Routh is accused of shooting Chris Kyle, 38, and Chad Littlefield, 35, both of Midlothian, on Feb. 2, 2013, at the shooting range at Rough Creek Lodge, an upscale resort outside Glen Rose in Erath County. The lodge is about 77 miles southwest of Fort Worth.
Area police reports documented Routh’s mental problems well before the killings at the gun range.
As her son’s condition worsened, Jodi Leigh Routh contacted Kyle and asked him to help. Kyle is considered one of the deadliest snipers in U.S. military history.
By now you’ve surely heard on this blog or elsewhere about Kyle. His memoir, American Sniper, has been made into a film that will be released on Christmas.
Maybe your stomach for executing someone as so clearly mentally disturbed as Routh has been reported to be — especially someone whose mental ills may stem in part from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of serving his country — is stronger than mine, but this seems like the right call.
The trial is set to begin Feb. 9 in Stephenville.