Whether you believe in the justification of a death penalty or not, the fact that a person can bargain away that particular punishment by admitting slaughtering other people is mind boggling. And then why do we have ANYone on death row? I’ve heard of pleading guilty to other charges to avoid a death penalty, but pleading guilty to murder to avoid death?A US soldier has avoided the death penalty for murdering 16 Afghan civilians last year, after a military judge accepted his guilty plea.
Sergeant Robert Bales, 39, pleaded guilty over the massacre in southern Afghanistan in March last year.
[...]
His lawyer said last week he would admit guilt in exchange for prosecutors not seeking his execution. The judge was required to approve any plea deal.
[...]
Seventeen of the 22 victims were women or children and almost all were shot in the head.
alJazeera
??Prosecutors did not confirm that they were no longer seeking the death sentence.
And luckier than the people he slaughtered.Asked if Bales was sorry, Browne said: "Absolutely. And I think that will become clear as the process goes forward. He's very relieved that the death penalty is not on the table."
The prosecution, the judge and jury are all relieved, too. Can you imagine the uproar if they attempted to give the death penalty to a US soldier who killed mere Afghanis?
...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.
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