Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.3 alpha 4/15/85; site weitek.UUCP
Path: utzoo!decvax!decwrl!spar!turtlevax!weitek!robertp
From: robertp@weitek.UUCP (Robert Plamondon)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: Penalties for Rape
Message-ID: <215@weitek.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 5-Jun-85 13:35:42 EDT
Article-I.D.: weitek.215
Posted: Wed Jun  5 13:35:42 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 6-Jun-85 22:40:34 EDT
References: <191@dcdwest.UUCP>
Distribution: na
Organization: Weitek Corp. Sunnyvale Ca.
Lines: 49

In article <191@dcdwest.UUCP>, benson@dcdwest.UUCP (Peter Benson) writes:
> In the discussions that have taken place in the last few weeks, the
> penalties for rape have been alluded to.  Sometimes people have
> suggested the death penalty, castration or long prison terms.  I would
> like to know what people think is an appropriate penalty and why.  Is
> there some way in which rape can be compared with other crimes so that
> comparable punishments could be exacted.

Penalties for most crimes in the US are too high.  In most European
countries, the penalties are much lower (you'd get something like three
years for armed robbery rather than 20, I believe).

When penalties get too high, you start seeing two things:

1.  Juries are unwilling to convict people whom the *KNOW* are guilty,
    because they're unwilling to punish them so severly.

2.  Sentences are artificially lowered.  Before the trial, plea-bargaining
    can get the sentence reduced by having the charge lessened.  After
    sentencing, parole lets the people out in a fraction of their sentence.

These methods, which are all too common, are all inferior to a system that
would have shorter but inflexible sentencing.  It would avoid these
scenarios:

Man is arrested for rape (death penalty offense).  Pleads guilty to some
form of felonious assault (10 years), and is paroled in three years if he
kisses the parole board's collective ass while in prison.  Back on the
street, convinced that he can beat the system, since he beat the original
charge and sentence.

Man is arrested for rape (death penalty offense).  Is brought to
trial.  The defense attorney manages to make his client look human enough,
and bring up enough "mitigating circumstances" that the jury -- convinced
that he is guilty -- can't bring themselves to send him to the gas chamber.
The verdict: Not Guilty.

A final point: rape should always carry a far lesser sentence than murder,
to avoid encouraging rapists to kill their victims.

As to people who want to stake rapists to anthills and drip honey on them:
the justice system's not supposed to be fun.  Save fun for privacy of
your own home.

I'll bring the honey.

-- 
		-- Robert Plamondon
		   {ucbvax!dual!turtlevax,ihnp4!resonex}!weitek!robertp