Excessive punishment for sex act?

[AlphaFrog]

Originally posted by Marie
AlphaFrog,

I don't think that anyone has questioned the jurors and their application of the law. We all know and understand that once an issue is taken to court, then it is the letter of the law that must stand.

However, what people were questioning was the original intention of the person(s) who chose to prosecute this young man in the 1st place. As has already been mentioned, there was recently a case very similar to this where a young man was accused of rape after having what was found to be consensual sex with a younger girl. In this instance Yes the girl was white and Yes her father had some very strong feelings about his daughter being with a black man. This was believed to be the motivation by many people viewing and invloved in the case including the young man's, white adoptive parents.

Furthermore this is a scenario that many of us have seen played out in smaller settings time and time again. I primarily have heard of instances where interacial couples have been stopped and extensively questioned by the police for little or no reason other than that individuals displeasure with their relationship. While it is with out a doubt that some people in this thread made assumptions without 1st investigating the facts, it is undeniable that their assumptions have proved true many times in this country's history. Certainly their assumptions were not unfounded. I don't understand why there is such resistance to the notion that racism still occurs everyday in this nation and that many of us have experienced it 1st hand. Hence it is quite feasible that many people would be concerned when they hear a story that starts out like another that they've heard many times before.

Quoted because I appreciate you ability to present your opinion respectfully and courtiously without name calling or degrading someone else with a different opinion.

I completely agree with most of what you said.

[Amaterasu]

I just knew, knew, KNEW a white sorority member was going to come in and say the African Americans on this board were being racist.

I'm from Georgia, and this is an old refrain that I've seen played over and over and over again. Two teenagers, one a black male over the age of consent, the other a white female underaged, have consensual sex. White female gets scared, or her family finds out, charges them with rape. Georgia still has racism heavily ingrained in its systems, and the young black man usually gets in a lot of trouble.

Sisterfriends weren't being racist, they were stating a truth that happens over and over again to African American men, and has been happening since way back when. Actually, I was more shocked when I found out that the girl was black than I would've been if she were white.

[James]

Is there that much of a difference in a 30 year old getting oral sex froma 15 year old girl and a 17 year old? Enough of a difference for 10 years in jail?

Oral sex is a voluntary act.

Or did she understand what she was doing when it was the 17 year old boy, but would not understand why a penis was in her mouth if the person was older . . . at some magical cut off age?

We have to really becareful when we legislate social issues.

The legal excuse for a lot of these laws is to prevent teen pregnancy. If they really wanted to do that they would have to charge the underage girl for having sex.

I don't agree with that either.

Originally posted by AlphaFrog
I NEVER said it was a good law. There is a reason for it, but it needs revised. It's designed so that same 15-year old doesn't commit sexual acts with a 30-year old, however the 17 year old got caught up in the letter of the law.

[Marie]

Originally posted by James
Is there that much of a difference in a 30 year old getting oral sex froma 15 year old girl and a 17 year old? Enough of a difference for 10 years in jail?

Oral sex is a voluntary act.

Or did she understand what she was doing when it was the 17 year old boy, but would not understand why a penis was in her mouth if the person was older . . . at some magical cut off age?

We have to really becareful when we legislate social issues.

The legal excuse for a lot of these laws is to prevent teen pregnancy. If they really wanted to do that they would have to charge the underage girl for having sex.

I don't agree with that either.

From my understanding, this young man was charged with something similar to child molestation. Since he has been convicted, then not only is he going to spend the next 10 years in jail, but he also must register as a convicted sex criminal for the rest of his life. However, I believe that the argument being made here is that in many states this law has a caveat that excludes teenages who are together engaging in a consensual relationship. This is what the young man's lawyer is pushing to have put into place in order to have his sentence overturned.

If this is the case, then this is not quite the same as the laws designed to prevent teenage pregnancy. Additionally, it must be noted that the ability of a 30 yr old to manipulate a 15 yr old into doing something inappropriate is a bit different than that of a 17yr old. No there isn't a magical cut-off that we can identify to prevent mis-applications of the law such as this one. However, a loop hole such as the one that they are requesting would help cut down on some of the ambiguity.