Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is heading toward a vote to change the military justice system to deal with sexual assault.
The legislation would scrap the nearly century-old practice of an accused being able to use a "good soldier defense" to raise doubts that a crime had been committed.
Democrat Claire McCaskill and Republicans Kelly Ayotte and Deb Fischer crafted the measure. It would impose a half dozen changes as Congress tries to combat the pervasive problem of rape and other sexual offenses in the military.
In a rare show of unanimity, the Senate voted 100-0 last Thursday to move ahead on the bill. The House could act on it as a stand-alone measure or incorporate it into the massive defense policy bill that it pulls together in the spring.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
