Luigi59
Banned
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2007
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- 4,566
"Being in a military uniform should not be a get-out-of-jail card," said Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, who proposed the measure that House lawmakers included in the bill authorizing spending for the 2014 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.
There was also talk this week about letting local civilian authorities prosecute military members for sexual assault crimes, but apparently that has gone away.
The House Armed Services Committee last week approved provisions in the defense bill that included stripping military commanders of the power to overturn convictions in rape and sexual assault cases. The panel also voted to require that anyone found guilty of a sex-related crime receive a punishment that includes, at a minimum, a dismissal from military service or a dishonorable discharge.
Officers, commissioned warrant officers, cadets and midshipmen convicted of rape, sexual assault, forcible sodomy or attempts to commit those offenses would be dismissed under a mandatory minimum sentence. Enlisted personnel and noncommissioned warrant officers convicted of similar crimes would be dishonorably discharged.
Turner and other lawmakers argued on Thursday that they needed to add a minimum sentence to that punishment. Yet several Democratic women opposed the step, arguing that while confinement was appropriate, Congress should wait for a Defense Department report on sentencing guidelines.
There was also talk this week about letting local civilian authorities prosecute military members for sexual assault crimes, but apparently that has gone away.