Stars and Stripes: Lawmakers: Sexual assault cases best kept in chain of command
Stars and Stripes reports:
On Wednesday, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., pushed back against a proposal to strip military commanders of their responsibility to prosecute serious crimes, instead handing those decisions over to prosecutors outside the chain of command.
That idea, championed by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., has earned praise from sexual assault advocates and a number of lawmakers, but also has drawn fierce opposition from military commanders.
Levin, who has been calling instead for a better appeal process when commanders fail to pursue a court-martial, called the Gillibrand plan short-sighted and possibly harmful to sexual assault victims.
