Court rejects appeal from convicted Army officer

There is no dispute that Behenna was supposed to take the man home, but instead took him to a secluded railroad culvert, stripped him naked and shot him twice after interrogating him at gunpoint about an April 2008 roadside bombing that killed two men under Behenna’s command.

Behenna says he acted in self-defense when the man reached for Behenna’s handgun. In a 3-2 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces said Behenna could not claim that he acted in self-defense because he was conducting an unauthorized interrogation at gunpoint.