Washington ( CNN ) One former employee of the private Blackwater Worldwide security company was sentenced Monday to life in prison and three others to 30 years each behind bars for their roles in a 2007 mass shooting in Baghdad that left 17 people dead . A federal jury convicted the four in October after a lengthy trial that saw some 30 witnesses travel from Iraq to testify against the security contractors . Prosecutors accused the men of illegally unleashed `` powerful sniper fire , machine guns and grenade launchers on innocent men , women and children . '' Senior U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth sentenced Blackwater sniper Nicholas Slatten to a term of life in prison , mandatory for his first-degree murder conviction . Blackwater workers Paul Slough , Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard were sentenced to 30 year each , plus one day . Slough was convicted of 13 counts of voluntary manslaughter , 17 counts of attempted manslaughter and a firearms offense . The jury convicted Liberty of eight counts of voluntary manslaughter , 12 counts of attempted manslaughter and a firearms offense . Heard was found guilty of six counts of voluntary manslaughter , 11 counts of attempted manslaughter and a firearms offense . According to prosecutors , the four were among seven Blackwater employees who opened fire in the Nusoor Square traffic circle in Baghdad , killing 17 people . An FBI investigation found 14 of the deaths unjustified , according to rules of engagement for private security contractors in Iraq . Slatten was accused of firing the first shots . Survivors of shooting tell FBI their stories in 2007 . Blackwater said its convoy came under attack , and defense attorneys said in court that witness accounts were fabricated . But witnesses testified that the contractors opened fire without provocation . `` It was horror , '' said Hasan Jaber , an attorney who was driving to work when he was shot three times . `` People running out of their cars were being shot at . ... Anything that moved in Nusoor Square was shot . Women , children , young people , they shot everyone . '' Among the dead were two boys , 9 and 11 , a doctor , a used car salesman , a truck driver , a businessman , an Iraqi soldier , a gardener , a taxi driver and an aspiring doctor taking his mother to an appointment , according to prosecutors . The parents and brothers of the 9-year-old victim were present in court during the sentencing hearing and spoke . Ali Razzaq 's father looked at the defendants and yelled in broken English : `` If I kill anyone in his family , what he do ? ! Today , we will see who will win , the law or Blackwater , '' he said . `` Blackwater killed my son . '' Dad in 2007 : Blackwater blew up son 's and wife 's 'skulls ' The defense presented character witnesses , family members and former colleagues who testified to the defendants ' capacity to work under fire and willingness to help others . Each defendant also gave a closing statement . Slatten addressed the court last , taking the opportunity to declare his innocence . Lamberth rejected his argument . The judge said that the punishments reflected the seriousness of the crimes . He said that the U.S. government `` should be commended for finding and exposing the truth of what happened . '' Blackwater incident witness in 2007 : 'It was hell ' A few gasps were heard in the courtroom , and some crying . The case was initially dismissed in 2008 after a judge found the Justice Department withheld key evidence and violated the rights of the contractors . A federal appeals court reversed the ruling , paving the way for the two-month trial that ended in convictions for the four . Another contractor , Jeremy Ridgeway , pleaded guilty in 2008 to voluntary manslaughter and attempt to commit manslaughter and testified for the government . He has not yet been sentenced . Blackwater lost its $ 1 billion contract with the State Department to protect American diplomatic personnel in 2009 , after the Iraqi government refused to renew the company 's operating license . The company was later renamed and sold , and now operates as ACADEMI , providing protection services and training . 2007 congressional report : Blackwater most often shoots first . Wesley Bruer reported in Washington . Michael Pearson reported and wrote in Atlanta .
Blackwater sniper Royce Lamberth is sentenced to life in prison , mandatory for his first-degree murder conviction . Three others get 30 years plus one day in the 2007 shooting in Baghdad that left 17 dead .