JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. (AP) — Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, the American soldier charged with killing 16 Afghan civilians during nighttime raids on two villages last year, is expected to plead guilty Wednesday to avoid the death penalty. He is also expected speak in a military courtroom about the slayings.
This is what AP reporters and photographers at Joint Base Lewis-McChord south of Seattle are learning about the events unfolding:
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JUDGE BREAKS DOWN CHARGES
For each murder charge, the judge, Col. Jeffery Nance, asked Bales whether he understood the four elements: that the victim is dead; that the death resulted from Bales' actions; that the killing was unlawful; and that the killing was premeditated.
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HEARING RESUMES
After a brief recess, the hearing continued with the judge asking Bales about his guilty pleas in the slayings. Judge: "Is everything in the stipulation true?" Bales: "Yes, sir." The judge asked if there is anything in the stipulation that Bales does not want to admit to as true. Bales: "No, sir."
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JUDGE TO QUESTION SOLDIER
Bales signed a lengthy stipulation of facts about his actions the night of the killings. The judge says he'll question Bales about the details he acknowledged in that document. The hearing then went to a brief recess.
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GUILTY
Bales has pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty. He made the plea in a military courtroom to multiple counts of premeditated murder and other charges.
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JUDGE SPEAKS TO BALES
The judge, Col. Jeffery Nance, explained Bales' rights and asked if he understands them. Bales stood and answered: "Yes, sir, I do." Judge told him he can remain seated unless otherwise instructed.
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HEARING BEGINS
The proceedings have started. Bales is sitting next to his attorneys, Emma Scanlan and John Henry Browne. Browne is a well-known Seattle-area lawyer whose clients have included serial killer Ted Bundy and the teenage thief known as the Barefoot Bandit. The 6-foot-6 Browne has a sometimes brash courtroom style.
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FAMILY SUPPORT
Prior to the hearing beginning, Bales was in the courtroom, speaking with his wife and touching her elbow. Karilyn Bales has supported her husband throughout the legal proceedings, saying he is a loving father to his two children.
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HUGE MEDIA PRESENCE
The number of media vehicles waiting for the Bales hearing was so large that a regular lane of traffic was blocked off near the JBLM gate to accommodate them before moving the first group to the security screening area. There, as with past hearings, vehicles had to have all doors open and were screened by a dog and a handler wearing a bullet proof vest. As media filed in to the work area, John Henry Browne and Lance Rosen, attorneys for Bales and his family, were seen talking in a separate parking lot. It looks like that for this hearing, media in the work area will have a four-camera split-screen view of the proceedings, in order to show different areas of the courtroom.
http://news.yahoo.com/latest-soldier-speak-afghan-massacre-155832004.html
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