Army says Bales should face death penalty for crimes; defense says too many questions unanswered
An Army prosecutor today argued that Staff Sgt. Robert Bales committed "the worst, most despicable crimes a human being can commit" in contending that Joint Base Lewis-McChord Stryker soldier should face the death penalty for "murdering children in their own homes." But Bales' sister-in-law disagreed after the hearing. "We are not convinced the government has shown us the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about what happened that night," Stephanie Tandberg said.
ADAM ASHTON; Staff writer
ADAM ASHTON The News Tribune
Published: Nov. 13, 2012 at 10:34 a.m. PST
— Updated: Nov. 13, 2012 at 2:47 p.m. PST
Kari Bales, center, stands next to attorney Lance Rosen, left, as they listen as her sister, Stephanie Tandberg, right, read a statement to reporters Tuesday Nov. 13, 2012, outside the building housing a military courtroom on Joint Base Lewis McChord in Washington state, where a preliminary hearing ended Tuesday for Kari's husband, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales. Bales is accused of 16 counts of premeditated murder and six counts of attempted murder for a pre-dawn attack on two villages in Kandahar Province in Afghanistan last March. (TED S. WARREN/AP)
An Army prosecutor today argued that Staff Sgt. Robert Bales committed “the worst, most despicable crimes a human being can commit” in contending that Joint Base Lewis-McChord Stryker soldier should face the death penalty for “murdering children in their own homes.”
Maj. Rob Stelle’s argument concluded an eight-day evidence hearing for Bales, 39, who allegedly murdered 16 Afghan civilians and wounded six more in the early hours of March 11. The massacre represents the worst war crimes from the conflict in Afghanistan.
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Given the horrific circumstances, the number and age of the victims, and the wealth of evidence presented against Staff Sgt. Robert Bales at his pretrial hearing last month, how could the decision makers go for anything other than death? But military capital cases are never straightforward.
Six Afghan civilians who are expected to testify at the court-martial of Kandahar massacre suspect Staff Sgt. Robert Bales traveled to Joint Base Lewis-McChord last week. They made the trip to prepare for the trial of the veteran Stryker brigade soldier accused of killing 16 civilians, mostly women and children.
Staff Sgt. Robert Bales is scheduled to appear in court Thursday at Joint Base Lewis-McChord for an arraignment on charges that he murdered 16 Afghan civilians and wounded six more in March.
Staff Sgt. Robert Bales could go to trial this year for allegedly murdering 16 Afghan civilians, if Army prosecutors get their way. Or his court martial could be delayed until 2014 or later, if defense attorneys are successful.
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