Eddie Ray Routh Is Found Guilty At Trial Of “American Sniper”

Eddie Ray Routh, the ex-marine who shot and killed Chris Kyle, elevated to the rank of hero sniper in the US thanks to the blockbuster American Sniper and his friend, Chad Littlefield, was sentenced to life imprisonment.

A jury composed of ten women and two men pleaded guilty Routh after a two-week trial held in the city of Stephenville, Texas, and in which the ex-marine tried to evade conviction by arguing dementia.

Lea: United States awaits the outcome of the trial of ‘American Sniper’.

Routh was sentenced to life imprisonment automatically after being convicted because the prosecution resigned to seek the death penalty.

The ex-marine killed Kyle and Littlefield on February 2, 2013 in a shooting in North Texas when they were trying to help with the problems suffered after serving in Iraq and Haiti.

The defense unsuccessfully tried to prove that the crimes committed Routh influenced by one’s own delusions of schizophrenia and posttraumatic stress he suffered after his service, so the day of the murders did not know what he was doing.

Jurors deliberated on Tuesday after the ninth and final day of the trial held in the city of Stephenville (Texas) and the ex-marine pleaded not guilty to argue insanity.

A difficult deliberation

After hearing about 30 witnesses, the latest this morning, the afternoon was the turn of the prosecution and defense to present their closing arguments.

“It’s time to end the spiral of excuses for criminal behavior,” said prosecutor Alan Nash, representing the state of Texas in the process.

“You, reasonable people Erath County, know that these stories of murderers pigs are nothing but a bunch of nonsense,” said the lawyer for the prosecution Jane Starnes, referring to rave Routh ensures suffered during the crimes.

Read: The murderer of ‘American Sniper’ paranoid returned from Iraq, told his mother.

Both delved into the argument that her psychotic behavior was caused by the abuse of alcohol and marijuana, which must be condemned for their crimes.

The defense, however, recalled that those closest to Routh witnesses testified that marijuana caused a “calming effect” on the veteran, so their mental problems have deeper causes.

Routh killed Kyle and Littlefield on February 2, 2013 in a shooting in North Texas when they were trying to help with the problems suffered after serving in Iraq and Haiti.

The mental health of the accused has focused the dispute between the defense and the prosecution and determines the final decision of the jury on the guilt or otherwise of the ex-marine.

The trial in Stephenville passed parallel to the success of the blockbuster American Sniper, directed by Clint Eastwood, inspired by memories that wrote the sniper and was nominated for several Oscars.

Kyle served in the “Navy SEAL”, the elite unit of the US Navy, during the occupation of Iraq, and is recognized as the most lethal sniper in US history, with 160 confirmed deaths behind.