Robert Bales’ lawyer says there is no evidence he is responsible for Kandahar shootings
A man identified as Robert Bales appears in this Defense Department photograph published in High Desert Warrior, a publication at the National Training Center and Fort Irwin in California.
Staff Sgt. Robert Bales is accused of murdering 16 Afghan civilians in Kandahar, but his lawyer maintains there is "no forensic evidence" to prove the accusations. Bales is currently awaiting charges in a military detention center and is the only suspect in the shootings, BBC News reported.
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Bales' lawyer, John Henry Browne, has a history of representing and humanizing some of the country's most notorious criminals, the Associated Press reported. He has previously represented serial killer Ted Bundy and the teenage thief known as the Barefoot Bandit.
"Browne, 65, has obtained remarkable results for some of his clients, but his aggressive courtroom style can also rub prosecutors and judges the wrong way," the AP said in a story profiling the lawyer.
Browne met his client for the first time on Monday. He plans to travel to Afghanistan to collect his own evidence for the trial, the BBC reported.
"I don't know about the evidence in this case. I don't know that the government is going to prove much. There's no forensic evidence. There's no confessions," Browne said, according to the Associated Press.
Browne also downplayed Bales' financial troubles. Bales was $1.5 million in debt and had been found guilty of financial crimes before joining the army, the Independent reported.
"That doesn't mean anything," Browne told the AP. "Sure, there are financial problems. I have financial problems. Ninety-nine percent of America has financial problems."