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Lawyer For Soldier Accused Of Killing Afghan Civilians: There May Be "Explanations"
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Mar 21, 2012
Modified Mar 21, 2012
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Mar 21, 2012
Modified Mar 21, 2012
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The attorney for the staff sergeant who is accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians told reporters yesterday that the military's case is thin. I don't know if the government is going to prove much," John Henry Browne said. "There's no forensic evidence, there's no confessions." Browne also denied that his client was drunk ("A couple of sips of somebody else's bottle. But that's not drinking,") and that financial troubles caused him to "snap," as the military has suggested. "99 percent of America has financial problems. You don't go and kill women and children because you have financial problems." He added, "Nothing really justifies killing women and children in a non-combat situation. But there may be explanations."
The case against Bales will be difficult for the military to prosecute, as evidence will be difficult to collect and witnesses will have to be tracked down and flown in from Afghanistan. "Already there have been questions about the roles of Afghan and American investigators, and we're relying on evidence collected by Afghans," a military law expert at Yale tells the Seattle Times. "Are their evidence standards our evidence standards? Are they putting their investigation first, or ours?"
While authorities debate whether or not to seek the death penalty against Bales, the military has not executed anyone since 1961. Browne claims that his client doesn't remember much of the alleged shooting. “He has some memories of before the incident and he has some memories of after the incident."
Browne is known as a pugnacious advocate for his clients, who have included Ted Bundy and the "Barefoot Bandit," for whom he achieved a relatively mild sentence.
Despite his friends and family's insistence on his "solid-guy reputation" before he went off to war, Bales defrauded an elderly couple of their retirement savings. According to ABC, Bales and his business partners were bound by a 2003 securities fraud judgement to pay Ohio resident Gary Liebschner $1,274,000 in damages. "He robbed me of my life savings," Liebschner said, calling Bales a "smooth talker" and a con man.
Bales worked for an Ohio brokerage firm before enlisting in the Army in 2001, and according to the judgement, burned through Liebschner's $852,000 worth of AT&T stock with poor trading practices. He served four tours of duty, and sustained a brain injury in combat.
"I'm not putting the war on trial," Browne said yesterday. "But the war is on trial."
Tagged
murder
robert bales
tragedies
veterans
war crimes
War in Afghanistan
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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