Sentencing phase to open for U.S. soldier guilty of Afghan murders

By Jonathan Kaminsky TACOMA, Washington (Reuters) – The military judge in the court-martial of a U.S. soldier who pleaded guilty in June to the massacre of 16 Afghan civilians was due to hear arguments on Monday over rules for the sentencing proceedings that open this week in Washington state. Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales' lawyers argued last week that prosecutors' exposure to statements he made during a psychiatric exam — after the judge mistakenly furnished them with a copy — compromised their client's constitutional right to avoid self-incrimination. …