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166 Mil. L. Rev. 158 (2000)
Duress as a Defense to War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity--Prosecutor v. Drazen Erdemovic

handle is hein.journals/milrv166 and id is 168 raw text is: MILITAR YLA WREVIEW DURESS AS A DEFENSE TO WAR CRIMES AND CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY- PROSECUTOR V. DRAZENERDEMOVIC MAJOR STEPHEN C. NEWMAN, U. S. MARINE CORPS1 I. Introduction Imagine yourself a young soldier fighting an unpopular and dirty little war. You aren't fighting for your country, as patriotism doesn't much appeal to your character. Neither are you fighting for a cause, since none of the causes associated with this particular conflict are especially appeal- ing to you. You fight for two reasons alone. First, you fight because you have to. You have been impressed into service by forces outside of your control. Second, you fight because it pays the bills. Every penny you earn is quickly dispatched home to support your wife and baby. Now imagine that in the course of this dirty little war, you have been taken prisoner. Over the course of several weeks you are systematically beaten and tor- tured for no apparent reason. You have also witnessed some of the most horrific scenes of death ever imaginable. Your captors are really quite ruthless, and seem to take pleasure in their work. Today you are once again beaten. Following a brief period of unconsciousness, you awake to see the yellowed teeth of the camp commandant smiling over your face. He pulls you to your feet and drags you out into the courtyard where a young woman stands bound and gagged to a tall pole. You watch as a camp guard beats her with a metal bar until she is on the verge of death. With a single command, the commandant stops the gruesome scene. You I. U.S. Marine Corps. Presently assigned as the Operational Law Attorney, United Nations Command (UNC), Combined Forces Command (CFC), United States Forces, Korea (USFK), and as Staff Judge Advocate, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Korea. B.A. 1986, Taylor University, Upland, Indiana; J.D. 1990, Capital University Law School, Columbus, Ohio; 1996, Marine Corps Amphibious Warfare School, Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Virginia; LL.M. 2000, The Judge Advocate General's School, United States Army, Charlottesville, Virginia. Previous assignments include Staff Judge Advocate, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), Deputy Staff Judge Advocate, I st Force Service Support Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Califor- nia, Trial Counsel, Defense Counsel, and Legal Assistance Officer, Marine Corps Logistics Base, Barstow, California. This article was submitted in partial completion of the Master of Laws degree requirements for the 48th Judge Advocate Officer Graduate Course, The Judge Advocate General's School, U.S. Army, Charlottesville, Virginia. [Vol. 166

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