Afghanistan massacre case: Army to seek death penalty against US soldier

[jimmy olsen]

An appropriate decision

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/19/16021178-afghanistan-massacre-case-army-to-seek-death-penalty-against-us-soldier?lite

Afghanistan massacre case: Army to seek death penalty against US soldier
By NBC News staff

The case of a decorated U.S. Army sergeant accused of murdering 16 civilians in two Afghanistan villages will proceed to a court-martial and he could face the death penalty if convicted, the Army said Wednesday.

The military's General Court-Martial Convening Authority this week referred charges against Staff Sgt. Robert Bales to a general court-martial. The decision came after a review of evidence from a pretrial hearing last month.

No date has been set for the court-martial, which will be held at Joint Base Lewis-McChord south of Tacoma, Wash.

Bales, 39, faces charges of premeditated murder and other crimes in the predawn shooting and stabbing attack on two villages in southern Afghanistan early on March 11. Prosecutors say he left his remote base, attacked one village, returned to the base, and then slipped away again to attack another nearby compound.
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Sixteen people were killed, nine of them children, and six other civilians wounded.

Army prosecutors have suggested Bales went on the rampage in revenge for a bomb attack on his unit in which a fellow soldier lost a leg.

At the time, Bales, an 11-year Army veteran, was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team and was serving his fourth combat tour.  He is currently being held at the Northwest Joint Regional Confinement Facility at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

For the death penalty to be imposed, the court-martial members must unanimously find:  the service member is guilty of the eligible crime; at least one aggravating factor exists; and that the aggravating factor must substantially outweigh any extenuating or mitigating circumstances. 

The charges are merely accusations and the accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

[derspiess]

So are they still going to let Hasan grow his fucking beard? Should have been summarily executed.

[OttoVonBismarck]

I saw this when it happened, you don't get to kill 16 civilians in a deliberate massacre committed while off base on a personal crusade and avoid it.

It's a very different Army from the My Lai days.

[Jaron]

I always find it amusing when folks come out of the woodwork to put down the usual 'We owe all our freedom to these men. He should be given therapy, not a trial' bla bla bla.

[OttoVonBismarck]

I always find it amusing when folks come out of the woodwork to put down the usual 'We owe all our freedom to these men. He should be given therapy, not a trial' bla bla bla.

*shrug* a lot of the craziest of crazy murderers probably should be hospitalized and not executed, but we decided to stop doing that when one of them dared test the power of a bullet against the divine skin of the Gipper.

[dps]

An appropriate decision

I agree, but then again, I'm on record as saying that the death penalty should be the default penalty for premeditated murder.

[Valmy]

Man that is a hard one.  Obama would probably commute the sentence if he is found guilty though I suspect.

[Valmy]

I always find it amusing when folks come out of the woodwork to put down the usual 'We owe all our freedom to these men. He should be given therapy, not a trial' bla bla bla.

Yeah that is a great way to run an army.  Military discipline through hero worship!

[CountDeMoney]

Man that is a hard one.  Obama would probably commute the sentence if he is found guilty though I suspect.

No, we haven't had a execution in the military for a long time.  Guys like this, guys like Hasan, they need to know that we don't fuck around anymore.  And so does the world.

[Phillip V]

The United States must demonstrate its Christian values by sparing Bales the death penalty.