Bales could be executed

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 16:29:00 +0000

Sergeant Robert Bales, the U.S. soldier who is accused of killing 16 Afghan men, women and children last March, could be executed if he is convicted. Today, Military prosecutor Rob Stelle requested that Bales face the death penalty for shooting and stabbing members of several Afghan families, as The New York Times reports.

Bales' attorney Emma Scanlan, however, asserted that her client was not "lucid" at the time of the crime and was under the influence of alcohol, steroids and sleep aids. Another lawyer for Bales has complained that his client's post-traumatic stress disorder has not been sufficiently explored during the trial. Scanlan also claimed that her team had not been given enough time to ready themselves for the trial, before it even began.

There are some who have welcomed the possibility. In March, National Veterans Foundation founder Floyd Meshad told Reuters that, “It would probably be best for the military if they could execute Bales right now and send his pieces to Afghanistan.”

Prosecutors want death penalty for Afghan massacre soldier

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 13:22:00 +0000

Military prosecutors told a Washington state hearing that Sgt. Robert Bales must face the death penalty for his "heinous, brutal and methodical" crime.

Bales, 39, is accused of slipping away from his base at Camp Belambay in southern Afghanistan to attack two villages in March. 16 civilians, including nine children were killed. Several soldiers, testifying at Bales' ongoing preliminary hearing, said he returned to their base covered in blood.

"Terrible, terrible things happened," said prosecutor Major Rob Stelle, who argued that Bales' statements when apprehended showed the soldier to have "a clear memory of what he had done, and consciousness of wrong-doing."

The recommendations made from this preliminary hearing will be used to determine whether Bales will face court martial. In recent days, the hearing has convened at night to hear testimony from Afghan witnesses via videolink. As Reuters reported, the wife of an Afghan villager killed in the rampage said that more than one U.S. soldier was present when her husband was killed.

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Bales could be executed

Prosecutors want death penalty for Afghan massacre soldier