Editorial: Another case shows need for military justice change
The San Antonio Express-News Editorial Board writes:
The case of Army Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair, the accused in one of the most high-profile military sexual assault cases in recent times, illustrated the need to remove commanders from the decision on whether to prosecute such cases.
He was allowed to plead to lesser charges. Conviction on the more severe charges, now dropped, could have earned him a life sentence. Among these charges were that he forced a captain to perform oral sex and threatened to kill her and her family if she disclosed the relationship. The two had an affair, which went horribly awry.
It’s tempting to see this as a case in which the punishment does not fit the crime — and there is a case to be made for that after his verdict Thursday for the remaining charges, a $20,000 fine and no jail time. He gets to keep his pension.
