Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site ttidcc.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!ttidca!ttidcc!hollombe From: hollombe@ttidcc.UUCP (The Polymath) Newsgroups: net.women Subject: Re: The Dotson Case Message-ID: <429@ttidcc.UUCP> Date: Mon, 20-May-85 13:59:34 EDT Article-I.D.: ttidcc.429 Posted: Mon May 20 13:59:34 1985 Date-Received: Tue, 21-May-85 04:23:13 EDT References: <2220@decwrl.UUCP> Reply-To: hollombe@ttidcc.UUCP (The Polymath) Organization: The Cat Factory Lines: 39 Summary: In article <2220@decwrl.UUCP> daemon@decwrl.UUCP (The devil himself) writes: > o The conviction rate for rape is about 2%. This is by > far the lowest rate of conviction for any crime. > I think the problem here lies in proving rape. More than almost any other crime, the proof of rape depends on a person's state of mind. Furthermore, unlike any other crime I can think of, it depends on the state of the _victim's_ mind. If you point a gun at someone and demand they give you money, that's armed robbery. Period. States of mind don't enter into the case, only the actions matter. Rape involves actions which may or may not be criminal depending on circumstances. Some people _like_ to be beaten up and treated roughly. (I know of at least two millionaires who made their money in the "whips and chains" market). Others have been accused of rape because a woman said "No" once or twice or was drunk before going to bed with them. The entire question rests on the attitude of the victim _at the time_. It is extremely difficult to prove state of mind in court, and this is the point that many rape defense cases are built on. Add to this that our legal system requires "proof of guilt beyond reasonable doubt" for conviction and it becomes more apparent why the percentage of rape convictions is so low. Finally, before I get flamed to a cinder, I'd like to state that I consider rape to be a terrible crime of violence and strongly favor the death penalty for habitual offenders (life imprisonment for 1st offense). The forgoing are merely my thoughts on why so few rapists are convicted at all. -- -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- The Polymath (aka: Jerry Hollombe) Citicorp TTI 3100 Ocean Park Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90405 (213) 450-9111, ext. 2483 {philabs,randvax,trwrb,vortex}!ttidca!ttidcc!hollombe