A U.S Soldier accused of killing Afghan villagers during a “night time rampage” last year has been sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, Hit the jump for the full story!
Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, for the murder of 16 Afghan civilians, during a rampage in the compounds in Kandahar province, which took place last March. The soldier who has been deployed four times, pled guilty to 30 accusations after receiving a bargain that would spare him the death penalty.
A non-chalant Bales showed no emotion as he heard is verdict in the court room, yet his mother showed all her grievances, as she bursted out into tears and began rocking intensely back and forth.
Prosecutors are sure that Bales acted alone during his attack on the villagers. He was found: “armed with a pistol, a rifle and a grenade launcher, he left his outpost twice during the night, returning in the middle of his rampage to tell a fellow soldier, “I just shot up some people.”
The prosecutor Lieutenant Colonel Jay Morse stated:
“He wiped out generations and he ruined lives forever,” “He should be known by one official title from this day until the day he dies: inmate.”
He continued showing the soldier his lack of remorse by saying:
“This is the walk of a cold blooded killer,” Morse said.
Bales defense team has put the actions of the soldier on the stress that has been piled up from his 4 deployments.
Stating that: “… he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and a brain injury even before shipping off to Kandahar province”
“We don’t throw out the first 38 years,” civil defense attorney, Emma Scanlan said. “That doesn’t mean, again, that there is anything about this that is not completely horrific.”
The defense attorney proceeded to read a letter to the jury that he had sent back home, speaking of how the Afghan children remind him of his own, stating that they enjoyed “to eat candy and play soccer.”
“Those aren’t the words of a cold-blooded murderer who likes to kill innocent women and children,” Scanlan said.
This case was marked the worst case of civilian deaths by a U.S soldier since the Vietnam War. The attack only sparked further tensions amongst Afghan and U.S ties, which have been strained for almost a decade.
**Checkout the gallery above to see a pic of the Soldier accused**
Via Reuters
