With Sentencing Looming, Prosecution Wants to Play Recording of Staff Sgt. Robert Bales Laughing Over Murder Charges

That won't help him

Army prosecutors said Monday they have a recording of a phone call in which Staff Sgt. Robert Bales and his wife laugh as they review the charges filed against him in the killing of 16 Afghan villagers.

Bales, an Ohio native and father of two from Lake Tapps, Wash., pleaded guilty in June in a deal to avoid the death penalty for killing the civilians, mostly women and children, on March 11, 2012.

His sentencing begins on Tuesday with the selection of a military jury. Prosecutors told the judge, Col. Jeffery Nance, on Monday they hope to play the recording, among others, to show a lack of remorse on Bales' part. He faces life in prison either with or without the possibility of release.