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From: todd@SCINEWS.UUCP (Todd Jones)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: charges of rape, and good points
Message-ID: <133@SCINEWS.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 11-Jun-85 17:51:24 EDT
Article-I.D.: SCINEWS.133
Posted: Tue Jun 11 17:51:24 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 17-Jun-85 03:48:10 EDT
References: <446@ttidcc.UUCP> <166@lzwi.UUCP>
Organization: SCI Systems, Research Triangle Park, NC
Lines: 51

> In article <446@ttidcc.UUCP>, regard@ttidcc.UUCP (Adrienne Regard) writes:
> > And if a woman claims she said "no", that's a pretty
> > good indication, even after the fact, that she meant "no".
> > 
> > (before you flame me for that one, I admit there are abuses to the charge
> > of rape.  I ask you if that's what we are really talking about.)
> 
> According to NPR, the incidence of false reporting of rape is
> the same as that for other crimes--robbery, kidnapping,
> whatever. That statistic, I believe, was .2%, although I
> wouldn't swear to it. At any rate, the important thing is that
> false reporting of rapes is NO MORE of a problem than it is
> with other crimes & therefore the rape victim's state of mind
> should not be of more concern to the jury than the robbery
> victim's state of mind.

Not to be a nuisance or anything, but how does anyone know what
the incidence of false reporting of any crime, especially rape,
is? To judge it on the basis of convictions vs. accusations
would surely boost the .2% into the double figure zone (all crimes,
including rape).

There is a clearer motive for an individual to falsely accuse 
another individual of rape than there is in the case of robbery
or kidnapping. This is one of the reasons that rape is so controversial.
I favor swift and sure punishment for all rapists, but I realize
that rape accusations can be, and have been, used against individuals
to have them unjustly incarcerated. I believe that the American
judicial system is perhaps too sceptical toward rape accusers' testimony 
and I believe the instances of fabricated rape charges are greatly 
outnumbered by the instances of justifiable rape charges, but I'm 
not convinced that the ratio is 2 to 1000. 






The preceding opinions are, in all likelihood, those of Todd Jones.
However, these opinions will, in all certainty, bear scant resemblance 
to the opinions of SCI Systems, Inc., Mr. Jones' employer.

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   [ O-O ]       Todd Jones
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