Legal and Use-of-Force-Experts Weigh in on Raven 23 Convictions: "America Should Hang Its Head in Collective Shame"

Two-and-a-half years ago, decorated veterans and experienced war-zone contractors, Dustin Heard, Evan Liberty, Nick Slatten, and Paul Slough were unjustly ripped from their families after being convicted by a Washington, D.C., civilian jury for necessary defensive actions taken in an Iraqi war zone.

In the time that has passed, our mission here at Free Raven 23 has been to explain why these convictions are unjust. In support of our mission, we have presented expert opinion (including from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers) on several legal aspects of the case. However, in all this time, we have never before had the opportunity to present detailed findings from experts regarding the use-of-force aspect of the Raven 23 case. Today, that changes.

We are proud to present an independent law review article authored by Lieutenant Colonel David G. Bolgiano (Ret.) and Lieutenant G. John Taylor (Ret.). Their article, "The Blackwater Convictions: A Twenty-First Century Dreyfus Affair," begins with the words "America should hang its head in collective shame." And it details why the authors (both legal and use-of-force experts) are "overwhelmingly convinced that the Defendants acted objectively reasonably in their use of force." This article is a must read for anyone who wants to learn more about what the authors have aptly coined the "politically motivated show trial" that was the Raven 23 prosecution.

Please help us advance the authors' "dual goals of exposing this prosecution as the politically motivated show trial it truly was and educating the reader on the ethical, legal and tactical realities of deadly force encounters" by reading AND sharing this article today. We thank the authors for taking this stand in support of true justice for Dustin, Evan, Nick, and Paul and for their efforts to prevent a similar injustice from ever happening again by educating the public about use of force.

You can read their powerful article HERE.