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US soldier who killed 16 Afghans may seek clemency

KABUL (Pajhwok): A former US soldier convicted of killing Afghan civilians may ask President Donald Trump for a sentence commutation should he run out of legal options, his lawyer says.

During his first tour of Afghanistan and children, in southern Kandahar province on March 11, 2012.

Handed down life imprisonment without parole on June 5, 2013, Bales claims important evidence was withheld in his first trial. The Supreme Court would consider his petition, according to McClatchy.

His lawyer John Maher suggested the ex-soldier had committed the mass murder possibly because of medicine he was ordered to take.  “The idea is not so much we want to exonerate Bob Bales,” Maher added.

“But he’s an American soldier who walked into combat four times … Understandably, there’s going to a breaking point for even the strongest people around. He deserves every protection the Constitution provides.”

If the Supreme Court declines hearing his case, Bales will petition the US District Court in Kansas before turning to Trump for clemency.

PAN Monitor/mud

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