The Army staff sergeant accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians did not open fire in an act of revenge, and was not drunk at the time, his attorney said on Tuesday.
Lawyer John Henry Browne fired back at claims alleging Robert Baleswas drinking on the night of the attack.
“That’s a bunch of crap, “ he said. “He had a couple sips of something somebody handed him — literally, a couple sips.”
Browne also dismissed reports that said Bales had confessed.
“That’s not true either. As a matter of fact, the government’s paperwork on file doesn’t have that in it at all. I’m very suspicious about that report,” he said.
“As far as we know, there’s no eyewitnesses. The government hasn’t been back to the scene of the alleged incident. So there’s no forensic evidence. If I’m a prosecutor in this case, I’d be concerned about how you’re going to prove anything. As a defense lawyer, that’s where I go first,” he said.
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Hell, Fred, I havn’t seen any proof of anything, have you? Alot of maybe this maybe that, anonymous “official” bs, and media bloviating.
Show me a timeline, show me Bales standing over a dead body with a gun in his hand.
Please show something. Show the age, gender, location of each victim. Show some rounds recovered that had have been fired from Bales assigned weapon. Show blood, fingerprints,....something.
Hearing a lot but seeing nothing sure makes a man wonder.
Yes. You are correct. It WAS the other guy.
In the same vein, SOMEBODY HAS TO GO TO JAIL...
on the otherhand...
SGT. BALES for POTUS. He just beat them at their own game.
Funny, you didn’t need a timeline with Condit.
If he did this deed, and we hope he did not, he needs to be sentenced appropriately.
Interesting, smooth. Thanks for posting. Looks like Atty Browne isn’t cowed by all the “unofficial” claims by unnamed “officials” who can’t go on “official” record because this is an ongoing investigation......etc.
Good for him. So no gov’t paperwork has a confession from Bales. Add to that, the gov’t hasn’t been back to investigate the alleged events? What DO they have at this point?
Do they have the bodies? Do they know when these people were killed?
Sounds like SSGt Bales has a good attorney. He’s doing a pretty good job pushing back at “rumors” saying the military hasn’t shown they have the goods to back up those rumors.
A recent Army health report draws an alarming profile of a fighting force more prone to inexcusable violence amid an “epidemic” of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the mental breakdown attracting speculation as a factor in a massacre of Afghan civilians this month.
Based on an exhaustive study of nearly 500,000 soldiers, reservists and veterans, the report finds that troops are more likely to commit suicide and violent sex offenses, and notes that as many as 236,000 suffered from PTSD since the beginning of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
For military analysts, the reason is the nightmarish experience of sustained combat: Soldiers have been fighting the longest war in U.S. history, with frequent stressful deployments and compressed rest time back home.
Continued - Troops stressed to breaking point: Report cites sustained combat, redeployments
No smoking gun pic here, but some timeline info you may find of interest:
The Army provided basic information about Staff Sgt. Robert Bales (No middle initial)
Date of Rank: April 1, 2008
MOS: 11B (Infantry)
Duty Status: Active
Basic Active Service Date (Enlistment Date): Nov. 8, 2001
Assignment History:
2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. (Sept 11, 2002 -- Present)
Military Education/Year Completed:
Combat Life Savers Course 2002
Warrior Leaders Course 2008
Sniper 2008
Visual Tracker 2008
Combatives Level 1 2010
Combatives Level 2 2010
U.S. Air Force Airlift Planner 2010
Advance Leaders Course (ALC) 2010
Civilian Education/Year Completed
Associate Degree (2 Yr College) 1992
Home of Record: Jensen Beach, Fla.
Deployment History/Time Frame:
Operation Iraqi Freedom (12 Months) / Nov. 1, 2003 - Oct. 1, 2004
Operation Iraqi Freedom (15 Months) / June 19, 2006 - Sept. 22, 2007
Operation Iraqi Freedom (10 Months) / Aug. 8, 2009 - June 4, 2010
Operation Enduring Freedom / Dec. 1, 2011 - March 2012
Awards and Decorations:
Army Good Conduct Medal (Three awarded)
Iraq Campaign Medal Campaign Star (Two awarded)
National Defense Service Medal
Overseas Service Ribbon
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Combat Infantry Badge
Expert Infantry Badge
Army Commendation Medal (Six awarded)
Army Achievement Medal
Meritorious Unit Commendation (Two awarded)
Army Superior Unit Award
Source: Army Times