The family of Chris Kyle, the man played by Bradley Cooper in american Sniper, finally get justice. Eddie Ray Routh, the previous marine who fatally shot and killed Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield in 2013, was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to life in jail without the chance of parole.
Kyle’s memoir, The American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Deadliest Sniper in US Military History, hit The New York Times bestseller list, soon after which Warner Brothers acquired the rights to make a screen adaptation.
After he was honorably discharged from the Navy, Chris Kyle spent his post-military life as president of Craft International, a consulting and training provider that offers service and training to federal, state, and native customers. During this time, Kyle wrote his memoirs, and worked to found the FITCO Cares Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides free home fitness equipment, individual programs, and life coaching to veterans with disabilities and those with post-traumatic stress disorder.
The unfortunate irony of Kyle’s story is that it was a man suffering from post-traumatic stress that he and his friend Chad were trying to help who killed them. No one would have imagined that Kyle would never have the chance to see his memoir come to life on the big screen, let alone not come home from a trip to the shooting range. At least now, the Kyle and Littlefield families can sleep at night knowing that Routh will be staying behind bars.
