Demand Congressional Investigation of the General Sinclair Sexual Assault Case!
- by: A. Ward
- recipient: Senator Claire McCaskill and Senator Kelly Ayotte
On March 6, 2014, the United States Senate voted unanimously to adopt new legislation overhauling the military justice system for sexual assault cases. The new legislation requires evidence based approach to prosecutions, a dishonorable discharge for anyone found guilty of sexual assault, and prevents retaliation against anyone filing a charge, among other provisions.
The effectiveness of this new legislation was put to the test almost immediately with the case of Army General, Jeffrey A. Sinclair, who was facing sexual assault charges and ethics violations. Despite the fact that the new law demands evidence based prosecutions, Sinclair was allowed to plead guilty to lesser charges because the Army allowed non evidentiary political issues to influence its handling of the case. Sinclair walked out of court with absolutely none of the minimum punishments, amid a faulty investigative process. His slap on the wrist amounted to no jail time and a 20,000 fine. The handling of the case by the Army openly mocks sexual assault victims and the United States Senate!
Demand a FULL AND PUBLIC Congressional investigation into the prosecution of the Sinclair case and hold those responsible for its failure accountable!
Honorable Claire McCaskill and Honorable Kelly Ayotte:
Your work to get the groundbreaking legislation passed to overhaul the military justice system to protect victims of sexual assault has been openly mocked for the entire world to see! The handling of Army General Jeffrey Sinclair's sexual assault prosecution was its first, most acid test, and it failed due to a lack of respect for the law and the victims.
We cannot possibly expect members of the armed services to take the new law seriously if their commanders beat the system due to the military's influence over evidence.
It's no secret that the military does not want to give up any of its power over these situations, but the law is the law.
We the undersigned, respectfully ask that you two distinguished Senators launch a full, public investigation into the handling of the General Sinclair case!
Sincerely,
