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. [AFP]
