I’m not a reader of National Review, but this post led me thither:
William F. Buckley Jr. on Abu Ghraib & Donald Rumsfeld on National Review Online:
Lieutenant William Calley, whose infantry company killed the civilians in My Lai, pleaded the fever of the war, but he was convicted to life in prison.
Convicted to life? Whatever: as noted below, it’s not the same as being sentenced to life in prison.
William Calley – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Calley was seen by some as a scapegoat for the Army’s failure to instill morale and discipline in its troops. Nevertheless, despite having ordered his troops to commit a massacre, he ultimately received a light sentence. He was initially sentenced to life in prison, but President Richard Nixon ordered him released from prison. Calley served 3 1/2 years of house arrest in his quarters at Fort Benning, Georgia and was then released in 1974 by a federal judge. He is now in the insurance business.
If the {Vietnamese|Iraqis|whomever} place no value on human life, how are we doing? Calley’s sentence worked out to 6.7 days of house arrest for every civilian killed on his orders. It seems we don’t put all high a value on it.