Bales prosecutor says quick resolution made sense in massacre case

[unhappycamper]

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2013/11/07/2878064/bales-prosecutor-says-quick-resolution.html



SSG Robert Bales

Bales prosecutor says quick resolution made sense in massacre case
By Nomaan Merchant — Associated Press
Published: November 7, 2013

DALLAS, Texas — When the Pierce County soldier who massacred 16 Afghan civilians was sentenced this summer to life in prison without parole, many of his victims in the courtroom were furious. They wanted Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales executed.

Lt. Col. Jay Morse, the lead prosecutor, told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday that the case faced significant hurdles, from limited access to the crime scene to a drawdown of American troops from Afghanistan, which made a quick resolution ideal.

Still, to a prosecutor whose goal was to try to satisfy victims of the Joint Base Lewis-McChord infantryman, their reaction was difficult but understandable.

“I don’t think they were completely satisfied,” Morse said. “I don’t know that they would have been completely satisfied without literally seeing Sgt. Bales executed.”