A Reduction for Calley

The terse, four-paragraph statement from U.S. Third Army Commander Lieut. General Albert O. Connor concluded: "It was determined that the conviction was correct in law and fact and that the reduced sentence was appropriate for the offenses for which he was convicted." Thus the conviction of Lieut. William L. Calley was upheld, but his sentence--for the premeditated murder of at least 22 Vietnamese civilians and assault with intent to murder a small child--was changed from life imprisonment to 20 years. Calley, confined to his apartment at Fort Benning, Ga., since President Nixon personally intervened 44 months ago and had him moved from the stockade, will be eligible for parole after serving less than seven years of his new sentence.

Connor's decision came in the first round of legal appeals open to Calley and his defense lawyers. Military law provides four additional opportunities for Galley's sentence to be approved or reduced; the final review is by the President. Galley's dismissal from the Army and loss of pay were upheld by Connor, but the Army will continue to pay for his rent, food and utilities in the private apartment at Fort Benning that is considered the legal equivalent of a cell. There, under the relaxed guard of a single MP, with a color television set and regular visits from his girl friend Anne Moore to help him pass the time, the Charlie Company platoon leader who led his men into a small hamlet called My Lai more than three years ago serves his imprisonment.

Drawing Doodles. Galley lifts weights in his living room to keep in shape, is allowed on the lawn behind his apartment for daily exercise periods. Neighbors have seen several bags of cow manure delivered to fertilize the vegetables Calley grows in his backyard. His evening meal is occasionally prepared by Miss Moore.

The reduction in Galley's sentence was announced at Fort McPherson outside Atlanta, where Charlie Company's commander, Captain Ernest L. Medina, is in the second week of his long-awaited court-martial. Army prosecutors are attempting to convict Medina of command responsibility for what went on in the ill-fated village. Relaxed and apparently unconcerned as the men who once served under him take the stand to testify for the prosecution, Medina passes his courtroom time drawing doodles of the newsmen covering his trial. As Medina and Calley await the results of the legal proceedings against them, the cases of nine other soldiers implicated in earlier investigations were closed. Five officers and four enlisted men received administrative reprimands for their roles in the massacre at My Lai.

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