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Strange Famous · 09-11-2004, 07:38 AM

And if not, what - realistically - is. I know that there will be come who say death, or mutilation/castration and so forth - and those are not invalid arguments, but I am also interested in the opinions of those who take a more liberal view.

My mother was, about a year ago, on the jury in a case. These are the basic details.

A guy was accused of raping 4 girls, aged between 10 and 12 years old. He did not deny havinbg sex with them, but claimed that the sex was consenual and that 1 of the girls had seduced him. This is still a crime of course, but a lesser one. Each of the girls testified basically that he had forced them to have sex, and threatened to kill them if they told anyone. In the end he was found guilty of 3 counts of rape, and 3 counts of indecent assault, on the 4th counts, he was found innocent because teh gury was splut 4 to 8 - the majority believing that the evidence was not sufficient. (incidently, the mother of the 4th alleged victim later recognised my mother in a shop and started screaming at her that she had ruined the daughters life... but that is neither here nor there for this thread)

At sentencing, the judge revealed that this was the man's third conviction for sexual crimes involving children. He had been found guilty of sexually assaulting an 11 year old girl when in his 20's but had not served prison time, he had been found guilty of rape a few years later (involving again an adolescent girl) and served - I think - 5 years.

The judge sentenced the guy to 4 years for each case of indecent assault and 7 years for each rape, but of course for the sentences to run concurrently , so he will serve 11 years - in reality of course, if you behave in prison, you will only serve 1/2 to 2/3 of your sentence... but because of the fact this guy had commited 2 other offense involving children, the judge was able to decree that he must serve 2/3 of his sentence as a minimum.

All of which means, he will be out in 7 years (6 years now), before he is 40 years old. He has been found guilty on 3 occasions of sexually assaulting children, and also found guilty of assaulting 5 gils under the age of 12, and of raping 3 of them.

In 6 years he will be out, he will be forced to sign on to the sex offenders register, but of course it is very easy to disappear from the radar once one is out. I am not one who subcribes to the idea that prison is a holiday camp. Prison life is demeaning and most of all incredibly boring... inmates suffer mental stagnation and boredom... of course, he would be separated from the normal prison population for his own safety, and probably transfered to a low security prison after a little of his sentence. While life will be boring and confined, he will be able to take advantage of open university courses, counselling, recreation and so on.

By the time he is 40, he will be out again. Can such a character be reformed? I dont know. Paedophiles are demonised today to an extent that sometimes seems hysterical, yet I cannot deny that such crimes sicken me, as they do most of society... they are crimes of inhuman violence against the weakest members of society, they are crimes that destroy the lives of the victims and their families, crimes that will still haunt those who suffered them when he is free.

What realistically, do you do with such offenders? Execution? Life inprisonment? Throw them to the mob?

For one, I have no appetite for torture or brutality, even against the most horrible of criminals... for a detah penalty to be acceptable to me, it would have to be removed from any trappings of torture or spectacle... it would have to be a surgical and emotionless action to cleanse society of elements that are unfit to live. Most of the time I am against the death penalty, but sometimes it is not easy.

If they are to kept in prison - then how long for, at what expense? How can people be genuinely reformed? How can those incapable of being reformed be dealt with?

09-11-2004, 07:38 AM	#1 (permalink)
Strange Famous follower of the child's crusade?	Is this an adequate sentence? And if not, what - realistically - is. I know that there will be come who say death, or mutilation/castration and so forth - and those are not invalid arguments, but I am also interested in the opinions of those who take a more liberal view. My mother was, about a year ago, on the jury in a case. These are the basic details. A guy was accused of raping 4 girls, aged between 10 and 12 years old. He did not deny havinbg sex with them, but claimed that the sex was consenual and that 1 of the girls had seduced him. This is still a crime of course, but a lesser one. Each of the girls testified basically that he had forced them to have sex, and threatened to kill them if they told anyone. In the end he was found guilty of 3 counts of rape, and 3 counts of indecent assault, on the 4th counts, he was found innocent because teh gury was splut 4 to 8 - the majority believing that the evidence was not sufficient. (incidently, the mother of the 4th alleged victim later recognised my mother in a shop and started screaming at her that she had ruined the daughters life... but that is neither here nor there for this thread) At sentencing, the judge revealed that this was the man's third conviction for sexual crimes involving children. He had been found guilty of sexually assaulting an 11 year old girl when in his 20's but had not served prison time, he had been found guilty of rape a few years later (involving again an adolescent girl) and served - I think - 5 years. The judge sentenced the guy to 4 years for each case of indecent assault and 7 years for each rape, but of course for the sentences to run concurrently , so he will serve 11 years - in reality of course, if you behave in prison, you will only serve 1/2 to 2/3 of your sentence... but because of the fact this guy had commited 2 other offense involving children, the judge was able to decree that he must serve 2/3 of his sentence as a minimum. All of which means, he will be out in 7 years (6 years now), before he is 40 years old. He has been found guilty on 3 occasions of sexually assaulting children, and also found guilty of assaulting 5 gils under the age of 12, and of raping 3 of them. In 6 years he will be out, he will be forced to sign on to the sex offenders register, but of course it is very easy to disappear from the radar once one is out. I am not one who subcribes to the idea that prison is a holiday camp. Prison life is demeaning and most of all incredibly boring... inmates suffer mental stagnation and boredom... of course, he would be separated from the normal prison population for his own safety, and probably transfered to a low security prison after a little of his sentence. While life will be boring and confined, he will be able to take advantage of open university courses, counselling, recreation and so on. By the time he is 40, he will be out again. Can such a character be reformed? I dont know. Paedophiles are demonised today to an extent that sometimes seems hysterical, yet I cannot deny that such crimes sicken me, as they do most of society... they are crimes of inhuman violence against the weakest members of society, they are crimes that destroy the lives of the victims and their families, crimes that will still haunt those who suffered them when he is free. What realistically, do you do with such offenders? Execution? Life inprisonment? Throw them to the mob? For one, I have no appetite for torture or brutality, even against the most horrible of criminals... for a detah penalty to be acceptable to me, it would have to be removed from any trappings of torture or spectacle... it would have to be a surgical and emotionless action to cleanse society of elements that are unfit to live. Most of the time I am against the death penalty, but sometimes it is not easy. If they are to kept in prison - then how long for, at what expense? How can people be genuinely reformed? How can those incapable of being reformed be dealt with? __________________ "Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate, for all things are plain in the sight of Heaven. For nothing hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain without being uncovered." The Gospel of Thomas