Bales
US army sergeant Robert Bales, who killed 16
Afghan villagers, was sentenced to life in prison
with no possibility of parole on Friday.
The prosecutor
called Bales,
who killed 16 Afghan villagers during a
rampage,the �worst kind of criminal� who should
spend the rest of his life behind bars.
A six-member military panel returned their
sentence after less than two hours of deliberations
following a harrowing five-day hearing.
In final submissions before a military hearing
passes sentence on Robert Bales, 40, the
prosecution said the soldier had shown no remorse
for his actions and should never be given the
opportunity of parole.
�There is only one appropriate sentence for the
senseless slaughter of 16 innocent people � a
sentence reserved for the worst crimes and worst
criminals � confinement for life without eligibility
for parole,� Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Morse said.
Bales pleaded guilty in June to killing the villagers
in a deal brokered by his defence team to avoid the
death penalty.
In a chilling closing speech, the prosecution
recounted the horrific trail of destruction left by
Bales on the night of March 11, 2012 when he
decamped from his base to attack a nearby village
in the Panjwayi district of southern Kandahar
province.
The prosecution showed graphic photos of Bales�
victims including an old woman who was the
soldier�s last victim.
�Bales stomped on her head with such force that
the next morning when her nephew tried to move
her, her eyeballs fell out of her head,� Lt-Col
Morse told the six-member panel.
The prosecution also dismissed Bales� unsworn
statement to the hearing on Thursday when he
apologised for his actions but offered no
explanation.
�Sergeant Bales is a man with no moral compass,
with no man to blame and nothing to blame but
himself,� Lt-Col Morse said.
He �liked how it felt, liked the power, liked the
respect he thought it gave him. Because he
doesn�t care a shred for any Afghan, he thinks
they�re all bad, he liked murdering.�
The soldier�s actions had directly impacted no
fewer than 48 children, the prosecutor said.
�48 children directly impacted by Sergeant Bales
action � murdered, injured, witness to a murder,
or left fatherless by Staff Sergeant Robert Bales,�
Lt-Col Morse said. �Bales asks you for mercy. But
is his eventual freedom worth the life of a
grandmother, one innocent child, even one
innocent person, an entire family?
�There will never be enough time for Haji Wazeer
to share with you the pain he feels in his heart,�
Lt-Col Morse added citing the grief of one Afghan
villager who lost 11 family members in the attack.
�Is Sergeant Bales� freedom worth that? The
memories of a dead husband or father or brother?�
�He dishonoured his profession, he dishonoured
his army, and he dishonoured his country.
�Send a message to him � he doesn�t stand among
heroes and he never will. Not today and not 100
years from now.�
�He should be known by only one official title from
this day to the day he dies: inmate,� Lt-Col Morse
said as he completed his closing speech.
Bales� defence suggested they expected the
soldier to spend the rest of his life in jail.
�We�re not here to decide whether he walks out of
this court room into the sunshine having not been
punished for what happened. He�s going to be
confined for life,� Emma Scanlin said.
�What we�re asking is simply that years from now,
if ever, if ever, if he has done what someone else
deems to be necessary for him someday to walk
outside that that decision can be made down the
road, that�s all.�
Bales pleaded guilty in June to killing the villagers
in a deal brokered by his defence team to avoid the
death penalty.
The sentencing hearing must decide whether
Bales will be allowed to seek parole after a
minimum of 20 years behind bars or spend the
rest of his life in prison.
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