( CNN ) -- A U.S. soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan villagers in a shooting rampage could face the death penalty if he is found guilty in a court-martial . The military has referred the case of Staff Sgt . Robert Bales to a court-martial authorized to consider capital punishment , according to a military statement released Wednesday . Another six Afghans were wounded in the spree near a small U.S. base in Afghanistan 's Kandahar province last March , the military said . `` The charges are merely accusations , and the accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty , '' the military emphasized in its statement . Bales ' defense attorney John Henry Browne said Wednesday he did n't receive any notice from the Army or the prosecutors about the decision to pursue the death penalty ; he said he found out about it through the media . `` That 's how much we seem to matter to the prosecutors and the general , '' quipped Browne . `` I am concerned this is a death penalty case , but I am not surprised . We 've prepared him for this . He knows he 's being singled out , '' Browne said . `` We understand that decision , but we think it 's totally irresponsible of the government and the Army , '' Bales ' lawyer said . `` We think the Army is attempting to escape responsibility for the decision to send Sgt . Bales to Afghanistan for his fourth deployment , knowing that he had ( post-traumatic stress disorder ) and a concussive head injury , '' Browne said . `` I think that the person who made the decision to send Sgt . Bales to the most dangerous area in Afghanistan in a small outpost is responsible for Sgt . Bales being in Afghanistan , and he should have never been there . '' Bales ' wife , Karilyn , has called the accusations `` completely out of character of the man I know and admire . '' In a statement released Wednesday , she wrote , `` I no longer know if a fair trial for Bob is possible , but it very much is my hope and I will have faith . '' She and their children visit Bales every weekend , and `` for a few hours I can see and feel the love that flows '' between them , she added . Afghan authorities have pushed for swift action . `` He committed a mass killing crime , and we would like the court in the United States to implement justice and punish him according to the crime , '' Ahmad Zia Syamak , a spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai , told CNN last month . But Browne said prosecutors may regret hastily moving the case forward . `` The reality is almost every death case in the Army -- almost every -- has been overturned on appeal , and there has n't been an execution in the Army since the early '60s , '' Browne said , referencing the 1961 hanging of Pvt . John Bennett . Read more : Afghan survivor : 'He just started shooting ' CNN 's Josh Levs and Paul Vercammen contributed to this report .
NEW : Staff Sgt . Robert Bales ' attorney calls Army , government prosecutors `` irresponsible '' Bales ' wife , Karilyn , says she 's unsure if he can get a fair trial . Bales is accused of killing 16 and wounding six Afghans in March shooting spree .