NetNews Usenet Archive 1993 #3/NN_1993_3.iso/spool/soc/men/23335

Internet Message Format | 1993-01-28 | 2.9 KB

Xref: sparky soc.men:23335 talk.rape:3145
Newsgroups: soc.men,talk.rape
Path: sparky!uunet!charon.amdahl.com!amdahl!rtech!sgiblab!sdd.hp.com!hpscit.sc.hp.com!hplextra!hplntx!albert
From: [e-mail] (Joseph Albert)
Subject: Re: Drunk Sex = Rape?
Sender: [e-mail] (HPL News Posting Service)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 18:19:42 GMT
References: <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]>
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Laboratories -- Database Research Group
Lines: 41

In article <[e-mail]> "amy lynn young-leith" <[e-mail]> writes:
>In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Joseph Albert) writes:
>>What????  Willie Kennedy smith's acquittal is a testament to the fact
>>that "innocent until proven guilty" is very alive and well in this country.
>
>What about all the "regular" people who have charges of sexual
>harassment, child abuse, or rape levied against them, and despite
>the charges being dropped, or being found not guilty, are continually
>referred to as "accused rapist, child molstersts" etc?  And lose their
>job because of it?  Lose a custody battle because of it?

what are you trying to say, that if a woman is raped she shouldn't file
charges because if the charges are dropped, the rapist will still be
labeled an accused rapist?  or, are you saying that we shouldn't form
are own opinions about someone?  i happen to believe that william kennedy
smith was guilty of rape.  i also happen to believe that the verdict
of not guilty was correct.  there was not adequate proof of the rape.
if the photos of the victim's injuries had been done properly, so that
the victim was identifiable from the photo (and assuming that these
photos really were of the victim, who really was injured in these ways)
then i believe a verdict of guilty would have been justified.

if you are so sure that false accusations are damaging people's lives
maybe you can supply a list of 10 rape cases that hit the courts in
the US, where the final verdict was not guilty, but the "accused"
lost their job because of the accusation. Facts please.

>I was not referring to a strictly courtroom version of this, but more
>the media and society in general.  People are all too quick to
>convict, lock up and throw away the key on someone before the case
>even hits the courts!

yes, people are entitled to form their own opinions before it hits the
courts. "innocent until proven guilty means the person gets a trial,
and the outcome dictates what happens to them, not public opinion.
nobody "convicted, locked up, and threw away the key" on William Kennedy Smith.
he didn't lose anything-- he went on to his medical internship in New Mexico,
and will becoem a practicing doctor after that.

Joseph Albert
[e-mail]