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Pentagon Proposes First Changes to UCMJ in 30 Years

Date Posted: Monday, March 28, 2016

Category: Military Justice - National

Two years ago, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel ordered the Department of Defense to review their Uniform Code of Military Justice when sexual assaults in the military gained much public attention and Congressional demands for reform. These are the first Pentagon-recommended changes in over 30 years with previous changes Congressionally mandated. More transparency is inherent in the revisions. Retired Air Force former top prosecutor Don Christensen, now president of Protect Our Defenders, the sexual-assault victim advocacy group, believes "that the proposal was an effort to abort even more sweeping changes, in particular stripping the chain of command from its prosecutorial and judicial role in the military justice system. The proposed legislation would leave military commanders to still determine which cases go to court-martial, what charges will be brought against a defendant, whether to cut a deal, and whether to grant clemency after conviction."

Read the full article at: Military.com