Three Men

Scott L. Silliman was in Air Force ROTC and then served in the military as a lawyer. He is now a law professor at Duke University. Mr. Silliman decided to comment on the prosecution of Marine Sergeant Jose Luis Nazario:

"From a legal point of view, there is no difference in law between war and peace."; Mr. Silliman said.

Sergeant Nazario fought in Fallujah, where 33 of his fellow Marines were killed by an enemy that did not wear uniforms and fought among the women and children. His squad took a house that was firing upon his men until the shooters put down their AK-47s in the middle of a firefight. Sergeant Nazario is alleged to have killed the shooters. He was awarded a Navy Commendation Medal with Valor for his actions in the Battle of Fallujah. He is now being prosecuted by the United States of America in civilian court.

"They train us, and they expect us to rely back on that training. Then when we use that training, they prosecute us for it?"; Sergeant Nazario asked.


John Adams defended the British soldiers who shot Colonist agitators in the Boston Massacre. Six of the soldiers were acquitted and two were convicted on reduced charges. A decade later, the King gave Lord Richard Howe a list of American Rebels that were to be pardoned. John Adam’s name was not on that list. John Adams was to hang.

"Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide."; John Adams said.