Over the past week, the Army called witnesses who said Bales was missing from his outpost on the night of the killings, and that when he returned, he wore a bloodied uniform with some kind of cape.

An Army surveillance video backs up their testimony, showing a caped figure wearing night vision goggles walking from one of the villages Bales’ allegedly attacked toward the Army outpost at Belambay that morning.

Witnesses said Bales made confessions to his fellow soldiers at Belambay once they apprehended him, such as: “Some sick (stuff) is going to come out of this and I hope you guys don’t think less of me.”

Scanlan sought to crack the Army’s evidence by stressing inconsistencies in certain witness testimony. She said she only yesterday received an Army report describing the chemicals in Bales’ system after his arrest. They include steroids, alcohol and sleeping pills.

“We don’t know what alcohol, steroids and sleeping aids do to a person who is lucid, coherent and responsive,” she said, picking at the Army’s description of Bales as rational on the night of the slaughter.

Scanlan said Bales received some of those mood-altering substances from Green Berets at Belambay. His infantry unit was attached to a team from the 7th Special Forces Group and isolated from its normal command structure of the Lewis-McChord Stryker brigade.

It was an unusual mission for Bales, who was on his fourth deployment with the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.

“They are the commanders,” she said, referring to the Special Operators. “They are in charge, and they are terrible at it.”

Other loose ends from the hearing include whether Bales ever sought care for post-traumatic stress or sustained treatment for a head injury. Scanlan would not say.

Last spring, Bales’ defense team refused to allow him to take an Army sanity board without one his lawyers present. Scanlan on Tuesday said they’re working on an agreement to administer that test in a fair manner.

She contrasted Bales’ most recent, glowing performance reviews with the depictions of him walking into Belambay at 4:49 a.m. March 11 in a T-shirt, combat pants and cape.

The reviews praised him for his “strong moral compass” and his ability to distinguish innocents from insurgents in complex battlefields.

“When we talk about him as rational, lucid, coherent, responsive, we need to ask ourselves why was someone so lucid wearing a cape?” Scanlan asked.

The Bales case: in summary

KEY ARMY POINTS:

• Staff Sgt. Robert Bales was a respected leader who received a tough assignment in Afghanistan because his commanders believed in him.

• Bales frequently complained about his home life in conversations with other soldiers, but he appeared excited about his deployment to Afghanistan and wanted to earn a promotion.

• Bales abused alcohol and steroids at his outpost and assaulted a civilian Afghan contractor supplying the base.

• While in custody after the killings, Bales made confessions, such as, “I thought I was doing the right thing and, “Come June, you guys are going to thank me,” a statement that apparently refers to the Afghan summer fighting season.

• There was blood from at least four people on clothing and gear seized from Bales the night of the killings. One DNA sample was matched to a blood stain at one of the homes he allegedly attacked.

• No eyewitness who testified said he or she saw more than one soldier firing at Afghans.

KEY DEFENSE POINTS:

• Bales received steroids, sleeping pills and alcohol from other soldiers at his combat outpost.

• Bales had suffered a head injury on a past deployment to Iraq and might have quietly suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.

• Lewis-McChord’s screenings for traumatic brain injuries and PTSD were flawed.

• Bales showed uncharacteristic behavior during his last deployment, growing short with junior soldiers and assaulting an Afghan contractor.

• Bales demonstrated bizarre behavior on the night of the killings, seeking counsel from a Special Forces noncommissioned officer.

• Several Afghan witnesses have told journalists that multiple American soldiers were involved in the killings.

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/11/14/2366665/death-penalty-for-bales.html#storylink=cpy