Malaria drug may have played role in Afghan massacre

A malaria drug that is known to incite psychotic behavior is now playing a role in the case of a Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier who admitted to killing 16 Afghan civilians.

Staff Sergeant Robert Bales used mefloquine during his tours in Iraq. The malaria drug has been linked to paranoia and hallucinations.

The Seattle Times reports it’s a drug that is not supposed to be given to people with previous brain injuries, like the one suffered by Sergeant Bales during his time in Iraq, but he was given the drug anyway.

Whether he took the drug while in Afghanistan before killing 16 civilians isn’t known, but the drug is known for having long-lasting impacts on mental health.

Bales’ attorney John Henry Browne will not say if he will bring this up next month when his client is sentenced.

Browne is hoping to get Bales’ a chance at parole.

Bales pleaded guilty to the murders last month in a deal to avoid a possible death sentence.

The married father of two admitted to sneaking out of his remote military outpost in 2012 and killing 16 civilians. He told the military judge he had no idea why he did it.

“I’ve asked that question a million times since then, and there’s not a good reason in the world for why I did the horrible things I did,” he told the court.

Browne believes his client was suffering from PTSD during the attacks, citing a traumatic brain injury sustained while on a tour in Iraq.

Sentencing is set for Aug. 19 at JBLM.