Murder conviction in Blackwater case thrown out, other sentences overturned

By Spencer S. Hsu
WASHINGTON – A U.S. appeals court on Friday threw out the first-degree murder conviction of a former Blackwater Worldwide security guard sentenced to life in prison in the killings of 14 unarmed Iraqi civilians in a Baghdad traffic circle in 2007.
The court also ordered resentencings for three others convicted in the case.
The September 2007 shootings fomented deep resentments about the accountability of American security forces during one of the bloodiest periods of the