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U.S. NEWS Friday 29 december 2023

Independent lawyers begin prosecuting cases of sexual assault

and other crimes in the U.S. military

By LOLITA C. BALDOR As of Thursday, the special
Associated Press trial counsels will have sole
WASHINGTON (AP) — The authority to make prosecu-
U.S. military on Thursday tion decisions on new cases
opened a new chapter involving the major crimes.
in how it investigates and Any advice on already ex-
prosecutes cases of sexual isting cases is nonbinding,
assault and other major the officials said.
crimes, putting indepen- According to the officials,
dent lawyers in charge of the Army will have 65 cer-
those decisions and side- tified trial counsels, the Air
lining commanders after Force will have 40, the Ma-
years of pressure from Con- rine Corps will have 33 and
gress. the Navy will have 24, with
The change, long resisted 23 attorneys who are not
by Pentagon leaders, was yet certified assisting in the
finally forced by frustrated cases. About 10 more are
members of Congress who expected to be certified in
believed that too often the summer.
commanders would fail to The lawyers will be scat-
take victims’ complaints tered around the U.S. and
seriously or would try to pro- the world, with larger num-
tect alleged perpetrators in bers at bases and locations
their units. where there are more ser-
The new law was fueled vice members and more
by a persistent increase in crime.
sexual assaults and harass- In this May 1, 2014 file photo, Nate Galbreath, Senior Executive Adviser for the Department of The officials said they ex-
Defense Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (SAPRO), leaves a news conference at
ment across the military. the Pentagon. pect each trial counsel to
The Air Force, the Marine Associated Press handle as many as 50 in-
Corps and the Navy all saw other sexual assault-related impact the change will sels who will take over the vestigations and roughly
reported sexual assaults go offenses, kidnapping, do- have on the broader prob- prosecution decisions as eight to 12 trials a year.
up last year, but a sharp mestic violence, making lem of sexual misconduct of Thursday. Many of those An independent commis-
9% drop in reports from the or possessing child sexual in the military, including if lawyers, however, have al- sion that studied sexual
Army the largest military abuse images, stalking and it will trigger an increase ready been involved, pro- assaults in the military sug-
service drove the overall retaliation. in prosecutions and, if so, viding advice and support gested in its report that
number down. In 2021, re- In a statement, Secretary whether that will have any for months on cases that the use of special counsels
ported assaults spiked by of Defense Lloyd J. Austin deterrent effect. are underway. would have a positive im-
13%. III called it “the most impor- Senior officials from the The officials spoke to re- pact.
Under the law, new spe- tant reform to our military military services who are porters on the condition of It said the special counsels
cial counsels will have the justice system since the cre- familiar with the new pro- anonymity to discuss the would make better deci-
authority to make prosecu- ation of the Uniform Code gram said they already new program under rules sions on what cases should
tion decisions on a number of Military Justice in 1950.” have more than 160 cer- set by the Defense Depart- go forward, resulting in
of major crimes, including It’s unclear, however, what tified special trial coun- ment. higher conviction rates. q
murder, rape and several

World population up 75 million this year, topping 8 billion by Jan. 1

By MIKE SCHNEIDER worldwide figure. The U.S. tick up a bit as we leave
Associated Press added 1.7 million people the pandemic years. But it
The world population grew and will have a population would still be difficult to get
by 75 million people over on New Year’s Day of 335.8 to 7.3%,” Frey said.
the past year and on New million people. At the start of 2024, the
Year’s Day it will stand at If the current pace contin- United States is expected
more than 8 billion people, ues through the end of the to experience one birth ev-
according to figures re- decade, the 2020s could ery nine seconds and one
leased by the U.S. Census be the slowest-growing de- death every 9.5 seconds.
Bureau on Thursday. cade in U.S. history, yielding However, immigration will
The worldwide growth rate a growth rate of less than keep the population from
in the past year was just un- 4% over the 10-year-period dropping. Net international
der 1%. At the start of 2024, from 2020 to 2030, said Wil- migration is expected to
4.3 births and two deaths liam Frey, a demographer add one person to the U.S.
are expected worldwide at The Brookings Institution. population every 28.3 sec-
every second, according The slowest-growing de- onds. This combination of
to the Census Bureau fig- cade currently was in the births, deaths and net in-
ures. aftermath of the Great De- ternational migration will in- People look up at Christmas lights as crowds stroll around
The growth rate for the Unit- pression in the 1930s, when crease the U.S. population downtown Lisbon’s Chiado neighborhood, Saturday evening,
ed States in the past year the growth rate was 7.3%. by one person every 24.2 Dec. 23, 2023. Associated Press
was 0.53%, about half the “Of course growth may seconds.q