Raven 23: Presumption of Guilt

How did four highly decorated American soldiers become prisoners of war in their own country? This series re-examines the US Department of Justice’s controversial prosecution following a gun battle in Baghdad between Iraqi insurgents and military contractors. Why did the DOJ hold multiple trials for over a decade? Was the DOJ seeking justice? Or playing politics?

All Episodes

Raven 23: Presumption of Guilt

Breaking the Code

June 30, 2020 • Think Again • Season 1 • Episode 9

Gina and Mike examine the US government’s machinations to overcome the shortcomings of the investigation.

Witness accounts begin shifting as US prosecutors pressure witnesses to bring the case to trial in response to mounting political pressure in Iraq.

Prosecutors convene a grand jury to try to make manslaughter charges stick against Dustin Heard, Evan Liberty, Paul Slough and Nick Slatten. Their star witness is Raven 23 team member Jeremy Ridgeway, who recants his statement that the convoy took incoming fire after prosecutors threaten him.

Heard, Liberty, Slatten and Slough describe increasingly aggressive tactics by FBI agents and prosecutors to try to force them into guilty pleas.

Less than a day after Judge Urbina kills the case, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton queries her legal advisor, Harold Koh: “What can we do about Judge Urbina’s ruling?”

FOR MORE:

WIKILEAKS
Hillary Clinton Email Archive -- Blackwater case
https://wikileaks.org/clinton-emails/emailid/680

ABC NEWS
Jeremy Ridgeway pleads guilty in secret deal.
https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/FedCrimes/story?id=6417440&page=1

Support the show