Jurors reject insanity defense, convict veteran in 'American Sniper' slaying
A judge in Texas on Tuesday sentenced a Marine veteran to life in prison without parole after jurors rejected an insanity defense in the 2013 slaying of “American Sniper” Chris Kyle and his friend, Chad Littlefield.
Judge Jason Cashon sentenced defendant Eddie Ray Routh, 27, for shooting the two men at a gun range, report the New York Times, the Washington Post and USA Today. Jurors deliberated for a little more than two hours before convicting Routh.
Kyle was the Navy Seal sniper portrayed in the movie American Sniper, which was based on his autobiography.
Routh gave police various explanations for why he shot the two men. They included a fear that the men would kill him or take his soul, irritation over the smell of cologne, and anger because Kyle didn’t shake his hand and the men didn’t speak to him while driving to the range.
Routh also told police he thought “pigs were taking over the earth.” In the seven months before the slayings, Routh had been in mental hospitals four times.
But jurors found he didn’t meet the Texas legal standard for insanity, which says: “It is an affirmative defense to prosecution that, at the time of the conduct charged, the actor, as a result of severe mental disease or defect, did not know that his conduct was wrong.”
Bolstering prosecutor’s case was a statement Routh gave to a Texas ranger questioning him, according to the Washington Post story. The ranger asked, “You know what you did today is wrong, right?” Routh ansered, “Yes, sir.”
