Staff Sgt. Bales charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder

Bales charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder

By MATT SCHOFIELD
McClatchy Newspapers
Published: March 23, 2012
Army Staff Sgt Robert Bales could face the death penalty after being officially charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder. Bales, who has been held at the Ft. Leavenworth military prison for about a week also faces six attempted murder charges.


WASHINGTON — Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder Friday in a case that could lead to the death penalty.

Bales allegedly armed himself with a pistol, rifle and grenade launcher and shot men, women and children in a nighttime raid that stands as the worst American atrocity since the beginning of the war in Afghanistan.

The charges — given to Bales on Friday at the high-security Army prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. — also include six counts of attempted murder and six of assault carried out in two remote villages in southern Afghanistan on March 11. The incident has deeply shaken U.S.-Afghan relations and fueled outrage against the U.S. and its continued presence in that country.
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