William L. Calley, Jr., Cross-Appellant v. Howard H. Callaway, Etc., Etc., Cross-Appellees

AINSWORTH, Circuit Judge:

In this habeas corpus proceeding we review the conviction by military court-martial of Lieutenant William L. Calley, Jr., the principal accused in the My Lai incident in South Vietnam, where a large number of defenseless old men, women and children were systematically shot and killed by Calley and other *190American soldiers in what must be regarded as one of the most tragic chapters in the history of this nation’s armed forces.

Petitioner Calley was charged on September 5, 1969, under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S.C. § 801 et seq., with the premeditated…