Killer of ‘American Sniper’ Kyle jailed for life

WASHINGTON: A Texas jury has rejected the insanity defence of a former Marine in the deaths of famed American Sniper author Chris Kyle and another man.

After a two-week trial in which jurors heard testimony about defendant Eddie Ray Routh’s erratic behaviour, including statements on anarchy, the apocalypse and pig-human hybrids, they convicted Routh in the deaths of Kyle and Chad Littlefield at a Texas shooting range two years ago.

Routh showed no reaction as he was sentenced to life in prison without parole. “You took the lives of two heroes, men who tried to be a friend to you,” Chad Littlefield’s half brother Jerry Richardson told Routh after the verdict. “And you became an American disgrace.”

“We’ve waited two years for God to get justice for us on behalf of our son,” said Judy Littlefield, Chad’s mother. “And as always, God has proven to be faithful.”

Routh shot Kyle and Littlefield multiple times at a shooting range where they had taken him to help him deal with post-war trauma.

That he killed the two men was never in dispute. His defense team tried to argue that he was not guilty by reason of insanity, and should be sent to a mental institution.

His attorneys used a text message from Kyle to Littlefield from that fateful day as proof. Kyle had said, “This dude is straightup nuts.” Littlefield asked him to watch his back.

In interviews to police and reporters, Routh said he killed them because he feared they would kill him instead and that they wanted his soul.

The prosecution, backed by experts, argued Routh knew exactly what he had done and has started building towards an insanity plea from the time he was arrested.

After killing the two men, Routh stopped at a Taco Bell, a Mexican fast-food chain, then visited relatives. After his arrest, he told police officers he was paranoid and schizophrenic.

Texas state is extremely tough on insanity pleas, and Routh’s attorneys had a nearly insurmountable task of making that stick. The release of the movie recently made it worse.

They tried to delay the trial arguing the hype around the movie would influence the jurors, most of whom had probably watched it. But that didn’t work either.

WITH AGENCY INPUTS