Soldier accused over Afghanistan gun rampage could face death penalty
Veteran of four combat tours showed 'chilling premeditation' in killing 16 civilians, court hears
US military prosecutors said they would seek the death penalty for a soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan villagers on two drunken forays earlier this year.
Lead prosecutor Lieutenant Colonel Jay Morse told a preliminary hearing on Monday he would present evidence proving "chilling premeditation" on the part of Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, a veteran of four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The shootings of mostly women and children in Afghanistan's Kandahar province in March marked the worst case of civilian slaughter blamed on an individual US soldier since the Vietnam War.
It also eroded already strained US-Afghan ties after more than a decade of conflict in the country. Bales faces 16 counts of premeditated murder and six counts of attempted murder, as well as charges of assault and wrongfully possessing and using steroids and alcohol while deployed.
Morse said he was submitting a "capital referral" in the case, requesting that Bales be executed if convicted.
The hearing at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state is expected to last two weeks and include testimony carried by live video from witnesses in Afghanistan, including villagers and Afghan soldiers. At the end, military commanders will decide whether there is sufficient evidence for Bales to stand trial by court martial.