Army seeks death penalty in Afghan massacre case

Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, left, takes part in exercises at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif., in this Aug. 23, 2011, Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System photo. / AP Photo/DVIDS, Spc. Ryan Hallock

SEATTLEThe U.S. Army said Wednesday it will seek the death penalty against the soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan villagers in a predawn rampage in March, a decision his lawyer called "totally irresponsible."

The announcement followed a pretrial hearing last month for Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, 39, who faces premeditated murder and other charges in the attack on two villages in southern Afghanistan.

The attack drew such angry protests that the U.S. temporarily halted combat operations in Afghanistan, and it was three weeks before American investigators could reach the crime scenes.

Prosecutors said Bales left his remote southern Afghanistan base early on March 11, attacked one village and returned to the base, then slipped away again to attack another nearby compound. Of the 16 people killed, nine were children.

No date has been set for Bales' court martial, which will be held at Joint Base Lewis-McChord south of Seattle.

His civilian lawyer, John Henry Browne, told The Associated Press he met with Army officials last week to argue his client shouldn't face the possibility of the death penalty, given that Bales was serving his fourth deployment in a war zone when the killings occurred.

"The Army is not taking responsibility for Sgt. Bales and other soldiers that the Army knowingly sends into combat situations with diagnosed PTSD, concussive head injuries and other injuries," Browne said. "The Army is trying to take the focus off the failure of its decisions, and the failure of the war itself, and making Sgt. Bales out to be a rogue soldier."

• Army prosecutors seek death penalty for Sgt. Bales
• Children give graphic account of Afghan murders

Bales' wife, Kari Bales, said in a statement released Wednesday that she hopes her husband receives an impartial trial.

"I no longer know if a fair trial for Bob is possible, but it very much is my hope, and I will have faith," she said.

Bales' defense team has said the government's case is incomplete, and outside experts have said a key issue going forward will be to determine if Bales suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. Bales served tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

During last month's preliminary hearing, prosecutors built a strong eyewitness case against the veteran soldier, with troops recounting how they saw Bales return to the base alone, covered in blood.

Afghan witnesses questioned via a video link described the horror of that night. A teenage boy recalled how the gunman kept firing as youth scrambled, yelling: "We are children! We are children!" A girl recalled hiding behind her father as he was shot to death.

An Army criminal investigations command special agent testified that Bales tested positive for steroids three days after the killings, and other soldiers testified that Bales had been drinking the evening of the massacre.

Several soldiers testified that Bales returned to the base alone just before dawn, covered in blood, and that he made incriminating statements such as, "I thought I was doing the right thing."

Prosecutors, in asking for a court-martial trial, have said his comments demonstrated a "clear memory of what he had done, and consciousness of wrongdoing."

The U.S. military has not executed anyone since 1961. Five other people in the U.S. currently face military death sentences, all for murders committed stateside.

For Bales to face execution, the court martial jury must unanimously find him guilty of premeditated murder; that at least one aggravating factor applies, such as multiple or child victims; and that the aggravating factor substantially outweighs any extenuating or mitigating circumstances.

[FormerUSMCSergeant]

Rightfully so. Toast him like any other murderer. He wasn't killing combatants, he was murdering non-combatants. Yes, murdering.

[nytosf]

I don't think any of our military should get the death penalty. Period.
I would consider him eather property of the state, where the state takes some heat for what they make. There's mental disorders created for sure.
If you can pay for the Night Stawker to live in a mental institute ,give derailed military a cott too.

[FormerUSMCSergeant]

You appear incapable of distinguishing between killing and murdering. They are not one in the same.

[GossamerWings]

"Afghan witnesses questioned via a video link described the horror of that night. A teenage boy recalled how the gunman kept firing as youth scrambled, yelling: "We are children! We are children!" A girl recalled hiding behind her father as he was shot to death."

Wow this is sick.

[FormerUSMCSergeant]

Murder is never pretty.....

[ugacrew]

War is sick.

[tjl456]

Quit applying US standards to this. These are conditions you can't understand unless you have been in combat in a foreign country, therefore, you don't have a voice here. No one knows what went through is man's head except him. Yes, he did a very bad thing, but envision yourself in real combat, and tell me you would kill this man for what he did....... Think about it..... But I know you are not able to do that, therefore, keep voting democratic... It makes you feel better.

[GossamerWings]

Don't be silly check the list of war crimes and how they were handled before. This is not a GOP or DEM issue.

EX: Private Clarence V. Bertucci determined to be insane and confined to a mental institution for the following: Private Clarence V. Bertucci fired a machine gun from one of the guard towers into the tents that were being used to accommodate the German prisoners of war. Nine were killed and 20 were injured. This was a Crime against POWs.

This guy killed nine children. He is going to get death or insanity. If he gets insanity, there will be more recruiting for terrorist. No General will take your position. You need to try to think about the big picture.

[duzmafuzt]

Ask Combat leaders. Combat leaders must say the proof validates immediate removal. If not then our military personnel feel a lot of self pity. Cave. Return home. We neither have the will nor the courage to operate in combat in a sustainable manner. We have a fiercely disciplined force. The facts prove this soldier killed non combatants, and disgraced his unit. Sane or not the standards set must be met. If you fail. You pay the price. The fact this individual was not turned over to the Afghans or eliminated locally, proves how brilliant our US Army can operate. The standards for conduct are set very high. This individual would have been fragged in most military units around the world, on site.

[thetruthwillout]

I cannot believe these posts! It's as if the people this man brutally murdered were not human and meant nothing to anyone. We're so concerned about our military that we have lost sight of the rest of humanity. Only American lives are worth seeking justice over. Would you be so understanding if this man killed innocent American women and children? You'd say hang him from the highest tree, but these people were Afghanis -- you know, subhumans,not worthy of justice or having a good life. Let's pretend it was a military guy who was responsible for the Newtown massacre. What would your feelings be about his punishment?

[Jonseen]

I can see that they pretty much HAVE TO try for the death penalty because of the terrible things he did. But the trial itself will sort out the fine points of whether he deserves the death penalty or not.

All of these arguments, pro and con, plus many more statements will be part of the trial and sentencing I'm sure. The decision to go for the death penalty doesn't mean he'll get it.

And there are many people in Afghanistan who think he deserves the death penalty. For their sakes, it needs to be part of the proceedings, IMO.

There's no doubt this is a tragedy in all respects.

[GossamerWings]

It was a gruesome revolting crime. You don't get to slaughter civilians. What is the reason for killing 9 children???

[Jonseen]

I agree. I just want to remind people that this is only the BEGINNING of his trial. Some people seem to think he's been sentenced to death already. The discussion, the debate over this man's life will happen during trial.

And of course the death penalty must be on the table, considering the horrendous nature of his crime.

[ugacrew]

OK, so here's the summary.

Attention all Family Members:

We are going to take your loving mothers, fathers, sons and daughters and train them to be KILLERS. That's right, KILLERS. We want you to know, that we are going to take the people you know now as being loving and caring and TRAIN them to mentally not only be able to withstand the rigors of hand to hand combat, but to KILL themselves and if not, to order others to KILL.

Further more, if you want them to be successful, we expect you to give them your full support. Explain to all of your sons and daughters that they may have to relocate many times over and change schools and friends and other support networks over and over AND move away and live AWAY from their grandparents, aunts, and uncles and other relatives, BUT it is necessary if they are to be successful in their mission.

Some of you spouses will have to forfeit careers and great job opportunities, BUT that is part of the package. Expect long seperations.
Expect a thankless society too. Expect to be objects of hate by your own citizenry when you are in uniform because when you are wearing it, you are no longer a dedicated patron, rather a warmonger in their eyes.

Don't worry about them. We will TRAIN them to be Mean Machines capable not only of killing but watching others being killed or blown to bits and simply left to die.

Last but not least, I must warn you. If your loved one changes from the person you once knew, especially if we end up sending him to Five combat tours as in this soldier's case, and he goes off the deep end and does something irrational, WE WILL GIVE HIM THE DEATH PENALTY. THERE IS NO EXCUSE!

Spouses and children, expect to lose all of your medical care and retirement benefits that he has earned as well. You are now going to be condemned to poverty and desperation. That is the message we are sending to all of our military servicemen and women and their families.

Sign me,

Army wife (of 30 year vet)

[thetruthwillout]

Military service is not mandatory. People make a career out of the military by choice. They are aware of the possibilities of our country engaging in war and they accept that. Just because you serve in the military and end up committing horrific murders, doesn't mean you should not be held accountable. It's almost as if the people whom this guy brutally murdered weren't worthy of justice. If he had killed innocent American women and children, I don't think anyone would have a problem with him paying severely for his crimes. We're supposed to have sympathy and understanding for him but not the victims of his crimes? Are they not human and worthy of seeking justice?

[GossamerWings]

Was he Insane?? Can he make that case??? Then it is a mental institution. If that happens, it is a recruiting ground for more terrorist. Did anyone notice he was having trouble??

[osolo71]

He left his base by himself and murdered children...Death penalty is fair for him in my opinion. He'll get life though. That's fair enough too.

[ugacrew]

How do you seek a death penalty against soldier who has served in combat????

How do you effectively measure the impact combat had on him as a human being?

Are you implying that normal people who bake chocolate chip cookies can go onto a battle field, witness and endure the hardship of combat, and then years....not months..years later, simply return home unchanged?

If there is NO change, why TRAIN in the first place?

The tragedy will be in failing to recognize that good people do not simply kill when they are told to kill without there being some kind of impact on their psyche.

You are sending the wrong message to all of our soldiers standing ready to obey orders!

****I am by no means excusing the tragic loss of those lives that were taken. The point must be made that the horrors of war changes people.

[PourpaixPourpaix]

The horrors of war do change people, most often for worse. That's why it's important that war should not be entered unless absolutely necessary. WWII was the last such conflict, though the Kuwait war is pretty close.

I think the message to soldiers should be clear, in that conventions of war must override orders from superiors. Every one of us who takes a life bears ultimate responsibility for that act. Orders or not, a soldier who commits a war crime dishonors the very reason he is there.

[thetruthwillout]

People join the military by choice. As I said previously, I wonder how many people would be so understanding if he had killed innocent American women and children?

[mainedemocrat]

Combat veterans should never be subject to the death penalty under any circumstances. This man obviously broke under the severe stress of combat. Life in prison should be the maximum.

[ugacrew]

In sentencing him, they are also sentencing his families and thousands of others who faithfully support their spouses.

Consider that the man who conducted the mass shootings at Ft. Hood is being provided medical treatment.

Have this soldier medically evaluated, studied, and treated.
If needbe, give him prison.

[buckn]

On the other hand; if it were an Afghan soldier who, under authority of NATO was in the US to help protect us, and he went out and killed as many Americans, many of the children, would your opinion differ?