‘Keep our honor clean,’ Sexual assault will now be tried outside military chain of command

Source: kktv.com 12/28/23

ASHINGTON (KKTV) – Starting Thursday, The U.S. Military has a new “Offices of Special Trial Counsel” (OSTC) to prosecute sexual assault and other serious crimes.

The counsel will have general or flag officer leaders who report directly to the secretaries of the military departments. The authority was previously held by commanders.

“This military justice reform is an important step in restoring faith that the system is fair, just and equitable, said senior Defense Department and military officials, who emphasized that the offices will be staffed by specially trained, independent military attorneys uniquely qualified to address complex cases,” a news release from the Department of Defense reads.  “The OSTCs will handle cases professionally, applying the best practices and procedures of civilian prosecution offices, a senior DOD official said.”

Other offenses covered by OSTCs include murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, domestic violence, stalking, child pornography and most sexual assault and sexual misconduct.

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This is going to be a sh*t show and not even address the underlying issues at play in the DOD when it comes to this topic. When you only need 75% of the panel to vote guilty, you don’t even need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt guilt of the accused. DOD needs to grow up and mature into a full fledged legal system for its members and not just appease Congress for the money.