i think it came partly from john brown's temperament. most abolitionists of this era are really pacifists, and they believe the way to fight slavery is through education and moral uplift. nothing galvanizes him more than bullying throughout his life. he can't stand cravenness in the face of evil. he's someone that wants to punch back. i think there's this temperamental part of him as well that he looks around and sees the nation really bullied by the slave-holding south throughout his life. he wants to stand up to hink th too. i wouldn't say there's any once experience or part of him that results in this militant abolitionism. >> you know, some suggest and you addressed this in your book that he knew when he had only 18 men to go in and take over an armory which he then set in virginia, that it was not successful and his ultimate goal was to be a martyr. what is your opinion about that? it was frederick douglas who set up a historic college that while john brown didn't end the war and ended slavery, he was the war that ended slavery. so

certain value and insurgency and we have to honor john brown to a certain extent. but when it goes to mob rule, then we denigrate rather than honor freedom. so he wanted to find a position between socialist and capitalists that was reformist and he saw john brown as a useful way of distinguishing himself from the socialists. a good part of the longer speech that appears in the outlook magazine spends a lot of time distinguishing reform from mob rule. he also connected a lot of the labor insurrection to historically john brown. is that any help? >> yeah, he was -- according to i think it was a fellow named robert leford who talked about the origins of the osawatomie speech, he was suggesting that as sid suggests that t.r. was hoping to capture the insurgency and sort of -- >> and channel it. >> yeah, channel it away from. he wasn't thinking of running as a full-on challenger at the time. although he kept dropping these horrible comments about the taft administration. he was hoping to sort of use this occasion to say, okay, i'm one of you guys and we can now keep thi

he talks about john brown at length. so i think it contributes to getting the other nomination and the other effect it has is that it begins the furry in the south. we can't trut any northerner so that steven douglas, who has sort of seen the like ly democratic nominee who could unite north and south, the party is split. douglas is one nominee, and then a whole other party forum. when you have the november election, no for candidates in the field and lincoln wins with less than 40% of the vote. if i had to guess i would say if you hadn't had the raid, probably douglas would have become president who was a northerner very con sill to her towards the south and this whole war would have been deferred for at least another four years. who knows? i mean, then any number of other scenarios could have unfolded. so that's just a guess. i mean, but it's a significant -- >> it's more than significant, and it's so compelling. because that, of course, you just unrolled that a little bit further, and suddenly you don't have an emancip

the 1910 speech was delivered at the dedication as bill mentioned at the john brown -- of the john brown battlefield. t.r. condemned the violent tactics of brown's fight in bloody kansas. he compared that fight to the socialist of his own time, but he acknowledged that that fight was aroused by the country's rank hypocrisy. he said in name we had the declaration of independence in 1776. but we gave the light by our acts to the words of the declaration of independence until 1865, until the enactment of the 13th amendment. so, roosevelt argued, the industrial revolution, a crisis no less great than the civil war, he insisted, required a fundamental re-alignment of declaration and constitution. indeed, a more fundamental redefinition of the social contract, especially a rethinking of the right to property. as he put it in his speech, the new nationalism speech, the man who wrongly holds that every human fight is secondary to his profit must now give way to the advocate of human welfare, when rightly maintains that every man holds property subject to the general right of the community, to re

john henry brown has been on television a lot in the pacific northwest. he was representing the barefoot bandit colton harris moore. members of bales' family saw him on television and when they learned of this incident, they said, "let's get this guy." >> had it been from seeing him or what he had gotten out of that case? >> reporter: both. he was successful in the barefoot bandit case. john henry's special is plea negotiations. in the case of barefoot bandit who faced up to 30 years in prison, he'll be out in about six. the family saw that. they were impressed and they reached out to john henry brown. >> some have speculated the defense tactic may be to put the military on trial. >> reporter: it is. john henry brown has said that specifically to me. he will put the military on trial. the government on trial. and he said to me as well that the government would love to see him off of this case but he's not going anywhere and he wants to look at their procedures in treating these traumatic brain injuries and whether or not someone's poor judgment ended up p

we talked about the john brown's raid on harpers ferry, right. and southerners in particular worried about the fact that there are portions of the north, by all means, portions of the north very much mourning the execution of a man that was going to launch a slave rebellion that would have led to a lot of deaths of southern whites. okay. by the time we get to 160 what you're seeing is a country that is falling apart and running out of ways to come up with some sort of compromise. now, in that year, they're going to have to pick who they want for their presidential candidates. the different parties. all right. we talked about last time that in 1856 you've seen the birth of the republican party. you have the democratic party. which is fragmenting. in terms of region. you're getting kind of a northern wing and southern wing the democratic party. and what those two groups are going to have to do is come together and find out who they want the presidential candidate to be. now, the democrats decide to meet for no apparent reason, certainly not a smart

you can see it through the lens of illinois. 1859 we talked about the -- excuse me, the john brown's raid on harp percent ferry, right. southerners in particular worried about the fact that there are portions of the north, by no means all, but portions of the north that are very much mourning the execution of a man who was going to launch a slave rebellion that would have led to a lot of the deaths of southern whites, okay? so by the time we get to 1860 what you're seeing is a country that is falling apart and running out of ways to come up with some sort of compromise, some sort of solution. now in that year they're going to have to pick who they want for their presidential candidates, the different parties, all right? we talked about last time that in 1856 you've seen the birth of the republican party. you have the democratic party, which is fragmenting in terms of regions. you're getting kind of a northern wing and a southern wing of the democratic party. what those two groups are going to have to do is come together and find out who they want the presidential candidate to be. now

who brought in the attorney, john henry brown? >> reporter: i'm sorry, have you to say again. >> who brought in the attorney, mr. brown, if he's not a j.a.g. attorney? >> reporter: mr. brown was brought in because robert bales' wife had seen him on television in washington state, he represented the barefoot bandit, and got a very successful settlement in that case. that's john henry brown's specialty, by the way, settlements, negotiated settlements. his goal in this, to make sure that robert bales does not get the death penalty. he also said last night, he intends to put the government on trial in this case. >> thank you. >>> we want to get to breaking news out of france. four people, including three students, shot and killed outside a youish school in toulouse this morning. a man open fire in front of a school, a father, his two young sons were killed. the suspect got away on a motorcycle. french security have upped security across all schools. >>> mitt romney won primary in puerto rico but rick santorum says he's not giving up.

that attorney is john henry brown. he joins us live from seattle. welcome, mr. brown. >> thank you. glad to be here. >> well, the article in "the new york times" characterizes your client as someone who drank that night with two other soldiers, was under heavy stress because he just witnessed a fellow soldier get his leg blown off, and he had marital problems and that's why he went on this terrible shooting rampage. what do you say? >> well, i know for a fact that the earth marital problems issue is totally bogus, and i'm not -- i'm a little concerned as to why that's being floated out there by the government. the other part is, you know, anyone who's in afghanistan right now, particularly someone who's been in iraq three times previously and been injured, would obviously be under a great deal of stress. so stress is always a factor. i know for a fact that there is no issue with his marriage. it's a very strong marriage and, frankly, we're all taking offense at that. now whether there was alcohol involved or not i simply don't know. i haven't spoken to my client about that. >> have

john browne is representing him. browne said he spent more than three hours this morning and described their meeting as emotional. bales has yet to be charged but he is already being integrated into the normal pretrial confinement routine. a location has not been determined for the trial but it is possible afghan witnesses could be flown in to participate if this case goss court. >> i can't imagine a more difficult case. the case of political ramifications. it has legal ramifications, social ramifications. you can't imagine a bigger case. >> aside from his meeting with an attorney, bales is being kept in pretrial confinement, in an area with about a dozen other service members including pfc bradley manning who's charged in the wikileaks case. >>> investigators say the same gun used to exile four people at a jewish school today was also used to kill three paratroopers last week. a gunman killed three children and a rabbi, fired 15 rounds from the gun. the same gun was used in two attacks last week. it's unclear why a

now john henry brown has earlier said that john henry bales has only spotty memory of that night, remembers things before, remembers things after, but does not remember the event itself. the military investigation, even though charges have been filed, is not likely to be complete for several months. >> and a program note, monday on "today," sergeant bales' weave karilyn will speak of behalf of her husband. >>> the pope will take jose diaz bellard is in mexico for us tonight. >> reporter: lester, on his second day in mexico, pope benedict xvi has been meeting with mention tan president felipe caldron will be coming here to the plaza of peace to give his blessing to thousands of children. earlier today, the vatican said the 84-year-old spent the day in seclusion after his long flight. he's being made to feel welcome. thousands lined the streets as he passed by in his pope mobile. benedict will continue to speak firmly against the drug related violence that has consumed the nation and killed 50,000 people in the last six years. tomorrow the pope will celebrate an open air mass before thousands

but it appears that is exactly what the defense attorney john henry browne is going to argue. he describes two head injuries during four separate tours abroad. those closest to the staff sergeant described him as honest and zero. >> a real caring and understanding individual even from a young age. >> roberts said his last conversation with the soldier now accused of the bloody rampage that killed 16 afghan civilians was just a few months ago. bales him from afghanistan after being deployed to the region for the fourth time. >> this case as legal, political, and social ramifications. >> a high-school football captain,, and father of two who joined the army two months after the 9/11 attacks awaits possible life in prison and even the death penalty. it is a case that could be hard to prove because of cultural differences. no autopsies are conducted that would pinpoint a murder weapon. >> posttraumatic stress disorder could be a mitigating circumstance to cause a jury to determine the death penalty. >> the 38-year-old did have a few run ins with the law in the past included and ru

>>reporter: the attorney john brown there said his client saw friend's leg blown off just days before the kill spree. >> fallen tree in the east bay caused fatal accident this morning claiming the life of a promising college student. it happened on highway 13 just south of park boulevard. the victim was a young man from washington state attending cal on prison stij us bill gates scholarship. we are live from uc berkeley. >>reporter: kevin was in his first year here at cal. i went over to the dorm where he lived earlier. some of the students had already heard about what happened. others were about to find out. >> just really sad news to hea hear. i mean, just weird. it was someone i knew. >>reporter: death of 19-year-old uc berkeley student kevin lock law was news to fellow freshman who lived in the hall where kevin lived but hadn't seen the e-mail the ra sent out to the dorm. >> we are a close knit community it was pretty devastating. >>reporter: he died at 4:30 in the morning in the accident on south bound highway 13 at park boulevard. chp says he hit a down tree in the road. he and

>> we heard from john henry brown who is the wlure has been employed by the soldier accused of those killings in kandahar. he spoke to his client in cue wait. he said he's concerned for his safety and the safety of his family who have been moved to washington state which is where this soldier was based. and they're living there now. he suffered a con cussive brain injury. and the lawyer raised some concerns about how his client had been treated by the military when he spoke to reporters in seattle earlier on. >> i mean, it's a tragedy all the way around. i think it's of interest that we have a soldier who has an exemplary record, deck ratted sodier who were injured in -- decorated sold kwlore was injured in -- soldier who was injured in iraq. i think that's an issue of concern. i think the message for the public in general is that he's one of our boys. we need to treat him fairly. >> so the reason that the soldier in question has not been named is because there are fierce of potential reprizals, possible revenge attacks against him or his family. the department of defense say the sol

his attorney john henry brown says bales is mentally ill, after three deployments to iraq, and another to afghanistan. >> everybody that has had three or four deployments to the middle east will have some form of ptsb i don't know anything specific about it he had a con cuss sieve head injury, which can be as serious if not more serious than ptsb. >> he met with bales in fort leaven worth, still not formerly charged he is accused of leaving his base in southern kandahar and killing 16 people he is under psychiatric evaluation and the killings are dawning fresh concerns overcome bat stress in u.s. troops >> i hope we can understand there is always room for improvement in the treatment of our men and women who served in combat. >> bales and his wife faced professional and financial set backs, he was passed over for a promotion in had to put his washington state house on the market for thousands less than what he paid he also attended anger management classes after a charge of assaulting a girlfriend in 2002. >> i was never trained on how to look at mental health injuries,. >> former u.s.

>>reporter: the attorney john brown there said his client saw friend's leg blown off just days before the kill spree. >> fallen tree in the east bay caused fatal accident this morning claiming the life of a promising college student. it happened on highway 13 just south of park boulevard. the victim was a young man from washington state attending cal on prison stij us bill gates scholarship. we are live from uc berkeley. >>reporter: kevin was in his first year here at cal. i went over to the dorm where he lived earlier. some of the students had already heard about what happened. others were about to find out. >> just really sad news to hea hear. i mean, just weird. it was someone i knew. >>reporter: death of 19-year-old uc berkeley student kevin lock law was news to fellow freshman who lived in the hall where kevin lived but hadn't seen the e-mail the ra sent out to the dorm. >> we are a close knit community it was pretty devastating. >>reporter: he died at 4:30 in the morning in the accident on south bound highway 13 at park boulevard. chp says he hit a down tree in the road. he and

brown's raid. okay? and i promise you that next we would get to that crazy election of 1860, as we've been talking about all semester, election years are always fun to watch. kind of take the pulse of the united states. but as you can see from what's up there on the outline and we're going to wind up with four presidential candidates, two from the same party, obviously things are about to get really crazy. okay? now, set the stage for me. remind me. what happened with the dread scott decision that was so important. what are you all going to need to remember to put in your essays? the significance? oh, wait, i'm not supposed to ask questions. i'll tell you. dread scott decision, number 1. biggest thing you need to remember beyond the date. and, remember, you all are fine if you just tell me late 1850s. i'm happy. you don't have to remember march of 1857. the significance that i want you to remember is that it changes how americans are going to be able to approach the idea of compromise, all right? r

his attorney john brown said he didn't know if bales was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder at the time of the shootings. that could be an issue at trial if experts believe it's relevant. >>> are d.c. council members hurting enrollment. >> they point to chairman kwame brown who takes busloads of college bound students on recruiting trips out of town. as bruce johnson tells us, udc is not on the list of stops. >> reporter: last weekend four busloads of d.c. high school students went on a college scouting trip. most returned with applications to attend college in the fall out of state. >> some students need to get out of the district of columbia. they actually do. and we should do everything we can do help them. >> reporter: kwame brown is chief sponsor of the out of town college recruitment trips. he's been doing this for the past several years. officials at the university of the district of columbia, they're not impressed. their school is not on the list of stops. >> we've been trying for a couple of years now to really sort of adjust the attitude of how the city views its s

so john brown thing i'm curious about, but i'm astonished that he didn't mention healthcare reform. >> a couple -- >> a footnote. >> just a footnote. i happen to love doris kearns-goodwin and not just because she was a red sox fan. she had talked about t.r. but claim it came before that. it seems to me that if you are -- i do not know what i'm about to say, from sort of inside knowledge, but it is my assumption that if you want to make the next campaign a big argument about the role of government and the progressive position, you are wiser to go back to the progressive era when this all started. >> right. >> than to stop -- >> that was my point. >> and roosevelt and the new deal. i think it's logical that he did this. >> i completely agree. i think that's consistent with where he's coming from. i think that's his thinking is naturally to go back to the progressive thinking. i think this establishes that. >> mr. cohen? >> david cohen. picking up on javitz and ancestors, even if theodore roosevelt is a distant ancestor to president obama, there's an effort at making him an ancestor. and

seattle defense attorney john henry brown will represent him if and when he is charged. the soldier is now being held in kuwait. david martin is at the pentagon with more about him. david. >> reporter: scott, john henry brown refuses to release his client's name, but he told cbs affiliate kiro, he has talked with him by phone in kuwait. >> he was quiet, just wanted to confirm they would be involved, and give his love to his family, which i did. they're very upset and afraid for him, first of all, and afraid for themselves, second of all. >> was there talk of marital problems? >> i don't know where that came from. that's a bunch of hog wash. >> reporter: in the past brown has defended the so-called bare foot band exit tend bundy, both of whom were convicted. brown expects to travel to quit next week to meet with his newest, still-unnamed client. >> pelley: david, does brown have any idea at this point what his defense will be? >> reporter: well he has said his client is a decorated soldier who suffered a concussive brain injury in iraq and hements to know why after that,

according to a spokesperson, he is planning on staying through midweek, john henry brown. so this is the first of sounds like a couple of days of interaction with his client. >> do we know yet, ted, when bales will be charged, what charges he could face, when if that happens? >> we don't know when. we do know that those charges are obviously -- likely, i should say, just to couch it -- include murder charges and likely 16 murder charges. sot timing, don't know. and the military has as much time as they need to gather the evidence that they need. and there's a lot of evidence to gather. and then at that point, it will go to a commanding officer and that officer will then prefer the charge, that's what they call it in the military legal system. basically they'll officially charge him and at that point, then they go into the slow moving wheels of justice in the military style, starting with an article 32 and going on to a court-martial trial. . >> right, article 32 being the evidentiary hearing. let me back up. you're in fort leavenworth, the military prison where he's being

as he arrived in kansas, attorney john henry browne said the soldier's family stands behind him. abc's neal karlinsky has more. >> reporter: sergeant robert bales' attorney in kansas planned toñr meet with him faceo face for the very first time. >> everybody who gets deployed to the middle east probably has some form of ptsd. he was okay on the phone. certainly willing and anxious to sies. >> reporter: the 38-year-old is being kem ing kept in a cell ve like this one in solitary confinement alone to ponder the murders of 16 afghan civilians. the possible sentence, either life behind bars or the death penalty. >> i don't think it's a slam dunk case. notwithstanding the number of victims. the government may well have some very, very substantial problems in investigating this case and bringing it to trial. >> reporter: one problem -- because of cultural barriers, no autopsies for hard evidence that can be tied to a weapon. another, eyewitness testimony cannot come from a deposition. villagers who witnessed the massacre will be required to testify in person in a u.s. military court.

. >> the shooting suspect now has a lawyer, john henry brown. brown says the suspect is a highly decorated soldier. he was injured twice during three tours of duty in iraq and was not happy about being deployed for a fourth time to afghanistan. brown also says another soldier on the base was gravely injured right before the killings. he was asked what he wants the public to know about his new client. >> it's a tragedy all the way around. there's no question about that. i think it's of interest that we have a soldier who has an exemplary record, decorated soldier who was injured in iraq to his brain and to his body and then despite that setback, i think that's an issue, i think it's a concern. i think the message for the public in general is that he's one of our boys, we need to treat him fairly. >> inning afghanistan there is fallout from the massacre and threatening ining to hurt our relationship. hamid karzai wants us out of villages. joining us from washington. james "spider" marks and former commander officer. spider marks, right off the bat

john henry brown is a seattle- based attorney who previously defended ted bundy and colton harris-moore. he described it as one of the most emotional meetings of his life. >> i can't imagine a more difficult case i don't think. i mean every challenge. this case has political ramifications, legal ramifications, social ramifications. so you couldn't really imagine a bigger case. >> bales hasn't been charged in the shootings. >> his waive said she wants to know contact withly what happened too. karilyn bales says my family including my and bob's extended families are all profoundly sad. we extend our condolences to all the people. the people. >>> some of our other top stories this morning. authorities are verging a dangerous discovery ate charles county middle school. the principal sent a letter home with parents saying a 12- year-old student brought a gun to school. the student says he brought the unloaded gun from home and was planning to sell it during his walk home from the bus. school officials say he was charged with possession of the weapon and was removed from the school. he could

that's according to his lawyer, john henry brown, today. he is also looking into the medication bales may have been on at the time of the incident, including malaria medicine that some say can cause severe paranoia and hallucinations as well as violence. i sat down with brown shortly before our show and started by asking him what staff sergeant bales has told him in the 11 hours of time they have spent together over two days. >> it's really interesting. he's obsessed with what the allegations might cause allegations might cause problem wise for his brothers, and the younger soldiers that he was mentoring. he's obsessed about that. he's really not thinking about his own future right now, which is quite interesting, since he should be. >> you had talked about him as being a deer in the headlights. his wife has said he appeared confused. at this point does he understand what's happening? does he understand exactly what he is accused of doing? >> i don't think so, to be honest with you. we have told him -- he knew what the allegations were befo

. >> the high-profile attorney, john henry brown, is in kansas this morning. we expect that he'll start building a defense for staff sergeant robert bales when they sit down for the first time today. brown landed at the kansas city airport last night and was immediately bombarded by reporters trying learn more about his client. bales is accused of going on a murderous rampage in two afghanistan villages over a week ago. 16 people including nine children were killed. bales is a decorated soldier who served three combat tours in iraq and had been in afghanistan since december. he suffered a traumatic head injury in iraq and was said to be upset it his deployment to -- to be upset about his deployment to afghanistan. issues his attorneys will dig into along with the possibility of post traumatic stress disorder. >> i don't know anything specifically about. i know he had a con cussive head injury which can be as serious or more serious than ptsd. i don't know yet. >> brown also says that bales' family is stunned in the face of the tragedy but stand behind the man

john browne says he has spoken to the american soldier whose name has not yet been released and making plans to meet with him. shep? >> shepard: james rosen. thank you. back at home another indication today that our job market is indeed turning around. the u.s. labor department reports fewer americans were fresh out of work last week. the number of people filing their first claims for jobless benefits dropped by 14,000 to just more than 350,000. and that ties a four-year low. it comes after a report last week that showed companies continued to hire more workers. but even as more americans get jobs, it's costing them more to get to those jobs. according to the reporting of triple a, the cost of a gallon of regular unleaded gas has risen by more than 30 cents in the past month to an average of 3.82 a gallon. that has become a very hot topic on the campaign trail with republic presidential candidates insisting the united states should ramp up oil drilling to increase supply and decrease prices. but today the president told a crowd in maryland that the u.s. has already producing more oil t

as he arrived in kansas, attorney john henry browne said the soldier's family stands behind him. abc's neal karlinsky has more. >> reporter: sergeant robert bales' attorney in kansas planned to meet with him face to face for the very first time. >> everybody who gets deployed to the middle east probably has some form of ptsd. he was okay on the phone. certainly willing and anxious to sies. >> reporter: the 38-year-old is being kept in a cell very much like this one in solitary confinement alone to ponder the murders of 16 afghan civilians. the possible sentence, either life behind bars or the death penalty. >> i don't think it's a slam dunk case. notwithstanding the number of victims. the government may well have some very, very substantial problems in investigating this case and bringing it to trial. >> reporter: one problem -- because of cultural barriers, no autopsies for hard evidence that can be tied to a weapon. another, eyewitness testimony cannot come from a deposition. villagers who witnessed the massacre will be required to testify in person in a u.s. military court. th

the lawyer, by the way, is this renowned seattle defense attorney, john henry brown. brown says the suspect is a highly decorated soldier. should never return to combat after injured twice on three tours in iraq. suffered a traumatic brain injury, which we talked about earlier in the week. also apparently he lost a part of his foot as well. and then as we mentioned a friend was gravely wounded a day before the massacre. that could be the first hint at a possible motive. john henry brown announced that he wants his public to know about his client and this is what he said. >> tragedy all of the way around. no question about that. i think it's of interest that we had a soldier who has an exemplary record, decorated soldier who was injured in iraq, to his brain and to his body, and then despite that setback, i think that's an issue. i think that's a concern. i think the message for the public in general is is he's one of our boys, they need to treat him fairly. >> you get a sense from how he's going to be approaching his defense of his client. i believe he also represente

seattle based attorney john henry browne says you couldn't imagine a more difficult case. afghans want him tried in their country but the ambassador to the u.s. says his government trusts the american investigation. >>> and the world's most valuable public corporation now wants to share its wealth. some of it anyway. apple just announced a quarterly dividend of $2.65 a share beginning sometime this summer. it also plans to buy back $10 billion worth of shares over the next three years. together those -- that outlay rather costs 45 billion or as apple might think of it pretty much lunch money. the maker of iphone, ipads and imacs has more than $97 billion cash on hand. >>> the land of lincoln is the battleground. mitt romney may still have puerto rico on his mind. over the weekend romney absolutely crushed rick santorum in the puerto rican primary. 83% to 8. campaigning this morning, springfield, illinois, at a diner there romney showed a bit of an appetite for victory. >> i need only one thing from you, number one, pancakes and number two, i need you to go vote tomorrow. i

that's according to his lawyer, john henry browne, today. he is also looking into the medication bales may have been on at the time of the incident, including malaria medicine that some say can cause severe paranoia and hallucinations as well as violence. i sat down with proun shortly -- with browne shortly before our show and started by asking him what staff sergeant bales has told him in the 11 hours of time they have spent together over two days. >> it's really interesting. he's obsessed with what the allegations might cause problemwise for his brothers, and the younger soldiers that he was mentoring. he's obsessed about that. he's really not thinking about his own future right now, which is quite interesting, since he should be. >> you had talked about him as being a deer in the headlights. his wife has said he appeared confused. at this point does he understand what's happening? does he understand exactly what he is accused of doing? >> i don't think so, to be honest with you. we have told him -- he knew what the allegations were before

that's according to his lawyer, john henry brown, today. he is also looking into the medication bales may have been on at the time of the incident, including malaria medicine that some say can cause severe paranoia and hallucinations as well as violence. i sat down with brown shortly before our show and started by asking him what staff sergeant bales has told him in the 11 hours of time they have spent together over two days. >> it's really interesting. he's obsessed with what the allegations might cause problemwise for his brothers, and the younger soldiers that he was mentoring. he's obsessed about that. he's really not thinking about his own future right now, which is quite interesting, since he should be. >> you had talked about him as being a deer in the headlights. his wife has said he appeared confused. at this point does he understand what's happening? does he understand exactly what he is accused of doing? >> i don't think so, to be honest with you. we have told him -- he knew what the allegations were before i met with him. he kne

brown his civil defense attorney arrived in kansas trying to get sympathy for bales. he slaughtered 4 men three women and 9 children and burned their bodies a quote devoted husband, father and dedicated member of the armed services. >> it was a shock believe me more to them even the neighbors reading all of the news accounts. >> whoever bales is, if he did what he is accused of doing he put his fellow gi's in greater peril. he sabotaged hopes to the successful end to the 10-year-old conflict and he has shamed his nation. knowing some of his personal problems may help us understand why he snapped. >> robert bales and wife aerican bought a house for 2 8 $0,000. but two-days before he allegedly killed 16 civilians his wife asked a real estate agent to put it on the market for 229 thousand a hit. she asked to take the house or the market saying she had a family emergency came two years after they abandon a home in auburn washington about 10 pa miles away. they say it was ramshackled when they left there were vehicles parked in the front yard. we had given up on the owners

it appears that is exactly what defense attorney john henry browne will argue. he described two head injuries during a force separate tours abroad. the staff sergeant robert bales is in solitary confinement at fort leavenworth in kansas. he will meet with his attorney john henry browne for the first time possibly later today. the charges could be formally filed later this week. he could face life in prison or the death penalty. experts say it could be hard to prosecute. those closest to the staff sergeant described him as honest and thorough. a high-school football captain,, and father who join the army two months after the 9/11 attacks now accused of the bloody rampage that killed 16 afghan civilians. >> i cannot imagine a more difficult case. there's every challenge. there is political ramifications and legal implications and social ramifications. we cannot imagine a bigger case. >> with an autopsy allowed in afghanistan, it could be difficult to connect a murder weapon. those living in the village may be forced to testify in person. bales had a few run ins wi

. >> investigators tried to piece together what happened during the average john henry browne says his client does not comprehend what he is facing. >> we seem to be unaware -- it makes me concerned about his state of mind. >> an angry president karzai refused to discount the rumors that more americans were involved in the massacre. >> these -- >> he says his client was under incredible stress, possibly suffering posttraumatic stress disorder. he suffered both a brain injury and losing part of his foot and previous stores and iraq. >> he is a devoted father and a career marriage -- a career military individual. he has never said anything hostile toward muslims or afghanis. this whole thing is a great surprise to his family. >> officials admit the soldier was seen drinking that night despite rules banning alcohol on the base. the defense attorney gained renown representing ted bundy. he says the soldier is a mild- mannered man with a 3-year-old and 4-year-old. >> thank you rebecca. you can follow developments on the shootings this weekend on wjla.com. you will find a link to the story o