JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. (AP) — The U.S. soldier who massacred 16 Afghan civilians apologized Thursday for his "act of cowardice" as he made his case for why he should someday have a chance at freedom.
Staff Sgt. Robert Bales became emotional during testimony in which he said he was angry and afraid when he went on a solo nighttime mission and slaughtered villagers, mostly women and children, on March 11, 2012 in their huts.
"What I did is an act of cowardice," he said. "I'm a mass of fear and bullshit and bravado. I'm truly, truly sorry to those people whose families got taken away."
Bales, 39, pleaded guilty in June in a deal to avoid the death penalty for the attacks. A military jury will determine if his life sentence should offer a chance of parole.
Bales said he was mad at himself for being angry all the time, drinking too much and hiding his problems.
