Today's justice system rant

[\GoBillsInDallas/]

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20120720/NEWS01/307200106

 

• 
   
  
• Teenage girl gets sexuallly assualted by two teenage boys
  
• Girl's family goes to district attorney's office, who files charges against boys
  
• District attorney allows boys to plead guilty to lesser charges (and lesser sentences) without telling girl's family
  
• Girl goes public and names her attackers
  
• Attorneys for boys now want girl in jail for contempt for publicly naming the boys
   
  

[UConn James]

Thanks to government tidying up, there is a ing mountain under the rug.

 

These boys get out with drastically reduced time, and then proceed to do it (or worse) again. Catch and release. It keeps lawyers and judges in a job.

 

Same with diddlers and other sex offenders, same with gun crimes where mandatory minimums are waylaid, literally six-time DUIs keep their licenses and are sent to programs... until the time they finally kill someone and don't just smash cars, same with sundry crimes that are nollied or reduced to "ensure a conviction / reach a plea agreement." I get that these are tools in the prosecutorial toolbox to use their limited time and resources more effectively, but damn! If government is going to take on the mantle of justice to help ensure a civilized form of punishment rather than families doing tic-for-tac or resort to sheer vigilanteeism, then violent crimes at least should respect the wishes of the victim and/or their family in the prosecution.

[DC Tom]

Dingbat would have a stronger argument if she had waited until after the sentencing.

[Rob's House]

These cases are always tough to judge. Reading the article it seems like a miscarriage of justice. By the same token, I can't say I've never known a girl who made some bad decisions, woke up feeling dirty, and decided it was the guy's fault. This is why I want nothing to do with sex crime prosecution or defense.