Bales Charged with 17 Counts of Murder in Afghan Massacre

Yochi J. Dreazen

Army prosecutors have decided to charge Staff Sgt. Robert Bales with 17 counts of homicide for his alleged role in a mass shooting in southern Afghanistan earlier this month, according to a U.S. official. The formal charges will come tomorrow, the official said.

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Bales is the sole suspect in the shootings in southern Afghanistan’s Kandahar Province. If convicted, Bales could face the death penalty.

Military officials believe they have a strong case. They say they have surveillance videotape of Bales leaving the base shortly before the shootings and returning shortly afterward. Senior military officials say that Bales turned himself in and after returning to the base and surrendered his weapon. But Bales’ civilian attorney, John Henry Browne, has said he plans to mount an aggressive defense based on an assertion that Bales was temporarily insane because of a severe head injury suffered during an earlier tour to Iraq. A spokeswoman for the attorney said they have not yet received any formal notification of the pending charges.