PLEA DEAL

Bales to Avoid Death Penalty

U.S. soldier pleads guilty to killing 16 Afghan civilians.

The U.S. soldier accused of brutally gunning down 16 civilians in Afghanistan in March 2012 has avoided the death penalty through a plea deal, his lawyer said Thursday. In an email, his attorney Emma Scanlan said that the sentencing phase in his case will occur in August. Prosecutors portrayed Bales as a murderer who “acted alone and with chilling premeditation,” while the defense claimed that he suffered from PTSD. Bales used a pistol, rifle, and grenade to slay 16 innocent Afghan civilians—including women and children—while on duty. After the incident, he allegedly remarked to another soldier: “I just shot some people up.”