A US soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan villagers last year will plead guilty in exchange for escaping the death penalty, his lawyers said in remarks reported Wednesday.
Sergeant Robert Bales faces charges including 16 counts of murder, six of attempted murder and seven of assault over the massacre in southern Afghanistan in March last year.
Seventeen of the 22 victims were women or children and almost all were shot in the head. Prosecutors called in November for him to face the death penalty, setting a provisional date for court-martial in September.
His lawyer John Browne was cited by nd other media as saying military prosecutors had agreed to the guilty plea deal, which could be made before a military judge next week.
Attorney Emma Scanlan, who works with Browne on the case, told USA Today that Bales “will be entering a plea of guilty to the charges” next week. “He is ready to accept responsibility for what he has done,” she said.
“The plea has been accepted by the commanding general”
