Jury selection begins for Afghanistan massacre, Jury selection began Tuesday in the sentencing of Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, the U.S. soldier who killed 16 Afghan civilians during raids on two villages.
Bales, an Ohio native and father of two from Lake Tapps, Wash., pleaded guilty in June to avoid the death penalty for killing the civilians, mostly women and children, on March 11, 2012.
The hearing this week will determine whether he is sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole, or without it.
Jury selection began with a pool of five officers and five enlisted soldiers, with challenges from lawyers expected to whittle that down. The eventual panel must include at least five jurors.
Bales, on his fourth combat deployment, had been drinking and watching a movie with other soldiers at his remote post at Camp Belambay in Kandahar Province when he slipped away before dawn. Bales said he had also been taking steroids and snorting Valium.
Armed with a 9 mm pistol and an M-4 rifle, he attacked a village of mud-walled compounds called Alkozai then returned and woke up a fellow soldier to tell him about it. The soldier didn't believe Bales and went back to sleep. Bales left again to attack a second village known as Najiban.
The massacre prompted such angry protests that the U.S. temporarily halted combat operations in Afghanistan, and it was three weeks before Army investigators could reach the crime scene.
Prosecutors questioned the potential jurors in hopes of discovering any underlying biases that might affect their ability to serve on the panel. Lt. Col. Rob Stelle asked whether they were serving in Afghanistan at the time of the attacks, whether the attacks hindered their ability to do their jobs, and whether they believe soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder are more likely to commit violent crimes.
Defense attorney John Henry Browne asked whether any potential jurors disagreed with the concept of parole. None did.
The sentencing is expected to afford victims and their relatives a chance to confront Bales face-to-face for the first time since he stormed their compounds. The Army flew nine villagers, all males, from Kandahar Province.
Among them are Haji Mohammad Wazir, who lost 11 family members, including his wife, mother and two brothers; Haji Mohammad Naim, who was shot in the neck; and a teenage boy named Rafiullah who was shot in both legs.
Several of the villagers have said they are outraged that Bales is escaping the death penalty.
Some testified by video link from Afghanistan during a hearing last year, including a young girl in a bright headscarf who described hiding behind her father as he was shot to death. Boys told of begging the soldier to spare them, yelling: "We are children! We are children!" A thick-bearded man told of being shot in the neck by a gunman at arm's length.
Bales, who told the judge at his plea hearing that he couldn't explain why he committed the killings, has not issued an apology, but his lawyers hinted that one might come at sentencing.
Prosecutors question whether he's remorseful. They asked a judge Monday for permission to play jurors a recording of a phone call of Bales laughing with his wife as they review the charges against him.
"It certainly goes to evidence in aggravation, the attitude of lack of remorse," Stelle told the judge.
A lawyer for Bales said the recording clips were taken out of context. The judge, Col. Jeffery Nance, said he would listen to the entire recordings before deciding if they can be played
.
Bales' attorneys have said they plan to present evidence that could warrant leniency, including his previous deployments and what they describe as his history of post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.
"Our general theme is that Sgt. Bales snapped," Browne told The Associated Press earlier. "That's kind of our mantra, and we say that because of all the things we know: the number of deployments, the head injuries, the PTSD, the drugs, the alcohol."
If he is sentenced to life with the possibility of parole, Bales would be eligible in 20 years, but there's no guarantee he would receive it.
Bales, an Ohio native and father of two from Lake Tapps, Wash., pleaded guilty in June to avoid the death penalty for killing the civilians, mostly women and children, on March 11, 2012.
The hearing this week will determine whether he is sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole, or without it.
Jury selection began with a pool of five officers and five enlisted soldiers, with challenges from lawyers expected to whittle that down. The eventual panel must include at least five jurors.
Bales, on his fourth combat deployment, had been drinking and watching a movie with other soldiers at his remote post at Camp Belambay in Kandahar Province when he slipped away before dawn. Bales said he had also been taking steroids and snorting Valium.
Armed with a 9 mm pistol and an M-4 rifle, he attacked a village of mud-walled compounds called Alkozai then returned and woke up a fellow soldier to tell him about it. The soldier didn't believe Bales and went back to sleep. Bales left again to attack a second village known as Najiban.
The massacre prompted such angry protests that the U.S. temporarily halted combat operations in Afghanistan, and it was three weeks before Army investigators could reach the crime scene.
Prosecutors questioned the potential jurors in hopes of discovering any underlying biases that might affect their ability to serve on the panel. Lt. Col. Rob Stelle asked whether they were serving in Afghanistan at the time of the attacks, whether the attacks hindered their ability to do their jobs, and whether they believe soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder are more likely to commit violent crimes.
Defense attorney John Henry Browne asked whether any potential jurors disagreed with the concept of parole. None did.
The sentencing is expected to afford victims and their relatives a chance to confront Bales face-to-face for the first time since he stormed their compounds. The Army flew nine villagers, all males, from Kandahar Province.
Among them are Haji Mohammad Wazir, who lost 11 family members, including his wife, mother and two brothers; Haji Mohammad Naim, who was shot in the neck; and a teenage boy named Rafiullah who was shot in both legs.
Several of the villagers have said they are outraged that Bales is escaping the death penalty.
Some testified by video link from Afghanistan during a hearing last year, including a young girl in a bright headscarf who described hiding behind her father as he was shot to death. Boys told of begging the soldier to spare them, yelling: "We are children! We are children!" A thick-bearded man told of being shot in the neck by a gunman at arm's length.
Bales, who told the judge at his plea hearing that he couldn't explain why he committed the killings, has not issued an apology, but his lawyers hinted that one might come at sentencing.
Prosecutors question whether he's remorseful. They asked a judge Monday for permission to play jurors a recording of a phone call of Bales laughing with his wife as they review the charges against him.
"It certainly goes to evidence in aggravation, the attitude of lack of remorse," Stelle told the judge.
A lawyer for Bales said the recording clips were taken out of context. The judge, Col. Jeffery Nance, said he would listen to the entire recordings before deciding if they can be played
.
Bales' attorneys have said they plan to present evidence that could warrant leniency, including his previous deployments and what they describe as his history of post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.
"Our general theme is that Sgt. Bales snapped," Browne told The Associated Press earlier. "That's kind of our mantra, and we say that because of all the things we know: the number of deployments, the head injuries, the PTSD, the drugs, the alcohol."
If he is sentenced to life with the possibility of parole, Bales would be eligible in 20 years, but there's no guarantee he would receive it.
