Court-martial sentence for the Santa Barbara massacre
War Council classifies Santa Barbara massacre as abuse of authority, not homicide
The Permanent War Council of the Second Judicial Zone of the Army issued a sentence on the murder of 15 Santa Barbara community members. The sentence argued that the accused acted in a state of war psychosis and that the acts did not constitute homicide but abuse of authority. This decision exemplifies the condescension of the military justice system with human rights violators, qualifying massacres as minor crimes.