Fire a Lethal Shot

On 25th September 2011, three Royal Marines killed an injured Taliban fighter. Trialled by court-martial, two were acquitted, but one, Sergeant Alexander Blackman, was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. The ruling provoked outrage among fellow Marines, the establishment and much of the general public who felt that the verdict was an appalling miscarriage of justice. On that fateful day, Sgt Robert Driscoll, in accordance with army procedure, called in an Apache helicopter for air support amidst fierce fighting with a large group of Taliban insurgents, which were causing considerable injuries and fatalities to the two patrols of Royal Marines led by him and Sgt Blackman. With Sgt Blackman's blessing, Sgt Driscoll recalls in detail key events and factors leading to the killing of the fighter which, unbelievably, were not provided to the Court by Blackman's defence team. This is a compelling, unique insight into one of the most controversial rulings in recent military history and the re