Marc Edwards, a former NFL player, testified in court on behalf of Sgt. Robert Bales who committed mass murder in Afghanistan last year, according to SeattlePi.com.
Bales went on a rampage on March 11, 2012 in two Afghan villages and killed 16 people -- mostly women and children -- and injured several others.
Edwards played high school football with Bales in Norwood, Ohio and said in court on Thursday that Bales was an "unbelievable leader" on the their high school team. He went on to play professional football from 1997 to 2005, last with the Chicago Bears. Edwards also won a Super Bowl with the New England Patriots in 2002.
The sentencing phase of court-martial for Sgt. Robert Bales began on Tuesday after he plead guilty in June. By pleading guilty, he avoided the death penalty. The jury will decide whether or not Bales will receive life in prison with or without the opportunity of parole.
Prosecutors began interviewing witnesses on Tuesday in court, including a five-year-old boy, Khan, from one of the villages.
"I'm always fearful," Khan said through an interpreter. "What did I do wrong against Sgt. Bales that he shot my father?"
Khan also noted how he continues to have nightmares ever since the attack.
Lt. Col. Joseph Morse, a prosecutor in the case, said Bales was an irritated soldier who took steroids with the intent to "get huge" and "get jacked." According to the prosecutor, hours before the attack, Bales had been complaining to a superior about career and family issues, saying he "felt inadequate as a solider and as a man."
The prosecution team described several disturbing acts carried out by Bales during the attack. In addition to shooting bullets in every direction, he grabbed a woman by the hair and threw her, crushed the head of an elderly woman after shooting her, and left a woman with pieces of her husband's skull and brain in her hands after killing him.
If the jury decides on a life sentence with parole, then Bales would be eligible to apply in 20 years.
