Staff Sgt. Robert Bales faced the victims of the crimes he committed last year in Afghanistan in court Tuesday.
The Army flew villagers from Kandahar Province to Ohio to take part in the sentencing of Bales, who pleaded guilty to killing 16 civilians and wounding six others. Among those flown in are Haji Mohammed Wazir, who lost his wife, mother and nine other family members.
Bales reportedly woke up in the middle of the night, armed with a pistol and rifle and attacked two villages, targeting mostly women and children. The father of two told The Associated Press that he felt "inadequate as a soldier and as a man" at the time of the massacre.
Protests were so great here in the U.S. that combat operations were temporarily halted for three weeks.
According to CBS News, Bales' lawyers reported that the former soldier had been drinking and snorting Valium the night of the attacks.
Because Bales has pleaded guilty, he is excused from the death penalty and now a jury will decide whether he gets life in prison with or without parole.