(October 16, 2014 at 6:38 pm)lifesagift Wrote: Does anyone, like me, think that the circumstance of rape should be taken into account during sentencing?
Don't get me wrong, if rape was an 8 out of 10 on the scale of crime, then I'm advocating a range of 7.6 to 8.9 for various rape crimes...
Quote:My reasoning is this...
Scenario A... a loving couple, in bed, she's asleep, they like rough, random, sex. He wakes up at 2am, hands wander... penetrates, she resists, but that's part of their 'game'... but she didn't want it !
Still rape. Though I wonder if either party's state of alertness would come into play.
Quote:Scenario B... Uni guy meets Uni girl... boozed up at a party, all over each other. Go back to a room, girl passes out, guy does it anyway !Rape, plus alcohol abuse. Throw the book at him!
Quote:Scenario C... Ageing rock star on tour.. young girls at stage door, clearly sexually aware, drugs/drink in abundance, they shag and both consent... but she's 15!
Still rape. Especially since you aid the rock star was "aging". In that case, anything under 18 should be deemed child rape, and subject to at least 25 to life. If it were a 19 year old and a 17 year old, I don't have too much of a problem. State laws, IIRC, do vary as far as consent. Question is, how much, and how much should they vary? 16 ok?
Quote:Scenario D.. gang of lads get given some date rape drug... go out, target three girls, spike their drink, get them in a cab, to a local park, and do the deed !
LWOP! Death if the girls are minor.
Quote:Scenario E... guy wants a particular woman at any cost.. stalks her, eventually takes a knife, she gets off the bus, he drags her into a hedge at knifepoint and does his worst.
LWOP! Death if girl is a minor.
Quote:Scenario F... Weird guy in the town abducts a 7 yr old, locks her in the cellar, rapes her most days for 30 years until she escapes, and rapes her daughters he's fathered.
Wow! Even worse than that guy in Ohio. Death.
Quote:Ok, so please replace 'he' for 'she' in the scenarios where it may be appropriate.
But one word, one crime doesn't really cover this lot does it?
There are certainly varying degrees, but every single one is without excuse, and should be punished severely. I support the death penalty for certain instances of rape without death, but never mandatory except maybe upon a second conviction (and obviously as an aggravation of murder).
"For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring." - Carl Sagan
