U.S. Soldier Meets With Lawyer Over Afghan Massacre

Sergeant Robert Bales (left) during an exercise at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California, in August 2011

An attorney for the American soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians has described his first face-to-face meeting with Staff Sergeant Robert Bales as one of the most emotional of his life.

Lawyer John Henry Browne met with the 38-year-old Bales for 3 and 1/2 hours on March 19 at the Fort Leavenworth, Kansas military prison where Bales is being held.

Browne told journalists Bales "has no memory" of the incident.

"He doesn't remember everything in the evening in question. That doesn't mean he has amnesia," Browne said.
Separately in an interview with U.S. television station CBS, Browne said Bales "has an early memory of that evening and he has a later memory of that evening but he does not have memory in between."

Bales has not been charged in the killings yet but could face the death penalty if convicted.

U.S. President Barack Obama has apologized to Afghan President Hamid Karzai and promised a full investigation into the incident that took place in southern Afghanistan earlier this month.

Based on AP reports