Our View: Take sex-crime trial decisions away from the brass
The Fayetteville Observer Editorial Board writes:
Rape, sexual assault and forcible sodomy are serious criminal matters in the civilian legal system.
Thousands of records from U.S. installations in Japan raise doubts whether that’s true of our military legal system. In most cases, a serviceman or woman reported being raped, groped or violated by fellow troops.Commanders often intervened to reduce or dismiss charges, even when there was strong evidence.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat who heads the Senate Armed Services’ personnel subcommittee, proposes stripping commanders of the ability to decide whether sex-assault cases go to trial, letting prosecutors make that call.
Commanders have been defensive. They cite changes put in place last year after incidents that spurred calls for reform.
