Judge accepts U.S. soldier's guilty plea to murdering 16 Afghan civilians

Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales (L) and Judge Col. Jeffery R. Nance are seen in a sketch from January 17, 2013, as Bales is arraigned on 16 counts of premeditated murder, six counts of attempted murder and seven of assault at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. REUTERS/Peter Millett/Files

TACOMA, Washington (Reuters) - A U.S. military judge on Wednesday accepted the guilty plea of Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales to the premeditated murder of 16 Afghan civilians last year, approving a deal with prosecutors that spares the soldier from the death penalty.

Bales, 39, a decorated veteran of four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, now faces a maximum penalty of life in prison without the possibility of parole. A military jury will decide his sentence after further proceedings set to begin August 19.