‘American Sniper’ trial ends: Chris Kyle’s killer, Eddie Ray Routh, loses insanity plea, gets life
- 9 years ago
The ‘American Sniper’ trial came to a close yesterday after the jury found former U.S. Marine Eddie Ray Routh guilty of killing Navy SEAL Chris Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield. Routh was convicted of fatally shooting Kyle and Littlefield at a gun range near Fort Worth in February 2013.
During the two-week long trial, Routh’s defense team pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. At first glance, the defense team seemed to have several advantages. Routh has a documented history of mental instability, he has been diagnosed with PTSD, and according to his mother, was on around nine different medications to help him combat his severe PTSD.
However, prosecutors and the jury didn’t buy the defense team’s arguments. According to prosecutors, Routh has voiced potential motives for killing Kyle and Littlefield, which suggests that he was capable of coherent, rational thought at the time of the murders.
Routh admitted that he was annoyed when both Kyle and Littlefield didn’t talk to him much on the drive to the gun range, and was “riled up” when Littlefield seemed to be watching him closely once they got to the range. Prosecutors claimed that Routh also demonstrated clear thinking when he bought burritos and picked up his dog from his house after the murders.
According to prosecutors, Routh seemed to know that killing the two men was wrong, as he quickly fled the scene after the murders and also later told several people he felt guilty about his actions. As one of the prosecutors, Assistant Attorney General Jane Starnes, concisely put it, “Crazy don’t run.” In the state of Texas, this disqualifies someone from being legally insane.
Among many of Routh’s outlandish statements, one particularly colorful one involved hybrid “pig people.” Routh’s belief that hybrid “pig people” were trying to kill him that day was dismissed by the prosecution, who argued that it was an idea Routh stole from a Seinfeld episode he’d watched in jail.
After a relatively short jury deliberation that lasted less than three hours, Routh was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.
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During the two-week long trial, Routh’s defense team pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. At first glance, the defense team seemed to have several advantages. Routh has a documented history of mental instability, he has been diagnosed with PTSD, and according to his mother, was on around nine different medications to help him combat his severe PTSD.
However, prosecutors and the jury didn’t buy the defense team’s arguments. According to prosecutors, Routh has voiced potential motives for killing Kyle and Littlefield, which suggests that he was capable of coherent, rational thought at the time of the murders.
Routh admitted that he was annoyed when both Kyle and Littlefield didn’t talk to him much on the drive to the gun range, and was “riled up” when Littlefield seemed to be watching him closely once they got to the range. Prosecutors claimed that Routh also demonstrated clear thinking when he bought burritos and picked up his dog from his house after the murders.
According to prosecutors, Routh seemed to know that killing the two men was wrong, as he quickly fled the scene after the murders and also later told several people he felt guilty about his actions. As one of the prosecutors, Assistant Attorney General Jane Starnes, concisely put it, “Crazy don’t run.” In the state of Texas, this disqualifies someone from being legally insane.
Among many of Routh’s outlandish statements, one particularly colorful one involved hybrid “pig people.” Routh’s belief that hybrid “pig people” were trying to kill him that day was dismissed by the prosecution, who argued that it was an idea Routh stole from a Seinfeld episode he’d watched in jail.
After a relatively short jury deliberation that lasted less than three hours, Routh was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to TomoNews, where we animate the most entertaining news on the internets. Come here for an animated look at viral headlines, US news, celebrity gossip, salacious scandals, dumb criminals and much more! Subscribe now for daily news animations that will knock your socks off.
For news that's fun and never boring, visit our channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/TomoNewsUS
Subscribe to stay updated on all the top stories:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt-WqkTyKK1_70U4bb4k4lQ?sub_confirmation=1
Visit our official website for all the latest, uncensored videos: http://us.tomonews.net
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Check out our iOS app: http://bit.ly/1gO3z1f
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