utbagpiper
Banned
From an AP article posted today SLC's KSL TV station. The US Court of Appeals for DC has overturned the murder conviction of one of the four contractors convicted in the 2007 incident in Baghdad. The court ruled that the one contractor was entitled to have been tried separately from his three co-defendants.
But this is the most interesting part, I think:
The court also ordered new sentences for the three other contractors, .... They were each found guilty of manslaughter and firearms charges carrying mandatory 30-year terms.
The judges determined those sentences violated the constitutional prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment because prosecutors charged them with using military firearms while committing another felony. That statute, typically employed against gang members or bank robbers, had never before been used against overseas security contractors working for the U.S. government.
So, if you are a civilian employed by the US government, and commit a crime with the very firearms necessary to do the job for which you were hired, you may well be charged with "using military firearms while committing another felony."
This maybe should give pause to any peace officer when it comes to committing any crime with any of his department issued firearms that are not available to the general public.
But this is the most interesting part, I think:
The court also ordered new sentences for the three other contractors, .... They were each found guilty of manslaughter and firearms charges carrying mandatory 30-year terms.
The judges determined those sentences violated the constitutional prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment because prosecutors charged them with using military firearms while committing another felony. That statute, typically employed against gang members or bank robbers, had never before been used against overseas security contractors working for the U.S. government.
So, if you are a civilian employed by the US government, and commit a crime with the very firearms necessary to do the job for which you were hired, you may well be charged with "using military firearms while committing another felony."
This maybe should give pause to any peace officer when it comes to committing any crime with any of his department issued firearms that are not available to the general public.
