''United States v. Keenan''
was a court case in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
where the accused, US Marine PFC Charles W. Keenan, was found guilty of murder after he shot and killed a
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
ese man
under orders from a superior officer. The
Court of Military Appeals held that
following orders was not a justification if "the order was of such a nature that a man of ordinary sense and understanding would know it to be illegal".
The soldier who gave Keenan the order, US Marine Corporal Stanley Luczko, was convicted of killing another Vietnamese person during the same incident.
See also
*
Nuremberg Defense
Superior orders, also known as the Nuremberg defense or just following orders, is a plea in a court of law that a person, whether a member of the military, law enforcement, a firefighting force, or the civilian population, should not be considered ...
References
United States military case law
Law articles needing an infobox
1969 in United States case law
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