On March 14 , 2012 , Browne took the case of Staff Sgt. Robert Bales , the U.S. soldier accused of murdering 16 Afghan citizens ( mostly women and children ) in an incident known as the Kandahar massacre . Browne defended Bales alongside military lawyers . Browne described Bales as " mild-mannered " , and claimed his client was upset after seeing a friend 's leg blown off the day before the killings , but held no animosity toward Muslims . Browne said " I think the message for the public in general is that he 's one of our boys and they need to treat him fairly . " Browne also criticized anonymous reports from government officials , stating " the government is going to want to blame this on an individual rather than blame it on the war . " In order to avoid the death penalty , Bales pleaded guilty to sixteen counts of murder and six counts of assault and attempted murder in a plea deal . On August 23 , 2013 , he was sentenced to life in prison without parole
Kandahar massacre
Kandahar massacre
John Henry Browne