Trump erased the sentences of four Blackwater guards convicted over the Nisur Square killings
Trump granted full pardons to Nicholas Slatten, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty, and Dustin Heard. U.S. juries had convicted them of murder or manslaughter offenses tied to the 2007 Nisur Square shooting, where the Justice Department said 14 unarmed Iraqi civilians were killed. U.N. experts condemned the pardons as an affront to justice and contrary to U.S. obligations; that assessment was not itself an international criminal judgment.
Entities and roles
- Donald J. Trumppardon grantor
- Nicholas Abram Slattenpardon recipient convicted of first-degree murder
- Dustin Laurent Heardpardon recipient convicted of voluntary manslaughter and related offenses
- Evan Shawn Libertypardon recipient convicted of voluntary manslaughter and related offenses
- Paul Alvin Sloughpardon recipient convicted of voluntary manslaughter and related offenses
Claims and evidence
- factconvicted
The four Blackwater guards had been convicted in U.S. federal court of first-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter and related offenses arising from the Nisur Square shooting, which DOJ said killed 14 unarmed Iraqi civilians and injured 18.
- U.S. Department of Justice, District of Columbia: Four Former Blackwater Employees Found Guilty of ChargesVerdict summary and casualty accounting
- factdocumented
Trump granted full pardons to Nicholas Slatten, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty, and Dustin Heard on December 22, 2020.
- Trump White House Archives: Statement from the Press Secretary Regarding Executive Grants of ClemencyClemency entries for Slatten, Slough, Liberty, and Heard
- analysisreported
U.N. experts described the pardons as an affront to justice and said they violated U.S. obligations and contributed to impunity for the underlying conduct.
- United Nations Human Rights Council: Report of the Working Group on the use of mercenaries, A/HRC/48/51Discussion of the four December 2020 pardons and cited expert statement
Measurements
Unarmed civilians killed in underlying convicted conduct14 people killed - Basis
- Observed
- Population
- Unarmed Iraqi civilians DOJ said were killed in the September 16, 2007 Nisur Square shooting underlying the federal convictions
- Period
- 2007-09-16 to 2007-09-16
- Method
- Casualty count stated in DOJ's verdict release after trial.
- Uncertainty
- Historical harm tied to the pardoned convictions; it is not counted as a civilian-death metric caused by a Trump-directed military operation.
Pardon recipients4 people - Basis
- Observed
- Population
- Blackwater guards named in the December 22, 2020 clemency announcement for the Nisur Square case
- Period
- 2020-12-22 to 2020-12-22
- Method
- Count of named pardon recipients in the official clemency announcement.
- Uncertainty
- Complete for this single clemency action; not a count of all conflict-related pardons.