St. Louis NAACP Backs State Bill Providing Due Process To College Students

Students accused of sexual assault on college campuses deserve due process, St. Louis County NAACP President John Gaskin III recently advocated.

Gaskin was praising a bill in the Missouri State House that would provide due process protections for students accused of sexual assault, including the right to an attorney (at their expense) and the ability to cross-examine their accuser and the evidence and witnesses against them. The Associated Press reported the bill would also allow students to remove university officials overseeing procedures for a conflict of interest and keep schools from using terms like “victim” or “survivor” before any investigation has even taken place. Such words promote the presumption of guilt, supporters of the bill say.