On the recordJuly 10, 2013
Today, I'd like to highlight two very important topics: real justice and military justice. As a recent case of sexual abuse illustrates, they are far from one in the same. Last fall, Lieutenant Colonel James Wilkerson was convicted of sexual assault by a military jury. The assault took place in Wilkerson's own home, as his wife and child slept upstairs. The all-male jury--four colonels and one lieutenant colonel--was unanimous in their ruling: guilty. Wilkerson was sentenced to 1 year in prison, a less than honorable discharge, and a loss of benefits. Three months later, General Craig Franklin, a three-star general who had originally called for the court-martial, overturned the punishment. General Franklin has no legal training. Wilkerson was free and clear and reinstated on Active Duty. Now, that's quite a reversal, you'd say. There must have been some ironclad, watertight, slam-dunk evidence for a general to negate a jury of five officers, right? Some silver-bullet testimony? Sorry, no. In this case, the reasoning for the general's stunning intervention was ``character.'' The general simply felt that Wilkerson was a ``doting father and husband.'' You know, a family man. Okay, you say. Maybe the general considered solid evidence that calls the entire night into question. Sorry, no. It turns out General Franklin relied on evidence that was ruled inadmissible in court. Evidence like letters of support from Wilkerson's wingmen, who had his back.…
