Robert Bales

Robert Bales (born June 30, 1973) is a former United States Army soldier and spree killer who murdered 16 Afghan civilians in Panjwayi, Kandahar, Afghanistan, on March 11, 2012 – an event known as the Kandahar massacre. In order to avoid the death penalty, he pleaded guilty to 16 counts of murder and six counts of assault and attempted murder in a plea deal. On August 23, 2013, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.[1]

Robert Bales
Bales in March 2012
Born (1973-06-30) June 30, 1973
Norwood, Ohio, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materOhio State University
OccupationFormer U.S. Army soldier
Spouse(s)Karilyn Bales
Children2
Criminal penaltyLife in prison without parole
Details
DateMarch 11, 2012 (2012-03-11)
03:00 AFT
Location(s)Balandi and Alkozai villages of Afghanistan
Target(s)Afghan civilians
Killed16
Injured6
WeaponsM4 carbine and M9 sidearm; some victims were found with both gunshot and stab wounds.

Early life and education

Bales was born on June 30, 1973,[2] and raised in Norwood, Ohio, near the city of Cincinnati, the youngest of five brothers. He attended Norwood High School. After high school Bales briefly enrolled at College of Mount St. Joseph, then transferred to Ohio State University, where he studied economics for three years, but left without graduating in 1996.[3][4][5]

After leaving college, Bales worked as a stockbroker at five financial services firms in Columbus, Ohio.[6] The firms were related, sharing employees and corporate offices. During that period, while employed with Michael Patterson, Inc., Bales and the firm engaged in fraudulent securities activities.[6] An arbitration panel later found both Bales and his employer liable for financial fraud related to the handling of a retirement account and ordered them to pay $1.4 million in civil damages. Gary Liebschner, the victim, said he "never got paid a penny" of the award.[7] According to Liebschner's lawyer, they had not pursued legal action against Bales to collect the judgment because they were unable to locate Bales, who had joined the U.S. Army 18 months after the long-running arbitration case was filed.[8]

In May 1999, while still employed with a securities firm in Ohio, Bales, his brother Mark, and Marc Edwards co-founded a financial services firm named Spartina Investments in Doral, Florida. The state dissolved Spartina in September 2000, after the company failed to file its annual report in a timely manner.[9]

Career
Bales at the Fort Irwin National Training Center in August 2011

Bales enlisted in the U.S. Army in November 2001, shortly after the September 11 attacks.[10] He was initially assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry of the 3rd Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division in Fort Lewis.[11] He completed three tours in the Iraq War: twelve months in 2003 and 2004, fifteen months in 2006 and 2007, and ten months in 2009 and 2010.[3] During the 2007 tour he reportedly injured his foot in the Battle of Najaf,[3] and during the 2010 tour he was treated for traumatic brain injury after his vehicle was rolled in an accident.[11]

According to public records, Bales had been involved in several incidents while stationed at Fort Lewis which had resulted in the police responding. In 2002, he got into a fight with a security guard at a Tacoma area casino and was charged with misdemeanor criminal assault, but the charge was dismissed after he paid a small fine and attended anger management classes.[12] Another confrontation outside of a bar in 2008 was also reported to police, but no charges were filed.[13]

Bales was promoted to staff sergeant on April 1, 2008.[14] On February 1, 2012, he was assigned to Camp Belambai in Kandahar Province in Afghanistan, where he was responsible for providing base security for U.S. Army Special Forces and U.S. Navy SEALs who were engaged in village stability operations.[15][16]

Kandahar massacre
Main article: Kandahar massacre

On the night of March 11, 2012, Bales killed 16 Afghan civilians (nine children, some as young as two years old, four women and three men) in the villages of Balandi and Alkozai near Camp Belambai.[17][18] On March 24, U.S. Army investigators said Bales was the sole person responsible for the shootings, which were the result of two separate attacks. Investigators said Bales returned to Camp Belambai after the first attack and left the camp an hour later to commit the second.[19][20]

A senior military official said Bales had been drinking alcohol with two other soldiers on the night of the shootings, in violation of military rules in combat zones.[21] According to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Bales acknowledged the killings and "told individuals what happened" immediately after being captured.[22] Minutes later, he refused to speak with investigators and asked for an attorney.[23][24] Bales' civilian attorney, John Henry Browne, later said, "I don't know that the government is going to prove much. There's no forensic evidence. There's no confession."[25] However, in May 2013, Browne said his client would confess to the massacre in return for avoiding the death penalty.[26]

Detention

After his arrest, Bales was transferred out of Afghanistan, stopping at a U.S. military base in Kuwait. His stop in Kuwait upset the Kuwaiti government, as they had heard about the Bales case from news reports before being informed by the U.S. government. According to an unnamed official: "When they learned about it, the Kuwaitis blew a gasket and wanted him out of there."[21]

On March 16, 2012, Bales was flown from Kuwait to the Midwest Joint Regional Correctional Facility in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. According to U.S. Army Colonel James Hutton, Chief of Media Relations, Bales was being held in special housing in his own cell, and was able to go outside the cell "for hygiene and recreational purposes".[19]

On March 23, 2012, the U.S. government charged Bales with seventeen counts of murder, six counts of attempted murder, and six counts of assault.[27]

On June 1, 2012, the government dropped one of the murder charges, because one victim had been double counted.[28] Simultaneously, other charges were filed, including abuse of steroids, alcohol consumption, and attempting to destroy evidence.[29] Assault charges were increased from six to seven.[28]

In October 2012, Bales was transferred to Northwest Joint Regional Correctional Facility at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.[30][31]

Trial

Civilian attorney John Henry Browne defended Bales with assigned military lawyers.[23][32] Browne described Bales as "mild-mannered", claiming his client was upset after seeing a friend's leg blown off the day before the killings, but held no animosity toward Muslims.[33] "I think the message for the public in general is that he's one of our boys and they need to treat him fairly."[21][32] Browne denied the deadly rampage was caused by alcohol intoxication or marital problems and said Bales was "reluctant to serve."[32] According to Browne, Bales did not want to return to the front lines. Browne said, "He wasn't thrilled about going on another deployment ... he was told he wasn't going back, and then he was told he was going."[34] Browne also criticized anonymous reports from government officials, stating "the government is going to want to blame this on an individual rather than blame it on the war."[21]

Bales had no documented history of mental disorder, and had undergone an extensive mental health screening to become a sniper in 2008.[11][35][36] In 2010, he suffered a concussion in a car accident, underwent traumatic brain injury treatment at Fort Lewis, and was deemed healthy. Investigators examining his medical history described his ten-year U.S. Army tenure as "unremarkable" and found no evidence of serious traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress.[11][23][35] A high-ranking U.S. official told The New York Times, "When it all comes out, it will be a combination of stress, alcohol and domestic issues—he just snapped."[21] However, Bales had been taking an anti-malaria medication (mefloquine) now known to cause a wide range of side effects, including psychiatric.[37] He had also started taking stanozolol three weeks before the massacre.[38]

As part of the legal proceedings, an Article 32 hearing was held November 5–13, 2012, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.[39] The hearing included eyewitnesses testimony from Afghanistan via a live video link; Bales did not testify. The hearing concluded with prosecutors requesting the death penalty.[40][41]

On May 29, 2013, it was announced Bales would plead guilty (thereby avoiding the death penalty) and describe the events of March 11, 2012.[41] On June 5, Bales pleaded guilty in a plea deal to 16 counts of murder and six counts of assault and attempted murder. When asked by Judge Col. Jeffery Nance "What was your reason for killing them?", he said he had asked himself that question "a million times" and added, "There’s not a good reason in this world for why I did the horrible things I did." He maintained he didn't recall setting bodies on fire, but admitted the evidence was clear that he had. He said he'd taken the steroids solely to be "huge and jacked" and blamed them for "definitely" increasing his irritability and anger.[42]

At the sentencing hearing, defense attorneys argued for a sentence of life with the possibility of parole, arguing that he was a troubled man who snapped, not a "cold-blooded murderer". Bales took to the stand to issue an apology to his victims. Lt. Col Jay Morse, a member of the US Army Trial Counsel Assistance Program, was the lead prosecutor in the Bales case.[43] The prosecution, seeking life without the possibility of parole, closed their arguments with: "In just a few short hours, Sgt. Bales wiped out generations. Sgt. Bales dares to ask you for mercy when he has shown none."[44]

On August 23, a six-person panel sentenced Bales to life in prison without parole.[1][45][46] He was also demoted to the lowest enlisted rank, dishonorably discharged, and will forfeit all pay and allowances.[30] A commanding general overseeing the court-martial has the option of reducing the sentence to life with the possibility of parole.[47] Afghan villagers and the families of Bales' victims were upset by the decision, saying he deserved death.[44][47] Bales is incarcerated in the maximum security section of United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth.[30]In September 2017, the U.S. Army Criminal Appeals Court upheld Bales' conviction and sentencing. The three-judge panel called the allegation of the use of Mefloquine by the defense "speculative."[48]The US Supreme Court later refused to hear Bales' appeal. In December 2020 the defense of Bales filed a request for forgiveness from President Donald Trump.[49] On January 20, 2021 it was confirmed that Bales was not forgiven by Trump.[50]

Prison interviews

During several months of interviews while incarcerated, Bales revealed in depth his recollection of his actions the night of the murders, and why he believed he acted the way he did, to reporter Brendan Vaughan in an article published in GQ magazine on October 21, 2015.[38]

Personal life

Bales is married and has two children.[51] After the shootings, his family was moved from their home in Lake Tapps, Washington, for their protection.[21][32][51]

The Bales family was struggling financially and had put its home up for sale three days before the shootings.[52] The property was listed for $229,000, approximately $50,000 less than what they had paid for it in 2005, and less than what they owed the bank.[52]

Awards and decorations

Badge
Combat Infantryman Badge[53]
1st Row
Army Commendation Medal
with one silver oak leaf cluster[53]
Army Achievement Medal[53]
Army Good Conduct Medal
with three good conduct loops[53]
2nd Row
National Defense Service Medal[53]
Iraq Campaign Medal
with two service stars[53]
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal[53]
3rd Row
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal[53]
Army Service Ribbon[53]
Army Overseas Service Ribbon[53]

References
  1. "Soldier Gets Life Without Parole in Deaths of Afghan Civilians". The New York Times. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
  2. U.S. Public Records Index Vol 1 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010.
  3. Dao, James. At Home, Asking How 'Our Bobby' Became War Crime Suspect Archived 2015-10-10 at the Wayback Machine The New York Times March 18, 2012. Retrieved March 22, 2012.
  4. "Money, job strife dogged accused Afghan shooter". Army Times. Associated Press. 18 March 2012. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  5. "Suspect in Afghanistan shootings had fallen on hard times". Los Angeles Times. 17 March 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-03-19. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  6. ""Afghanistan suspect had shaky business dealings" Archived 2014-11-18 at the Wayback Machine, Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Retrieved March 22, 2012.
  7. "Staff Sgt. Robert Bales was found liable in financial fraud". The Washington Post. March 20, 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-03-20. Retrieved March 20, 2012.
  8. Henderson, Peter, and Jed Horowitz, "Afghan Shooting Suspect Did Not Pay Fraud Judgment", Reuters; March 21, 2012.
  9. Profile of Bales Archived 2014-03-13 at the Wayback Machine, Bloomberg L.P./news, March 23, 2012.
  10. "Afghan shooting suspect did not pay fraud judgment". Reuters. March 22, 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-03-22. Retrieved March 22, 2012.
  11. "US soldier accused in Afghan massacre had brain injury history". MSNBC. Archived from the original on March 13, 2012. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  12. "Robert Bales: 2002 assault case involved casino guard". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 22, 2012.
  13. Baker, Mike and Manuel Valdes. "Soldier Accused of 2nd Assault" Archived 2012-03-23 at the Wayback Machine, ABC News. Retrieved March 22, 2012.
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  37. Miller, Greg (August 15, 2013). "A Gruesome War Crime Renews Concerns About a Malaria Drug's Psychiatric Side Effects". Wired. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
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  48. "Court: Conviction, life sentence stands for former Army Sgt. Robert Bales".
  49. Sisk, Richard (2020-12-04). "Robert Bales Among 8 Former Troops, Contractors Petitioning Trump for Pardons". Military.com. Retrieved 2020-12-24.
  50. "Not pardoning JBLM war criminal Robert Bales was right decision by Trump". 2021-01-21.
  51. "Sergeant's Wife Kept a Blog on the Travails of Army Life". The New York Times. March 17, 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-03-18. Retrieved March 17, 2012.
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