My Lai Massacre
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2019
Abstract
The My Lai Massacre is one of the gravest violations of criminal law ever committed by a US military soldier. Over 100 innocent civilians, including women and infants, were murdered at the hands of Army First Lieutenant William Calley Jr. and his subordinates. The situation presents an extreme example of the dichotomy between obedience to orders and obedience to international and criminal law. Calley was ultimately convicted of his crimes in a military court. His sentence was reduced from life in prison to 10 years' confinement. He was the only person held criminally responsible for the murder of civilians in My Lai, Vietnam.
Publication Title
The Encyclopedia of Women and Crime
Recommended Citation
M. C. Cox, My Lai Massacre, in The Encyclopedia of Women and Crime, Ed. Frances E. Bernat & Kelly Frailing, Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2019.
Available at: https://scholarship.law.campbell.edu/fac_pubs/98