William Calley Convicted of My Lai Murders - Only Officer Prosecuted Despite Widespread Command Responsibility - Serves 3.5 Years House Arrest

After four months of proceedings, Lieutenant William Calley is found guilty on 22 counts of premeditated murder for his role in the My Lai massacre and sentenced to life in prison. Calley becomes the only person convicted for the mass killing of between 347 and 504 unarmed Vietnamese civilians, despite an Army board of inquiry headed by Lieutenant General William Peers producing a list of 30 persons who knew of the atrocity and recommending charges against 14 individuals including Calley’s company commander, Captain Ernest Medina.

The Army originally charges 25 officers and enlisted men with crimes at My Lai or offenses related to the cover-up, but only Calley faces conviction. Though two other officers receive demotions, the systematic failure to prosecute command responsibility represents a fundamental breakdown in military justice. The Peers report is highly critical of top officers at brigade and divisional levels for participating in the cover-up, documenting how multiple layers of command knew about the massacre and actively concealed it, yet these senior officers face no criminal consequences.

President Nixon intervenes immediately after the verdict, ordering Calley removed from the Army stockade at Fort Benning and placed under house arrest. A “Free Calley” movement develops, with supporters arguing the lieutenant has taken the fall for crimes that are really the outgrowth of an unjust war. Secretary of the Army Howard Callaway grants Calley clemency twice—first commuting his sentence to 20 years, then to 10 years. Calley ultimately serves only 3.5 years under house arrest before his conviction is overturned. The lenient treatment of the sole person convicted for America’s worst war crime demonstrates how institutional loyalty and political pressure undermine accountability for atrocities, establishing a precedent of impunity for war crimes that persists in subsequent conflicts.