By Pro Publica
Wednesday, June 5, 2013 13:02 EDT
By Christie Thompson, ProPublica
When the Senate Armed Services Committee held a hearing on the U.S.
military’s sexual assault crisis, lawmakers grilled Army, Navy, Air
Force and Marine officials on the alarmingly high number of rapes and
other sexual abuses in their ranks.
Political momentum to address the problem has been building since the Pentagon
released statistics
last month showing that sexual assault increased by 35 percent between
2010 and 2012. The outcry grew louder when a string of scandals came to
light, including alleged sexual assaults by Army and Air Force officials
who were in charge of preventing sexual abuse.
Senators have rushed to draft legislation to hold attackers
accountable and provide support for victims. But at the Senate hearing,
officials steadfastly opposed most major changes in the way sexual
assault cases are prosecuted. “It will undermine the readiness of the
force … [and] will hamper the timely delivery of justice,”
said Army Chief of Staff Ray Odierno.
Here’s a rundown of key congressional proposals and what the military is saying about them.
1. Stop giving military commanders the final say on rape convictions
Under the military’s criminal procedures, commanders have clemency
powers, which means they can dismiss military court convictions “for any
reason or no reason.” The policy came under fire this spring when Air
Force Lt. Gen. Craig Franklin
overturned a jury’s ruling
that Lt. Col. James Wilkerson, a fighter pilot, was guilty of
aggravated sexual assault. Another official, Air Force Lt. Gen. Susan
Helms, was
blocked from a promotion in May for throwing out a captain’s sexual assault conviction without any public explanation.
In April, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel
voiced support
for stripping commanders of this power. Under Hagel’s proposal,
commanders could still reduce someone’s sentence but would have to
submit a reason in writing. Sens. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Barbara
Boxer, D-Calif., have called for similar changes. Rep. Jackie Speier,
D-Calif.,
introduced a House bill that goes further, removing a commander’s authority to overturn or reduce a judge’s sentence.
Military officials are open to reforming the policy, though they say
the Wilkerson case inflated outrage over a rarely-used power. Sen.
Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.,
a member of the Armed Services Committee and former Air Force lawyer, has been the only lawmaker to speak out against the proposed change in policy.
2. Have lawyers determine which assault cases are credible 2014 not the defendant’s boss
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., has called for the most major shift
in how the military tries sexual assault cases. Now, commanders decide
which cases are investigated and prosecuted, and which are thrown out.
Gillibrand’s bill proposes giving independent military prosecutors that
power for sex crimes and other serious charges. Commanders have an
incentive to ignore rape allegations, advocates of the change say, because it reflects poorly on their leadership.
Military officials are strongly opposed to such a change in
authority. “The consequences of such a decision would be …
extraordinarily damaging to the nation’s security,” Army Gen. Martin
Dempsey
wrote in a letter to
the Armed Services Committee chairman, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich. The
change would “undermine good order and discipline” by sending a message
that commanders “cannot be trusted,” Dempsey said.
3. Make sure a sex crime conviction means losing your job
Sen. McCaskill has led a
bipartisan effort
to require that anyone convicted of “rape, sexual assault, forcible
sodomy, or an attempt to commit any of those offenses” be dismissed or
given a dishonorable discharge.
At the hearing, McCaskill argued that a soldier’s job performance
shouldn’t be a factor in deciding whether to move forward with sexual
assault cases. Currently, commanders may consider it when deciding
whether to prosecute. “The facts of a felony are the facts of a felony,”
McCaskill said. “I don’t care how good a pilot it is.”
Lt. Gen. Richard C. Harding of the Air Force argued during the
hearing that a defendant’s character should be relevant in determining
the case but should not have “overriding weight.”
4. Scrutinize officers appointed to prevent sexual assault
In the past month, there have been not one but
two instances
of soldiers working in Sexual Assault Prevention and Response offices
charged with sexual assault. The chief of the Air Force’s prevention
office was
arrested last month
for groping a woman. A week later, an Army sergeant working as a sexual
assault program coordinator was arrested on multiple accusations of
sexual abuse and for
running a prostitution ring.
Hagel immediately demanded
that all officers in the services’ Sexual Assault Prevention and
Response branches be retrained, rescreened, and recredentialed. Since
then, Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Deb Fischer, R-Neb.,
have introduced a bill that would elevate those jobs to a higher status, requiring stricter screening and more certification. In a
letter to Secretary Hagel,
Shaheen and McCaskill wrote that “In many cases, no interviews are
required, and the commander plays a hands-off role in choosing who will
perform those duties.” The bill would require a commander to pick
someone for the post.
5. Make it easier for sexual assault victims to access disability benefits
While the Senate was hearing testimonies by military officials, the House unanimously passed
legislation to increase access
to disability benefits for sexual assault victims in the military.
Veterans battling military sexual trauma face a higher burden of proof
than those with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. And because
most sexual assaults go unreported, there is often little evidence
available. Under the proposed law, veterans would only have to show they
were diagnosed with a mental health condition that stems from military
sexual assault.
Read our Muckreads roundup of the most important reporting on sexual assault in the military.
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