Ex-Blackwater Contractor Sentenced to Life For Iraq Shootings

Ex-Blackwater Contractor Sentenced to Life For Iraq Shootings
Former Blackwater Worldwide guard Nicholas Slatten enters a taxi cab as he leaves federal court in Washington, after the start of his trial on June 11, 2014. AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File
|Updated:

WASHINGTON—A former Blackwater security contractor was sentenced Wednesday, Aug. 14, to life in prison for his role in the 2007 shooting of unarmed civilians in Iraq that left 14 people dead.

Federal judge Royce Lamberth issued the sentence after a succession of friends and relatives requested leniency for Nicholas Slatten, who was found guilty of first-degree murder by a jury in December.