Air Force Times: Airman acquitted of sexual assault charge
Protect Our Defenders President Col. Don Christensen (ret.), and Former US Air Force Chief Prosecutor, is featured in this Air Force Times article:
Retired Col. Don Christensen, the Air Force’s former top prosecutor who joined the victims-advocacy group Protect Our Defenders, issued a statement on Wednesday critical of how the military justice system handled this case.“This case is Exhibit A of the devastating consequences of our failed military justice system,” Christensen said in the statement. “Due to multiple errors committed by the command-driven justice system, both parties have had their lives on hold for more than three years awaiting a verdict.“The survivor in this case endured a slew of avoidable hearings and appeals for over three years that repeatedly delayed her from having her day in court,” Christensen wrote. “An empowered independent military prosecutor based justice system would have ensured the administration of swift and efficient justice, something all of our military service members deserve.”Christensen concluded that the military’s justice system was broken after securing a sexual-assault conviction against Lt. Col. James Wilkerson, an F-16 pilot and Aviano inspector general, only to see that conviction ovetrurned in February 2013 by then-Third Air Force commander Lt. Gen. Craig Franklin.
