they believed they were fighting insurgents. But other Blackwater guards said, and FBI investigators concluded, the shootings were unjustified. The incident provoked international outrage and resulted in Blackwater being kicked out of Iraq for a time.
Blackwater eventually paid a settlement to some of the Iraqi families. The company still exists but no longer operates under that name. It has been rebranded as “Academi” and has different ownership and management now. 