Duke Rape
So, reading more of the Nancy Grace transcript. Obviously the job of a defense attorney is to defend--and they seem to have gotten a shit hand with these boys. Public urination, assault, alcohol violations. Oh, quality people, just boys sowing their oats. Or maybe mommy and daddy didn't teach the concept of respect and personal accountability. Yeah, I can see where the defense might want to get any records that might weaken the credibility of the victim. I get that, but there have to be other ways to go about it. But I gotta say, props to Nancy on this subject. Yes she annoys me, but I can't see or hear her if I read the transcript, right?
So . . . the defense for one of the accused Duke players is attempting to get all records pertaining to the victim (and it seems pretty clear she was a victim, although different sides might disagree on who attacked her), including any mental health records.
(Disclosure time: I'm the daughter of a psychologist and have battled depression since middle school)
WTF? Even without hearing the defense's logic I can see were this is going--"Well, she's a stripper, and she has 'mental problems,' obviously you can't take her word over these fine, upstanding young men."
Right . . . being a stripper doesn't take away your right to say "No," and having any sort of mental illness or disability does not mean that you won't be raped, or will lie about being rapped. Look at the large number of mentally retarded people who are molested.
Do people lie about rape? Yes. But don't try to find a chink in someone who has clearly been through such a trauma.
New topic--Nancy Grace wants to know "Will jurors sentence him (Moussaoui) to death by lethal injection or life, which we'll pay for?" I couldn't remember clearly, but I was pretty sure I had read that on average, the cost of execution is higher than life in prison. Oh, wait, I was right. I does cost more to try, convict, wear-out appeals, and execute someone. I looked at two sources, a pro-death penalty site and Amnesty International. Obviously their views about the costs were different, but I bought the AI version. Why? Well, you could argue I am liberal (I am), and therefore biased, but truthfully, AI presented better, more authoritative sources. The pro-death penalty site got their data from a 1994 Time article and a 1994 Vital Statistics abstract. The AI article cited a state Comptroller, a state budget office, and a legislative post audit, and the earliest was from 1999. Much more timely, no?
So . . . the defense for one of the accused Duke players is attempting to get all records pertaining to the victim (and it seems pretty clear she was a victim, although different sides might disagree on who attacked her), including any mental health records.
(Disclosure time: I'm the daughter of a psychologist and have battled depression since middle school)
WTF? Even without hearing the defense's logic I can see were this is going--"Well, she's a stripper, and she has 'mental problems,' obviously you can't take her word over these fine, upstanding young men."
Right . . . being a stripper doesn't take away your right to say "No," and having any sort of mental illness or disability does not mean that you won't be raped, or will lie about being rapped. Look at the large number of mentally retarded people who are molested.
Do people lie about rape? Yes. But don't try to find a chink in someone who has clearly been through such a trauma.
New topic--Nancy Grace wants to know "Will jurors sentence him (Moussaoui) to death by lethal injection or life, which we'll pay for?" I couldn't remember clearly, but I was pretty sure I had read that on average, the cost of execution is higher than life in prison. Oh, wait, I was right. I does cost more to try, convict, wear-out appeals, and execute someone. I looked at two sources, a pro-death penalty site and Amnesty International. Obviously their views about the costs were different, but I bought the AI version. Why? Well, you could argue I am liberal (I am), and therefore biased, but truthfully, AI presented better, more authoritative sources. The pro-death penalty site got their data from a 1994 Time article and a 1994 Vital Statistics abstract. The AI article cited a state Comptroller, a state budget office, and a legislative post audit, and the earliest was from 1999. Much more timely, no?
posted by EAJ at 12:48 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home