STATEMENT: Protect Our Defenders Calls On Alaska Governor to Enact Fundamental Reform After Report Exposes Broken Justice System in Alaska National Guard
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 9, 2014 Contact: Brian Purchia, brian@protectourdefenders.com
*** STATEMENT ***
PROTECT OUR DEFENDERS CALLS ON ALASKA GOVERNOR TO ENACT FUNDAMENTAL REFORM AFTER REPORT EXPOSES BROKEN JUSTICE SYSTEM IN ALASKA NATIONAL GUARD
Washington DC – Today, Protect Our Defenders called on Alaska Governor Sean Parnell to stand with victims of rape and sexual assault in the Alaska National Guard and enact legislation that will take the handling of these cases out of a biased and often conflicted chain of command.
A report released last week, found that complaints by victims in the Guard were not properly documented and that victims were not referred to victim advocates. The report also found that victims’ privacy rights were violated, and that they faced retaliation from both their fellow servicemembers and commanders for speaking up.
Protect Our Defenders President, Nancy Parrish, released the following statement:
“Governor Parnell should support the transfer of all sexual assault cases in the Alaska National Guard to local police and prosecutors similar to that recently passed by the California legislature and signed into law.
“It is time for the Governor to take real action and fix this broken system. The members of the Alaska National Guard deserve a justice system equal to the system afforded to the civilians they protect.”
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Associated Press: Report Finds Lack of Trust in Alaska Guard Command
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/report-finds-lack-trust-alaska-guard-command-25298595
Los Angeles Times: Scathing report on Alaska National Guard forces out commander
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-alaska-national-guard-20140905-story.html
National Guard Bureau Office of Complex Investigations Report of Assessment of the Alaska National Guard
http://gov.alaska.gov/parnell_media/ak-roa-combined.pdf
San Francisco Chronicle: Sex-assault cases in California military shifting jurisdictions
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/California-pushes-shift-in-military-sex-assault-5704659.php
About Protect Our Defenders: Protect Our Defenders is a human rights organization. We seek to honor, support and give voice to the brave women and men in uniform who have been sexually assaulted while serving their country, and re-victimized by the military adjudication system – a system that often blames the victim and fails to prosecute the perpetrator. Learn more about Protect Our Defenders at www.protectourdefenders.com or on Facebook at http://facebook.com/ProtectOurDefenders or follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ProtectRDfnders.
Protect Our Defenders partners with Attorney Susan Burke, Burke PLLC to advance lawsuits filed against the DoD and service academies for repeatedly ignoring rape, sexual assault and harassment, failing to prosecute perpetrators and retaliating against the victim.
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