Exclusive: Rape in America: Justice Denied »
Posted By WikiMap 1 week, 3 days ago in NewsNearly 90,000 women reported they were raped in the United States last year. It's estimated another 75,000 rapes went unreported. But while rape convictions are up - a five month CBS News investigation raises questions about just how many rapists are actually being brought to justice.
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canadianrancher571 week, 3 days ago
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First of all I will say that to me rape is a crime where I have no sympathy for the accused and feel that those who carry out such a crime are far more than just people who are carrying out an assault on another person, they are people who have regressed to a level that is lower than an animal. On the personal level I have no use for rapists, sexual predators or pimps.
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Now to address the point of denied justice. The problem that is faced with finding evidence that is basically bullet proof by police is one of the main reasons that many rapes go unreported or never get to trial. Even if we leave out the police investigation of rape the legal system is faced with so many circumstances that it makes it impossible for a rape case to be a cut and dried case in most instances. I'm not a lawyer but to me the things that are needed to win a rape case are witnesses, evidence, intent, and actions. In a violent rape these things might not be hard to find but in a rape that is a non violent rape (and I apologize for using such a term) it becomes nearly impossible to to build a case. If a person was unconscious when the rape took place this even becomes a problem to prove that a rape did occur if you use a time line of events leading up to the point of being unconscious. Up here we have a NO MEANS NO law which basically means if a person continues with sexual aggression after being told to stop it become sexual assault or (worse case)rape. I feel that the NO MEAN NO law and lie detector results should be combined in rape cases, I also feel that in rape cases mandatory lie detector tests should be given to both parties for two reasons; 1)to protect the innocent; 2)to maybe show intent.
Sorry for the long comment on this, I know the numbers on this crime are scary both with reported and unreported cases and I have seen the results of what a rape can do to a person and have given this much thought, it is not so much that justice is denied but a realization by the prosecutors and police that most rape cases are a no win situation the way that the system works right now. The rape kits were a start in the right direction but even with evidence from it, conviction is still a crap shoot.-
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Natureboy1 week, 3 days ago
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"I feel that the NO MEAN NO law and lie detector results should be combined in rape cases, I also feel that in rape cases mandatory lie detector tests should be given to both parties for two reasons; 1)to protect the innocent; 2)to maybe show intent."
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Here in the USA we have the right to not incriminate ourselves. I expect Canada does, as well. That nixes mandatory polygraphs (which don't work so well on sociopaths, anyway.)
The big problem that we have in this culture is the stigmatization of the victim, and the fact that most rapes are not done by a stranger in an alley, but by authority figures such as teachers, cops, parents and other older relatives. And of course boyfriends. And then there's the military, where a third of the women will be subjected to sexual assault at some point between enlistment and discharge.
So women first have to buck authority in order to bring prosecution for a rape case, and then they have to face a culture where smirking a-holes will insist that "they wanted it."
I have been reporting on a case for our local paper where a schoolteacher is alleged to have raped a student, possibly hundreds of times, over the four years she was in school. He apparently picked his victim well, a child who was plagued with insecurity and self-esteem issues, and he screwed her mind, well, before having his way with her bodily.
Once the story broke, people came out of the woodwork saying this teacher had been acting inappropriately towards his female students for years, they had complained, and the complaints went nowhere. Or rather to an old boys network that managed such things by sweeping them under the carpet. We may never know how many victims fell prey to this bastard. I am told that one potential witness won't testify because he impregnated her while she was still a student and she doesn't want her son knowing how he actually came into the world.
The victim
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ekklesiawarriorComment removed: Hard Banned1 Reply
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cowboygrandpa1 week, 3 days ago
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They will receive their due one day.
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I have no use for the scum bags.
I believe in the death penalty, for the crime of Rape, Child Molestation, and Sexual Slavery.
Those committing those crimes have indeed destroyed a life our lives. They should not be allowed to continue theirs as if they were a special person with the right to hurt others.-
DaylightComment removed: Spam
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Daylight1 week, 3 days ago
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Islam is the solution for a decent and a moral society, but the haters of Islam will always defend so called freedom and free mixing of men and women in wrong places and they do this with pride. Islam is not against freedom but it tells you where to start and where to end freedom. In the name of Secular Democracy religious laws are ridiculed even by the Jews and Christians except the very pious ones but also just keep silent whenever crime is reported in the name of freedom.
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Natureboy1 week, 3 days ago
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Huh?
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I'm sure Islam is fine and dandy but if you are telling me that rape and other mistreatment of women is unknown among those who profess Islam, I say you are a liar.
Religion which makes consensual expression of sexuality a "sin" arguably contributes to the problem rather than the solution. -
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SteelAngelz1 week, 3 days ago
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Many members of Islam show VERY little or NO respect to women and rape is rampant and even encouraged in various sects of this cult. There is only one true God and He is not defined by madmen nor is His work done by madmen. These murderers and rapists are being used by the great deceiver and father of all lies. I pray that those being misled will seek the truth that is within them and learn to live in the peace and love and worship of the one true God.
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1actofdefiance1 week, 3 days ago
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HA HA HA!!! Is this comment a joke?? Islam is as big of a joke as Christianity or Judaism or any other cult sect of faith. NO religion has an answer to any of these problems. They run ramped through ALL religions, ALL cultures. Rape is performed by Islamic leaders, Christian leaders, people from all walks of life and every nation on the globe!! Don't say this is a religious issue, it is a lack of morals on behalf of the rapist! Cut and dry!!
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philbrick1 week, 3 days ago
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And law-makers set a bad example:
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It is stunning that 30 Republican members of the United States Senate would vote to protect a corporation, in this case Halliburton/KBR, over a woman who was gang raped. The details from Think Progress:
In 2005, Jamie Leigh Jones was gang-raped by her co-workers while she was working for Halliburton/KBR in Baghdad. She was detained in a shipping container for at least 24 hours without food, water, or a bed, and "warned her that if she left Iraq for medical treatment, she'd be out of a job." (Jones was not an isolated case.) Jones was prevented from bringing charges in court against KBR because her employment contract stipulated that sexual assault allegations would only be heard in private arbitration.
Here are those who vote to protect a corporation over a victim of rape:
Alexander (R-TN)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Gregg (R-NH)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Kyl (R-AZ)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Wicker (R-MS)
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/healthwellness/14316... -
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pemfred1 week, 3 days ago
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Rape is a horrible, horrible crime. If someone is caught doing it, they should be punnished to the full extent of the law.
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But, A lot of women have found that crying rape is a way to get people they don't like in trouble.
One of the married secretaries at my office accused me of trying to attack her and rape her right in the middle of the day, in the middle of a crowded office, during business hours, because the married salesman, who she was having an affair with wanted to get me fired.
I also know of a lot of teenage girls who cry rape when they are caught messing around just so they won't get in trouble with thier parents.
It's hard for authorities to know what the truth is. That's why it is so hard to prosecute.
But, Like I said at the beginning. If you are caught actually doing it, you deserve to get punished, and punished hard.-
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2sidestoeverything1 week, 3 days ago
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pemfred, I also would like to see women who cry rape and were not raped be punished as well. You are right it is a fine line for the authorities to walk.
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Unfortunately it is more often then not that women are blamed because of alcohol use or how she's dressed. I think young girls and boys need to be taught that you really never no anyone fully.
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