Anti-Violence Law May Dash the Presumption of Innocence, SAVE Warns
WASHINGTON/ November 13, 2012 -- In their zeal to stamp out sex crimes, proponents of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) may be trying to overturn centuries of legal protections for the accused. The bills to reauthorize VAWA that are pending in Congress – S. 1925 and H.R. 4970 -- would strip away the presumption of innocence in cases in which a sex crime was alleged, says Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE). VAWA’s proposed definition of sexual assault shifts the burden of proof to the defendant, thus effectively removing the presumption of innocence. According to both the