Rep. Norma Torres Introduces Legislation to Reform Cold Cases in the Military Justice System
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35) introduced the Enrique Roman-Martinez Military Cold Case Justice Act of 2022. This legislation, which was informed by the unsolved murder of Inland Empire native Army Specialist Enrique Roman-Martinez, would improve military cold case reviews and oversight measures to help ensure military families receive justice.
"Specialist Roman-Martinez and his family deserve justice for his murder, and it is an outrage that after two years of investigations we still have no answers in his case. As the mother of an Air Force veteran and a United States Representative, I refuse to accept this failure by the Army to provide justice for Roman-Martinez and his family," said Rep. Torres. "That is why I am introducing the Enrique Roman-Martinez Military Cold Case Justice Act because military investigators need established processes and procedures for cold cases, including a process for independent review when necessary. Without them, investigators cannot be held accountable for failing to move forward with cases like these, and I will do all I can to ensure no military family in the United States has to wait for justice or answers."
In 2020, 21-year-old Specialist Enrique Roman-Martinez, stationed at Fort Bragg, NC, disappeared while camping with seven other servicemembers in the Outer Banks. The seven soldiers who were camping with Roman-Martinez waited 17 hours to report Roman-Martinez missing, and a week later, his remains were found washed ashore.
Previously, an amendment sponsored by Rep. Torres to overhaul the handling of military cold cases was included in the U.S. House of Representatives-passed version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023. Read the full Enrique Roman-Martinez Military Cold Case Justice Act here.
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