 Some have argued that the outcome of the My Lai Massacre courts martial was a reversal of the laws of war that were set forth in the Nuremberg and Tokyo War Crimes Tribunals.Secretary of the Army Howard Callaway was quoted in the "New York Times" as stating that Calley's sentence was reduced because Calley believed that what he did was a part of his orders.Calley used the exact phrase "just following orders" when another American soldier, Hugh Thompson, confronted him about the ongoing massacre.