A 17 years old rape victim revealed her underage attackers' name

[Tears of Lys]

So true, aSoHaW (that's a mouthful!)

I think I've read that most people vote for their judges based upon how they feel about their name!! WTF?

[Shryke]

For sex offender registry stuff, I would suggest this article as a great read: http://www.economist.com/node/14164614

For a quick rundown on your ideas aSoHaW:

Georgia has more than 17,000 registered sex offenders. Some are highly dangerous. But many are not. And it is fiendishly hard for anyone browsing the registry to tell the one from the other. The Georgia Sex Offender Registration Review Board, an official body, assessed a sample of offenders on the registry last year and concluded that 65% of them posed little threat. Another 30% were potentially threatening, and 5% were clearly dangerous. The board recommended that the first group be allowed to live and work wherever they liked. The second group could reasonably be barred from living or working in certain places, said the board, and the third group should be subject to tight restrictions and a lifetime of monitoring. A very small number “just over 100” are classified as “predators”, which means they have a compulsion to commit sex offences. When not in jail, predators must wear ankle bracelets that track where they are.

This is in large part due to the nature of who ends up classified as a "sex offender".

[Sci-2]

I see 35% that should be in prison forever.

[A Song of Hound and Wolves]

So true, aSoHaW (that's a mouthful!)

I think I've read that most people vote for their judges based upon how they feel about their name!! WTF?

that is actually true, ToL. I saw a study that found random "guessing" based on names which found these biases: male names before female names, WASP-Y names over ethnic names, with the exception for whatever reason of Italian-sounding names. There seems to be a bias that Italians are tough on crime...? Maybe it's a post "Serpico / Guilani" thing. I dunno.

Speaking of names, yes, my board name stinks. :-\

[Sci-2]

Speaking of names, yes, my board name stinks. :-\

Though originally suggested as a newborn baby's name, Sciborg3 remains untaken.

[A Song of Hound and Wolves]

For sex offender registry stuff, I would suggest this article as a great read: http://www.economist.com/node/14164614

For a quick rundown on your ideas aSoHaW:

This is in large part due to the nature of who ends up classified as a "sex offender".

I think the Georgia systems seems reasonable. I'm sure there are mistakes left and right and no one and certainly no governmental body can get it right, but it's nice to see a built in discretion for the system.

I see 35% that should be in prison forever.

and that sounds like a "Minority Report" kinda deal. We can't arrest people for their potential to commit crime.

[Sci-2]

and that sounds like a "Minority Report" kinda deal. We can't arrest people for their potential to commit crime.

Am I mistaken? Seems like they already committed a crime.

[A Song of Hound and Wolves]

Am I mistaken? Seems like they already committed a crime.

Well, I'm sure that some of those offenders are still in prison, but the offenders' registry is for tracking the released inmates.

ETA

Sci - are you saying that their sentence should have been life in prison? I might have misunderstood you.

[Shryke]

I think the Georgia systems seems reasonable. I'm sure there are mistakes left and right and no one and certainly no governmental body can get it right, but it's nice to see a built in discretion for the system.

I think you should read the whole article because nothing about the Georgia system is reasonable. That quote was people pointing out that at least 65% of the people on the sex offender registry are people who's lives the current state of affairs are ruining for no reason.

Fuck, one of the guys is a sex offender because he slept with his girlfriend in highschool. They are now married.

Am I mistaken? Seems like they already committed a crime.

Did they now? I think you really should learn some shit about sex offender registries. Like, say, in the article I linked. Cause many of them committed the crime of "having consensual sex" or "peeing in public".

Beyond that, even if they did commit an actual crime, they served their time and odds are large portions of them will never re-offend. Why should they never be let out? Fuck, the cost of imprisoning them alone makes this idea silly.

[Sci-2]

Ah, sorry for the confusion. I meant they should never have been let out at all.

eta:

Did they now? I think you really should learn some shit about sex offender registries. Like, say, in the article I linked. Cause many of them committed the crime of "having consensual sex" or "peeing in public".

These are Are these part of the 35% that fall under:

"Another 30% were potentially threatening, and 5% were clearly dangerous."

[Every]

Rapists had a recidivism rate of 22 percent for any offense and 10 percent for rape. At least that's what I found on the web. These two douche canoes (new favorite term) will be able to move into a neighborhood near you, and not be on any sex offenders list. They will be able to live next to a school. I'm not really happy with that idea.

Steady on. They're rapists, but there's no cause to go implying that they're paedophiles as well with the 'next to a school' comments. The girl is their own age.

[A Song of Hound and Wolves]

I think you should read the whole article because nothing about the Georgia system is reasonable. That quote was people pointing out that at least 65% of the people on the sex offender registry are people who's lives the current state of affairs are ruining for no reason.

Fuck, one of the guys is a sex offender because he slept with his girlfriend in highschool. They are now married.

mea culpa Shryke. I didn't actually read your link before I responded, just the part quoted. I must get to bed but I promise to read it tomorrow and update my post appropriately. I'd read it now, but I'm guessing I'll get so aggravated that I won't be able to go to sleep.

Sciborg3, signing off!

[Sci-2]

Sciborg3, signing off!

It begins Sciborg1, finally it begins.

[Shryke]

mea culpa Shryke. I didn't actually read your link before I responded, just the part quoted. I must get to bed but I promise to read it tomorrow and update my post appropriately. I'd read it now, but I'm guessing I'll get so aggravated that I won't be able to go to sleep.

Sciborg3, signing off!

Yeah, I just quoted it cause you mentioned numbers and that was the part with numbers.

The next point of it is that none of their recommendations are ever actually followed.

[Robin Of House Hill]

I would give her something like community service as a penalty... Light enough, considering she in all likelihood ruined these guys' lives.

I'd give her a medal.

I don't Feel better by causing some dumbass criminal teenagers to fear for their lives.

So tell me, do you think the world is better off with or without rapists?

[gryphon strike]

Steady on. They're rapists, but there's no cause to go implying that they're paedophiles as well with the 'next to a school' comments. The girl is their own age.

Steady on. They're rapists, but there's no cause to go implying that they're paedophiles as well with the 'next to a school' comments. The girl is their own age.

She was passed out at the time so do you really think they even considered her age? They were then so proud of raping an unconcious girl that they not only took pictures and video but they posted it online. I don't know about you but I sure as hell wouldn't want them living anywhere near other potential victims!

[Lightning Lord]

So tell me, do you think the world is better off with or without rapists?

George W Bush: Great president, or the greatest president? Which color is prettier: vacuum or nunchucks? Is water taller than blue?

See, I can ask useless nonsensical questions as well. You do it very well, but stop showing off.

[Robin Of House Hill]

The question is far from nonsensical. Why in the world does anyone object to the identities of rapists being made known?

[TerraPrime]

I'm of mixed opinion on this. I would penalize this girl for doing what she did. For the most part, I tend to stay away from judging and condemning people. I also don't like revenge. I would give her something like community service as a penalty... Light enough, considering she in all likelihood ruined these guys' lives.

You know, I think they ruined their own lives when they decided to have sexual intercourse with a passed-out-drunk girl at a party and then pass pictures along to their friends. But I've been called crazy before.

For the vast majority of cases, ad especially in cases with young people as the criminal, I believe in second chances.

That's great.

Tell you what - you can decide whether to release the names of your rapists and we won't naysay you. I promise.

We've all done things we aren't proud of... These two kids made a malevolent, stupid, evil, etc, decision. Should that decision define their life? Should they be punished for the rest of their lives, their every action defined by the fact that they raped someone at the age of 17(?).

I'm having a hard time seeing why not. They should be paying for this for the rest of their lives, or at least, until their victim stops feeling that her sense of self has been violated. I'm ok with a yearly review of the victim's mental state and then peg the punishment to that, i.e., until she's fully healed mentally from the trauma that these 2 men/boys put her through, they will be paying the price of their actions.

I also believe in forgiveness, second chances, not judging people, and in ones ability to repent and change their ways. It's not even that I believe in Some ideal of inherent goodness in people... I just hesitate to ruin someone's life for one moment of weakness.

The forgiveness in this case is not yours, or ours, to give. It's the victim's place to decide when she's ready, if ever, to forgive them. This is why there's typically no laws in the books that prescribe one action or another for the rape victim, i.e., they have always been free to decide whether to broadcast the name of their rapists or not. This is an exception wherein the victims right to decide was pre-emptively removed. I suspect that had the plea bargain not contained the gag order, she probably would not have done it.

I hope I made sense.

You did. And I wish you hadn't.

And it invariably leads to more hate.

So what? So the rapists end up hating the victim - what is the downside here? I mean, it's not like they raped her because they loved her, you know. They cared nothing of her well-being, as demonstrated by their action, and so their antipathy turns into active hatred, then what? Nothing, is what I'm thinking.

ETA2: Disclaimer: I do, in fact, think these guys are douches who deserve harsh punishment. But leave the punishment to the law. Do you people really feel better knowing they'll be haunted by hate filled for years, forever afraid of being attacked, or some such? Myself? I don't Feel better by causing some dumbass criminal teenagers to fear for their lives.

Being a teenager is not some sort of shield. At the age 17, they are expected to know the basics of morals and ethics, such as, you shouldn't force sex on someone who can't consent. I'm not seeing why I should be lenient towards them here on account of their age. I mean, would you feel differently if the rapists were 19? 22? 25? 31? (Oh, wait, I think I'd rather not know your answer to that last question.)

[Lightning Lord]

The question is far from nonsensical. Why in the world does anyone object to the identities of rapists being made known?

And within your question, that was addressed....where?