The lawyer for the US sergeant accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians said soldier had been reluctant to leave for Afghanistan on his fourth deployment.
John Browne also described the soldier as a “mild-mannered” person who had been upset after someone in his unit was “gravely injured” the day before the shooting.
“We have been informed that at this small base that he was at, somebody was gravely injured the day before the alleged incident - gravely injured, and that affected all of the soldiers,” Mr Browne said.
He would not release his client’s name, citing concerns for the soldier’s family, under protection on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, near Tacoma, Washington State. But he did say that the soldier had previously been injured twice, and he and his family thought he had finished fighting.
“He wasn’t thrilled about going on another deployment,” said Mr Browne. “He was told he wasn’t going back, and then he was told he was going.”
At a press conference in Seattle, Washington, Mr Browne said he had met the wife and other family members of the 38-year-old staff sergeant. “They were totally shocked,” he said. “He’s never said anything antagonistic about Muslims. He’s in general very mild-mannered.”
Mr Browne said he knew little of the facts of the shooting but disputed reports that a combination of alcohol, stress and domestic issues caused him to
snap. He said family members said they were unaware of any drinking problem and described the soldier’s marriage as “fabulous”.
The soldier is suspected of going on a shooting rampage in villages near his base in southern Afghanistan early on Sunday, killing nine children and seven other civilians and then burning some of their bodies.
The shooting, which followed a controversial Koran-burning incident involving US soldiers, has outraged Afghan officials.
The suspect was flown out of Afghanistan on Wednesday evening to what officials describe as a pre-trial confinement facility in Kuwait. Officials have described him as a father of two who has been in the military for 11 years. He has served three tours in Iraq and began his first deployment to Afghanistan in December.
The soldier asked to be represented by Mr Browne when he was taken into custody, the lawyer said. Mr Browne said he had spoken to the soldier but did not discuss the substance of the allegations. He said the soldier had no prior record in his army dossier indicating misbehaviour.
Mr Browne said he had handled only three or four military cases. The soldier, whose name has yet to be announced, will also have at least one military lawyer.
Mr Browne (65) has appeared in a military court only a handful of times in a career spanning more than 40 years, but he is no stranger to high-profile clients and has represented serial killer Ted Bundy.
In addition to being a lawyer for Bundy, he helped Benjamin Ng avoid the death penalty following his conviction in Washington state’s worst mass killing, the massacre of 13 people at a Seattle restaurant.
In one of his greatest legal victories, he ensured that a man who fled to Brazil after starting a blaze that killed four firefighters would not face murder charges upon his return because the extraditing country - Brazil - did not have a felony murder statute equivalent to Washington’s.
AP