David Willey reports that former Nazi SS Capt. Erich (eric) Priebke (PREEB-keh) was absolved today of the most serious charges he faced in the World War II massacre of 335 Italian civilians. The military court ordered him set free. In what was likely one of the last Nazi war crimes trials, the court found Priebke guilty of taking part in the reprisal killings - which he admitted - but cleared him of acting with cruelty and premeditation because he was only following orders. That finding put the crime beyond the statute of limitations. Priebke, 83, faced life imprisonment for the March 24, 1944, executions.
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