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Wednesday, May 26, 2004
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NASTY, BRUTAL AND VICIOUS....IN WAYS THAT EVEN I CAN'T APPRECIATE
Ordinarily, I'm something of a connoisseur of everything that desperately wrong with the world. I can make a joke about virtually anything. The darkness that pervades my sense of humor has concerned friends and family alike for decades now. I can be in shockingly bad taste, mixed company or not.
But even I have my limits. I generally do not not browbeat the victims of a violent rape in public. And even if I did, I certainly wouldn't do it as an officer of the court.
That's right. The Orange County gang rape trial continues. Everything about this trial has disturbed me ever since I first learned about it. Both Mary Magdalicious and I have written about this sad, horrible saga before, thinking that it couldn't possibly get worse.
Yet it's doing just that. In a depressing way, it affirms every snide comment I've made about the human race in the last three decades.
I should take a moment to explain my views on this.
You probably won't meet a stauncher advocate of defendant's rights than me. This is because my views on sentencing are so harsh. I have zero moral and very few legal qualms about the death penalty. As a matter of fact, my only serious problem with capital punishment is that it is not used frequently enough. As someone who holds these views, I want to be as certain as humanly possibly that the people put to death are guilty. Accordingly, I advocate giving a defendant every possible opportunity and venue to prove his innocence. No single defendant can match the resources of the state and I believe that technicalities and appeals level the playing field somewhat.
This is where I differ with both liberals and conservatives. Most liberals would like to see a mass murderer twist the legal system into knots and then, upon conviction, be sentenced to probation with a stern warning not to kill another dozen people. On the other hand, conservatives would execute people without a trial at all if they could.
Sexual assault trials are the most difficult for me. I firmly believe that rape should carry the death penalty. On the other hand, the stigma of the accusation makes it virtually impossible to defend against. Most defendants who opt for a jury trial - where such an option is available - are retards for that reason. In last two decades, there have been literally hundreds of people convicted of rape and served long stretches in prison, only to be released when the "victim" recants. The women who lie about being raped are almost never punished for destroying the lives of their victims, and the women's movement refuses to recognize that false accusations are even a problem. "Women don't lie about rape," is their mantra. This is ridiculous. While most women do not lie about rape, it is firmly established that some do. And for groups like NOW to play politics with the issue is disgusting.
In the trial phase, I'm very pro-defendant. I feel I have to be, because in most cases I wouldn't be taking them out for pie upon conviction.
Hopefully everyone understands my position now.
Having stated that position, I do understand that rape trials are different from virtually all others. I would imagine that a rape is the most traumatic experience the victim will ever endure. I also know that, too often in the past, the victim's sexual history has been used to discredit her and acquit the guilty. So, while I have serious philosophical problems with "rape shield laws", I do understand the need for them in most cases.
On the other hand, I support Kobe Bryant - at least on revoking the rape shield - in his trial. Celebrities are giant targets for false accusations and the accuser apparently has a long history of mental illness that should probably be explored. But instances where I support investigating a victim's history are rare. There ought to be some rules in dealing with someone like the victim (and I say victim because the incident was videotaped) in Orange County.
The defense team in this case, and Cavallo particularly, should not only be disbarrred, though this is a good place to start, they should be set on fire and thrown down an elevator shaft.
Of course, I could be wrong. It has happened before.
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