Original Article
Yet one more law humanized by naming it after someone. And also, why do we need another registry, why not use the existing database, or place all criminals on one massive database?
08/02/2011
By Rekha Basu
Three years ago, Jesse James, of Dubuque, Iowa, got a call from his daughter, Holley, 24, in Fort Bragg, N.C., where she was stationed as an Army nurse. She was planning to leave her year-old marriage to John Wimunc, a 23-year-old Marine corporal at Camp Lejeune. She said she was tired of the abuse. She expected a nasty breakup.
James, who retired from a military career and now is dean of admissions at the University of Dubuque, advised his daughter to change the locks on her apartment and take some clothes to a friends' place. He now wishes he had insisted she take leave and come home -- or had flown there.
He understood the term "nasty breakup" in a benign way: "screaming at each other, some harassment." He never imagined that five days later, his daughter would be dead.
Holley was shot in the head by Wimunc, who shouldn't even have been allowed off the base that night to make the two-hour drive. After numerous complaints by his wife, he'd been placed on unsupervised restriction, her father said. With a fellow Marine as an accomplice, he then dumped her body in a wooded area and set it afire. Wimunc later confessed to murder and was sentenced in fall 2010 to life in prison.
James has since learned many lessons: about the heightened risks to battered women when they try to leave, about the shame that often prevents their disclosing the extent of their abuse and about signs to watch for.
He also has learned that an order to stay away means nothing unless someone is enforcing it. So he is glad to see his daughter's life honored in a congressional bill bearing her name. Introduced this spring by Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, the Holley Lynn James Act is intended to provide military accountability for the handling of sexual assault and domestic violence cases. It takes the authority for handling such cases against military members away from the usual chain of command and places it with the inspector general for policy and oversight -- a third party not serving in a combat zone.
Holley had expressed frustration with the Marine Corps' lack of response to her appeals for help restraining her husband, her father said. She would call her parents and say, "He's supposed to be on restriction, and he's standing outside screaming at me." One time, James heard the screaming and called the base duty officer.
As it now works, when someone in the military commits an offense, the first responders are leaders of that unit, "and often they make the decision about what's going to happen or not happen," James said. "They're not attorneys, and in some cases, they're not unbiased."
Look at it this way: The accused might be your best soldier. You've been in combat together. "Someone's spouse comes along and says they did these things, and you can't believe it."
It's not an indictment of the officers, James said. But trained independent investigators are necessary, especially since civilian police do not have authority on military bases.
The bill says that in cases involving an accusation of rape, sexual assault, harassment or domestic violence, "the facts of the case shall be given precedence over the value to the service of the accused."
Braley, who serves on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said there were no repercussions against the commanding officers in the Wimunc case, and his bill would require consequences for failing to observe proper procedures.
He said domestic and sexual assault are rampant in the military, and the Department of Defense has said it has trouble addressing such cases. According to a 2010 Government Accountability Office report, 8,223 cases of domestic abuse were reported to military clinics in 2009. The defense department thinks those represent a small percent of actual incidents.
The Pentagon also thinks the 3,158 official reports of sexual assaults in the military in 2010 represent only 13 to 14 percent of actual cases. Braley said that's because of "pressure on women in the military."
In 2009, the military hospitals treated 65,264 patients in connection with "military sexual trauma" -- the official term for rape and sexual assault in the military -- 60 percent female and 40 percent male.
The bill also would require data collection and reporting of sexual assault and domestic abuse cases, along with training in prevention and response. It would establish a military sexual predator database, and it would require that an attorney be assigned to the accuser.
If an investigation revealed evidence against a military member, a court martial would be required. Braley also has introduced the Support for Survivors Act, which would require the military to preserve records connected with sexual assault and sexual harassment cases.
Given all the bitter partisanship in Congress, this bill might end up going nowhere this year.
"Congress is messy," James sighed. "Just because a bill should be passed doesn't mean it will be."
But he hopes it is. "This bill, or anything else, can't bring Holley home. But for one young lady out there to get the proper protection -- if that can be done in the name of Holley, that would be wonderful."
This isn't a partisan issue, and it is about supporting the troops. It's about preventing crimes and weeding out the criminals.