Up until about a month ago this was a capital murder case and, if convicted, Routh could have followed in Brannan's footsteps. Attorneys for Routh will argue the insanity defense. Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield took Routh to a firing range and never returned.Īccording to prosecution, Routh killed them for their truck. This marine who served in Iraq and picked up babies' bodies in Haiti is Eddie Ray Routh. That man was Chris Kyle, an American hero known as the American Sniper, whose story is in movie theaters this week. She sought help from another veteran - a man who had also served in Iraq and who had helped other veterans struggling with PTSD. She says a psychiatrist at the VA said he was not stable enough for that program. He was fixated on demons and his mother wanted him to be referred to a residential program for those with PTSD. He thought that helicopters were watching him and that he would be forced to return to Iraq. According to friends and family, his symptoms got worse. He was prescribed eight medications including lithium, prazosin, and Zoloft. He was released when deemed sufficiently improved, but he returned to the hospital with similar mental health issues two more times. In July of 2011 he was diagnosed with PTSD at the Dallas VA. When he returned from Haiti, according to his family, he was changed. The time he spent there affected him harshly, and he told his mother "They didn't train me to go and pick up baby bodies off the beach." He returned to the U.S., and in 2010 he was sent to assist with the fallout of the Haiti earthquake. While serving outside Baghdad, he witnessed mortar attacks and much worse. This man enlisted as a Marine and served in Iraq from 2007 to 2009. There is a trial starting in February where another veteran suffering from PTSD is accused of murder. He said "I am proud to have been able to walk point for my comrades, and pray that the same thing does not happen to any of them."įor a time it seemed the same thing could happen, and soon. Prior to his execution on Jan.13, 2015, his lawyer told him that his case had raised public awareness of PTSD and veterans. In 1998 he killed a police officer in a traffic stop, and he was convicted of murder and given the death penalty. In 1984 he was diagnosed with PTSD and in 1996 his VA psychiatrist diagnosed him as bipolar as well. this year was a Bronze star recipient.Īndrew Brannan volunteered for the army and served a year in Vietnam. They argue that he was paranoid because he was high, and that he was angry about living with his parents, relationship problems, money and his job - then finally exploded when Kyle and Littlefield snubbed him.The first person executed in the U.S. Prosecutors said that Routh was drinking and smoking marijuana on the morning of the crime. His attorneys have said Routh, a former Marine corporal who served in Iraq but not in a combat role, was in the grip of a medically diagnosed psychosis at the time of the killings. Routh pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to capital murder. Routh, 27, admitted to killing both men at the shooting range of Rough Creek Lodge and Resort, southwest of Dallas, on Feb. Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty, and Routh was sentenced to life in prison without parole. RELATED: 'Sniper' prosecution rebuts insanity plea The jury announced its verdict at around 10:20 p.m. A Texas jury has found Eddie Ray Routh guilty of murder in the killings of "American Sniper" Chris Kyle and Kyle's friend, Chad Littlefield.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |