spoiler . to understand what really happen first you have to be a warrior and to stay alive in real war and to think off line and analytically and critically and not linear . otherwise you will come to false conclusion that maj. gray be dumb or unstable person . truth be something completely different . he be firm harden veteran and only way he could be kill by capt . omalley be that he want her to kill him . it be his way out . he choose it . he be not man who will retire . if you have never be on a first line you can not understand it . he intentionally prepare his own suicide . first he seduce mary jane and than intentionally act a a dumb and than stage argue shut incident before witness ( to protect her later after she do what he want her to do if it come to trial ) and than give her son a bullet ( to assure he could load her gun later ) and come that night and load her gun and wake her up and put her gun in her hand and act a he be attack her and after shoot first time he raise knife and cry one kill so she shoot him again and before die he put knife off like he be try to take him back again after first shot . he also give her a message with his last cry . after first kill everything will change inside your mind and destroy your life and this be the the only way for me to die a a man and yet to be kill by somebody i love be my choice and my only prerogative and war and army be not what you think so far and grow up finally and save your life till you can . she leave military life at the end . she do understand him . and he do not die in vain . the man who help him to prepare all that and after to carry out the trial and the outcome of that trial be col. sam doran with help of lt. tim macy . macy do not know what be really go on and what will be the outcome but do what he be expect to do . he take photo of mary jane and maj. gray by order of col. sam doran who give that order because maj. gray ask him to do that . after she refuse to leave army ( what col. doran ask her to do ) col. doran convince prosecutor to charge her with a premeditated murder ( he know she cant be find quilty ) instead of manslaughter ( there be some possibility to be find quilty ) with take photo . col. doran also suppress argue shut incident to escalate to prevent prosecutor to have any doubt about premeditate murder charge but let it be reveal during the trial what greatly influence the jury . i have no doubt about outcome of that trial . why col. doran do that way . because he will do anything maj. gray ask him to do . why . because he save his life on a battlefield . why mary jane choose to go to trial . because she be a person who have integrity and a principle . and that be why maj. gray choose her . it have to be somebody deserve and somebody honourable . keep his secret about what really happen that night she also prove her honour . miroslav .