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From: john@moncol.UUCP (John Ruschmeyer)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: The Dotson Case
Message-ID: <341@moncol.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 30-May-85 10:35:23 EDT
Article-I.D.: moncol.341
Posted: Thu May 30 10:35:23 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 31-May-85 04:06:29 EDT
References: <439@rtech.UUCP> <2220@decwrl.UUCP> <6078@umcp-cs.UUCP>
Organization: Monmouth College, West Long Branch, NJ 07764
Lines: 39

>From: jeff@rtech.UUCP (Jeff Lichtman)
>Organization: Relational Technology, Alameda CA
>Message-ID: <439@rtech.UUCP>
>
>> The Dotson case was often on p. 1 of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, my local
>> paper.  Perhaps the coverage was defective or unbalanced, but it definitely
>> was a newsworthy case.  What outrages ME is that IT TOOK WAY TOO LONG FOR 
>> THE STATE TO RELEASE DOTSON.  The testimony was apparently the only real 
>> evidence against him, and when it was recanted -- Dotson should have been
>> released immediately.
>
>There was corroborating physical evidence that she had been raped.  She had
>been beaten badly, and I understand that semen samples taken from her matched
>Dotson's.

This brings up a question I have been wondering about since this whole
thing started:

Let's say Dotson really did rape her. (No flames please, this is an
academic discussion.) Why then would his victim then recant her testimony
and get him released?

The discussions about rape in this newsgroup indicate that it is an
extremely damaging experience for the victim. Here, however, we potentially
have the case of a woman who was raped and is now sorry she sent the rapist
to jail. 

Something don't jive.


-- 
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