Staff Sgt Robert Bales

[maryportfuncity 10,657]

Now the US military have finally named the man, it may be timely to award him his own thread. Apart from anything else the potential means of departure from this life are stacking up; revengeful Afghanis, his fellow prisoners, suicide, extradited and executed, prison food...

 

 

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17411009

[the_engineer 1,415]

I read he saw his friends leg blown off only a couple of days before. Its sad really whats happening but i also have a feeling he may end up commiting suicide before the trial or be put in mental institution drugged up and forgotten about . Really can't see this being a long and drawn out case because that would highlight the americans involvement in the war.

[CarolAnn 926]

He apparently had four tours under his belt, had lost half a foot and suffered a traumatic brain injury on his last deployment before this one. One wonders what in the hell he was doing over there in the first place.

 

This is a tragedy all the way around.

[maryportfuncity 10,657]

He apparently had four tours under his belt, had lost half a foot and suffered a traumatic brain injury on his last deployment before this one. One wonders what in the hell he was doing over there in the first place.

 

This is a tragedy all the way around.

 

This is The Hurt Locker brought to life!

[Phantom 2,535]

Rather conveniently, he can't remember anything about the incident

[angryGreatness 96]

Military prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in Bales case, if they can prove Bales was in a clear state of mind at the time of the massacre.

[maryportfuncity 10,657]

Military prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in Bales case, if they can prove Bales was in a clear state of mind at the time of the massacre.

 

So, could the various dead pool supremos clarify the issue? If he's breathing on 1 January and is subsequently sentenced to death and then (unlikely but possible) is executed within 2013...points or no points?

 

The Deathrace would award for that. But, Hell, we'd award for fruit that's brushing the ground!

[themaninblack 2,112]

Military prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in Bales case, if they can prove Bales was in a clear state of mind at the time of the massacre.

 

So, could the various dead pool supremos clarify the issue? If he's breathing on 1 January and is subsequently sentenced to death and then (unlikely but possible) is executed within 2013...points or no points?

 

The Deathrace would award for that. But, Hell, we'd award for fruit that's brushing the ground!

• Prisoners on "Death Row" i.e. awaiting state execution can only score points if they die of other causes.
  
• Picks that are on trial or are put on trial and are found guilty and executed are not disqualified but will not claim the unnatural points bonus.
  

[time 8,624]

Faces Court-Martial, possible execution.

 

No date set yet.

[Magere Hein 1,400]

Faces Court-Martial, possible execution.

 

No date set yet.

 

That's possible as in impossible, I'd say.

 

My prediction: a short prison sentence.

 

regards,

Hein

[themaninblack 2,112]

Faces Court-Martial, possible execution.

 

No date set yet.

 

That's possible as in impossible, I'd say.

 

My prediction: a short prison sentence.

 

regards,

Hein

 

Yes, I've seen this happen too many times. Media get all excited about possible execution, as they do when some TV/Pop star "may" get a prison term for some minor offence and surprise, surprise...they get a fine or something. And they wonder in these post-Levenson times what the public's problem is with them...

[adrian0719 224]

To avoid death penalty by pleading guilty.

[Bibliogryphon 9,589]

The guilty plea has been accepted so it looks like he is off the menu.

 

Not very familiar with this case but I was surprised he didn't go down the insanity route.

[CarolAnn 926]

Not very familiar with this case but I was surprised he didn't go down the insanity route.

 

It is exceedingly difficult to mount an insanity defense in a US military court.

 

From Bloomberg:

 

The military may form a so-called sanity board to conduct a mental evaluation and determine whether Bales is fit to stand trial. Many such cases have been delayed to ensure that the accused can participate in his defense, according to a military judge advocate who briefed reporters at the Pentagon last week on condition of anonymity because charges hadn’t been brought.

 

The judge advocate said he couldn’t recall a case in which a successful insanity defense was waged based on evidence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Eugene Fidell, who teaches military law at Yale Law School, said in an interview that he “can’t find any case in which a person has been acquitted by reason of insanity with respect to PTSD.’

 

One reason a mental-illness defense for Bales may be a hard sell is the composition of the jury that eventually would hear his case.

 

In civilian courts, a jury of the defendants’ peers is chosen randomly from the population, subject to vetting by the prosecution and the defense. Military jurors, known as ‘‘court members,” are selected by the military “convening authority,” which is often the base commander or a higher officer, Davis said.

 

While the members of such panels typically are all officers, the accused may request that as many as a third of the members come from enlisted ranks higher than his own. For Staff Sergeant Bales, that would mean sergeants first class and higher, the top 13 percent or less of the Army’s enlisted soldiers, all with a minimum of six years of service.

Eighty-three percent of military officers had bachelor’s or advanced degrees in 2010, compared with 30 percent of the U.S. population over the age of 25, according to the Defense Department’s “Demographics 2010” report.

 

“It’s probably the most educated jury you will ever find,” Davis said.