Tagged: Army

SEATTLE (AP) — The Army staff sergeant charged with murdering 16 Afghan villagers during pre-dawn raids last year has agreed to plead guilty in a deal to avoid the death penalty. John Henry Browne, an attorney for Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, tells The Associated Press that Bales will enter the plea June 5 at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

A solider from Washington state has been charged with murder in the death of his pregnant wife.  Prosecutors also say Pvt. Isaac Aguigui of Cashmere, Wash., is the ringleader of an anti-government militia group that plotted to overthrow the government and poison apple crops in Washington state.

Coming up on Spotlight, March 18 at 8 p.m.

Ten years ago, a US-led invasion brushed aside Iraq's army and toppled the country’s long-time leader, Saddam Hussein.  The swift military operation quickly became a difficult and complicated occupation. The US found itself fighting an insurgency, and a sectarian conflict nearly consumed the country.

The Army has more than doubled its number of military and civilian behavioral health workers in the past five years, however, a newly released report that examines how the Army evaluates soldiers for mental health issues finds that the system is riddled with problems. 

Attorneys for Staff Sergeant Robert Bales say they’re unsure if they’ll pursue a mental health defense in the case. 

But if they do, the judge has ordered that the soldier must undergo a so-called sanity board review.

Bales is accused of murdering 16 Afghan civilians and wounding six others in an overnight rampage last March.