Should this woman be punished for making up a story?

[honeychile]

Originally posted by KSig RC
Look, I agree with the fact that she should probably be punished, but this argument is pretty weak - "He might have been raped in prison"? wow.

However, good point about the cost - it costs around $22 a day to keep a prisoner in jail here, so feel free to do the math, I bet it's absurd.

Okay, I'll change my post - unless this guy is about 7 foot tall of solid muscle, he WAS raped in prison - many more times than that little liar was! I know people who are involved in prison ministry (including my brother, when he was in seminary), and it's VERY rare for a man not to get raped in prison. In fact, the prevading odor of a prison is the smell of feces.

Part of my job is interviewing people for entry-level companion and nurses aide jobs. A good half of them have some sort of record. I get to tell them that I can't help them find a job until they've completed parole and retraining. Being a companion or nurses aide is not exactly a dream job - yet, someone with a record within 7 years cannot be placed.

The $22 per day (for 17 years, that would be $136,510.00) is just the tip of the iceberg. Think of all the court costs, for the DA, for the judge, for the defending attorney, and the various other costs.

Lastly, do I have to state what a dangerous precident this sets?

[ZTA1806]

While I think this case was a disaster all the way through, and there are just sooo many people who failed in this episode, yes, she should be prosecuted for false report and perjury.

Any punishment she receives is what she receives. There are consequences to her actions, and she must know that. She may have been forgiven by her church, but it does not absolve her of the responsibility for her actions.

I work in the criminal justice system, and a lot of times the science stuff is just too much for the juries (heck, sometimes it's too much for me to grasp). Her sitting on the witness stand, pointing him out, saying it was absolutely him, that is what cinched the conviction.

The vast failures of the other parties involved do not negate her responsibility. They just hold a part of the responsibility for sending the innocent to prision as well. As for their failures,... I am actually speechless.

The unfortunate fact that he had a better chance of not ending up the way he did if he had never been accused, tried, and imprisoned only makes the whole thing much sadder.

I have a hard enough time convincing rape victims to follow through and assist in the prosecution (or even allowing it) without this sort of thing reinforcing their belief that no one will believe they are telling the truth. It angers me when someone thinks crying "rape" is a better solution than saying "oops".

[KSig RC]

Originally posted by honeychile
Okay, I'll change my post - unless this guy is about 7 foot tall of solid muscle, he WAS raped in prison - many more times than that little liar was! I know people who are involved in prison ministry (including my brother, when he was in seminary), and it's VERY rare for a man not to get raped in prison. In fact, the prevading odor of a prison is the smell of feces.

This is only true in certain parts of the country. Anecdotes are fine, but where I am, that's simply not the case, so let's not make ridiculous (and totally insignificant) generalizations. It weakens your good points.

Originally posted by honeychile
The $22 per day (for 17 years, that would be $136,510.00) is just the tip of the iceberg. Think of all the court costs, for the DA, for the judge, for the defending attorney, and the various other costs.

I could break those down too, if you'd like, since that's my job. But this is a spurious argument, honestly - judges, etc are not paid by the case, and at least here in IA neither are the prosecutors. These are salaried staff - unless you want to consider the costs to keep the lights on in the courthouse, it is very hard to argue this cost the taxpayers money that they weren't already spending.

I know, I know - this argument is made all the time, but I don't really care for it. Just saying.

Originally posted by honeychile
Lastly, do I have to state what a dangerous precident this sets?

The precedent is truly disturbing - that's why she should be punished. Of course, now you're bringing back the judges, the DA, etc etc etc . . . see? that's why I don't buy the previous argument.

[cash78mere]

i didn't finish reading the whole article but....

this woman should rot in jail for what she did. she knowingly ruined another person's life and lied under oath

[SSS1365]

I at work on a Saturday after a night of partying and 3 hours of sleep... so I didn't have the patience to actually read the article.

But I have a huge problem with women who falsely accuse people of rape. Whether the accused is actually convicted or not, it totally ruins his life. I knew a girl in college who did this, and the guys she accused were kicked out of school. Eventually they were readmitted after she confessed that she made the whole thing up, but they were both in their last semester at the time and wound up having to come back for another semester because of it. Thankfully she did confess before it ever got to trial.

I do think that a person should be punished for something like this. Intentionally ruining an innocent person's life is not okay in my book.