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Peter Millett / Reuters
Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales (L) and Judge Col. Jeffery R. Nance is seen in a courtroom sketch as he is arraigned on 16 counts of premeditated murder, six counts of attempted murder and seven counts of of assault at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. on Thursday
U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, charged with killing 16 Afghan villagers in a pre-dawn rampage in March, will face a sanity board, the judge in the case said Thursday.
In such a mental health review, neutral doctors are charged with evaluating the defendant's mental state at the time of the crime and whether he's competent to stand trial.
Bales , a 39-year-old father of two from Lake Tapps, Wash., is accused of slipping away from his remote outpost in Afghanistan on March 11 after drinking with fellow soldiers, and killing 16 people, including nine children, in two nearby villages.
Prosecutors say Bales acted alone and with "chilling premeditation" when he visited the villages in the dark, armed with a pistol, a rifle and a grenade launcher. He reportedly returned to his base between his visits to the two sites and told a fellow soldier: "I just shot up some people."
Military judge Col. Jeffrey Nance, hearing the case at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., said he would order the official review of the soldier’s mental health after prosecutors argued that without it, the defense should not be allowed to raise mental health issues as mitigating factors.
Bales appeared in court wearing green military dress, entered his deferred plea through one of his defense attorneys, who also waived reading of charges against Bales, Reuters reported.
The soldier faces 16 murder charges, as well as other charges, including attempted murder, assault and drug and alcohol charges.
On Thursday, when asked if he understood that his conviction could result in the death penalty, Bales answered, "Sir, yes sir."
In previous pre-trial hearings, defense attorneys for Bales have raised a number of mental health factors that may have affected Bales — including repeated deployments, a traumatic brain injury and the use drugs provided by the military.
Prosecutors argued that in the absence of an outside review, the defense should be barred from presenting mental health arguments, The Associated Press reported.
"An accused simply cannot be allowed to claim a lack of mental responsibility through the introduction of expert testimony from his own doctors, while at the same time leaving the government with no ability to overcome its burden of proof because its doctors have been precluded from conducting any examination of the very matters in dispute," Maj. Robert Stelle wrote in a Jan. 3 motion obtained by the AP.
Up to now, defense attorneys have refused to let Bales take part in the sanity board, objecting to the terms set out.
However, in a reply to the government's motion, defense attorney Emma Scanlan wrote Tuesday that Bales will participate — as long as only certain information about the results are forwarded to government prosecutors. They say findings about Bale’s state of mind at the time of the attacks should not be provided to prosecutors until Bales' defense team officially gives notice that it will pursue mental-health defense.
"There is no authority for the bizarre proposition that the accused has to submit to a compelled mental health examination before he gives notice of a mental defense," Scanlan.
The judge said conditions for the sanity board will be worked out later.
Related reports from NBC News
Bales case echoes loudly for ex-soldiers on hotline for vets
Witness: Sgt. Bales, accused of Afghan massacre, was deemed a top soldier
Witnesses to describe massacre at Sgt. Bales hearing
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I hope he is found not guilty by reason of insanity and gets the mental help he needs since he never got it before. Major Nidal Hasan still stone walling in Ft. Hood and that other puke Bradley Manning seem to be in limbo I guess the precedent it seems to promote is if someone fuks ups only NCOs will be help accountable to appease the PC crowd and all non hackers that never served but tell others how it should be!
the guy isn't nuts. he's just another piece of American crap who killed innocents.
prison is where he belongs.
Please list your previous military experience and overseas combat tours! There are a lot of mitigating factors in this case.
he's just another punk scumbag in an army uniform. throw his punk rear end into prison where he belongs.
He was evidently sane enough for the military to allow him to re-up several times. He planned his killings and committed them over an extended period of time. If he had done this in the heartland of the US, folks would be scoffing at his copping a whimpy "I was insane at the time" plea. You want a cohesive military force that follows orders and is able to know the difference between enemy soldiers and infants? Then let military justice be done.
This man used his position in the military to murder villagers, -9 children and 7 adults, with his military issued guns. He absolutely needs to be prosecuted to the full extent of military law for his crimes against those people. His action undermine our military's authority and place the rest of our soldiers in danger of retribution. This is appalling.
If you are not in the Armed Forces and not have a CIB (Combat Infantry Badge), you have no right to condemn his actions.
BS! You mean to tell me only someone in the armed forces can decide whether or not it's OK to kill infants and toddlers? Right from wrong is not something only learned after doing a tour of duty.
There HASN"T been ANY REAL COMBAT where the US military fought someone who WASN"T SHOT IN THE BACK RUNNING AWAY since Vietnam! YOU bunch of BLOWHARD, COWARDLY, LOSERS! So take your BS CIB and shove it up your buttbuddies' arse!
U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians among the victims included nine children shot and burned to death. Reportedly Bales had been armed with an M4 carbine assault rifle affixed with M203 grenade launcher and an M9 pistol as a sidearm some victims were found with stab wounds in addition to gunshot wounds.
Seems hypocritical to pass a ban on assault rifles that infringes US citizen’s constitutional rights. What is the difference between the Newtown Massacre and the Kandahar massacre? Seems there are crazies on both sides of the fence civilian and federal. Why should the American people allow this encroachment on their constitutional rights because of the acts of a few.
Let's not forget why the second Amendment exists because of what Paul Revere called The Bloody Massacre in King Street or known now as the Boston Massacre. That's why the founding fathers give us the right to bear arms and this right should not be infringed or America will be back where it started.
What's next banning assault rifles for our military because of the Kandahar massacre? Why is it that people that want to circumvent the Constitution only care about Newtown children not Afghan children?
The Constitutional encroachers turn a blind eye towards little Afghan children. It would seem in their eyes if you're a kid from another country other then America then you don't count you're written off as collateral damage in Newtown kids are considered a tragedy. Don't forget about the over a hundred of innocent children are being killed in US drone strikes. Oh yah right I forgot that is just collateral damage and can't be used as an excuse to take away constitutional rights. Think about it how often do you get a constitutional right, once it's gone it's gone.