By SARAH CAMMARATA | STARS AND STRIPES Published: April 29, 2021 WASHINGTON Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., has fought for sweeping changes to the military justice system for years by urging other senators to back a bill that would take control away from commanders to decide whether to prosecute sexual assault cases and other serious crimes. Since the Military Justice Improvement Act was first introduced in 2013, the bill has faced resistance from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and military leaders who have testified the change in control of the cases would undermine “good order and discipline.” But now a new, revised version of Gillibrand’s original proposal has the support of a key lawmaker.
So outrageous - Pfc. Vanessa Guillén s murder has made a key military justice reform more likely
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Pfc. Vanessa Guillén family unveils a sign last week at a Fort Hood gate dedicated to her. The case surrounding her death is a reason military justice reform bills are more likely to pass this year.Jerry Lara / Staff photographer
Commanders in the U.S. military decide whether to order trials for their troops, as they have since George Washington led the Continental Army but maybe not for much longer.
Their role as the court-martial “convening authority” for serious felony crimes would be handed to prosecutors under legislation now being prepared in Congress.
So outrageous : Vanessa Guillén s murder has made a key military justice reform more likely expressnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from expressnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A year after Vanessa Guillén s murder, family and advocates say military has not changed enough
Reese Oxner, The Texas Tribune
April 23, 2021
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Mellisa Mendoza places white roses at a mural for Vanessa Guillen at a convenience store at East William Cannon Drive and South Pleasant Valley Road in the Dove Springs neighborhood on Monday, July 6, 2020. Guillen was a soldier the U.S. Army who went missing from Fort Hood in April, and is believed to have been killed by another soldier. (JAY JANNER/AMERICAN-STATESMAN/TNS)JAY JANNER/AMERICAN-STATESMAN, MBR / TNS
Army Spc. Vanessa Guillén’s murder at Fort Hood in Killeen last year exposed a pattern of violence and abuse against soldiers at the U.S. military’s largest active-duty base and sparked national outrage over federal officials’ handling of sexual harassment and noncombat deaths.