WAR-TIME CONFESSION ALERT: The American soldier charged with killing 16 Afghan civilians during nighttime raids on two villages last year pleaded guilty Wednesday to avoid the death penalty. Staff Sgt. Robert Bales pleaded guilty in a military courtroom to 16 counts of premeditated murder and other charges. He pleaded not guilty to one charge, impeding an investigation. Bales, 39, was charged in the March 2012 attacks on two villages near the remote base in southern Afghanistan where he was posted. Most of the victims were women and children, and some of the bodies were burned; relatives have told The Associated Press they are irate at the notion Bales will escape execution for one of the worst atrocities of the Afghanistan war. abclocal.go/wtvd/story?section=news/national_world&id=9128298
Posted on: Thu, 06 Jun 2013 05:50:39 +0000