The Lynch Mob Returns
Actually, I don't know that it ever went away.
Once again the Lost Coast Outpost reports on someone arrested for a sex crime. This time it happens to be what seems to be an otherwise well thought of Sergeant with the Humboldt Sheriff's Office. Immediately, the hate filled comments start about what a scuzbag the guy is.
I'll never cease to be appalled at the number of people that fly off the handle when they read of an arrest in the newspaper for just about any crime. I see it in the Santa Rosa Press- Democrat comments fairly often, too.
Sex crimes really get the hate comments flowing. There seems to be few people that will sit back and wait for the facts of the case to come to light.
In this case, most of the commentators seem to believe the Sergeant guilty even though the only information they have is a short report of him being arrested. Some even go so far and defend their belief even after being reminded that all we have is an initial news report.
I reminded them that false accusations are not uncommon, pointing out the Duke lacrosse team rape accusations. Those accusations were later proven to be false.
I forgot about this one until just now but I recently read in the Santa Rosa Press- Democrat of a guy freed after spending months in jail for child molest. He was actually identified by the young victim. Turns out she was wrong and it was the guy's room mate that did it. They figured that out after DNA analysis.
I also pointed out on the Outpost the case of the fellow in Long Beach who was convicted of raping a girl in high school. He denied guilt but pled guilty on his lawyer's advice. He might have faced up to 41 years in prison had he contested the charge. He ended up spending 5 years in prison and 5 on parole before he got out and contacted his accuser. He recorded her confessing to lying about what happened but it still took a while to fully exonerate himself.
I pointed out that you couldn't blame him for taking the plea deal, taking into consideration all those at Lost Coast Outpost who consider an accusation or arrest evidence of guilt. What if he had ended up with a jury that felt the same way?
Scary people in this world, and I'm not just referring to the people actually committing crimes.
On the upside, last I looked, the comment I made suggesting people not rush to judgment over a simple arrest report had 33 up ticks. That's more than twice than any of the dozens of other comments posted there so far.
Maybe there's not as many people foaming at the mouth over this as the LCO comments would make it seem?
posted by Fred Mangels @ 2:46 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
First, let me say that I know nothing about this officer, nor do I know anything of his guilt or innocence. Obviously, I also don’t know anything about the woman that was allegedly raped. There seems to be some unfairness in the way rape cases are handled. The woman can accuse someone without her name being put forward. I can completely understand that, but I also feel that if the identity of the victim is withheld, the accused party should have the same rights. This young officer’s career and his entire life will have this stain on it. The accuser has no skin in the game.
Why not keep both parties secret until rape is proven beyond a reasonable doubt. In the case of an officer of the law being found guilty, they should have to suffer double the penalty of the average citizen. A police officer holds the right of life and death in his hands, that’s an awesome power. When an officer gives a person an order, that person is expected to comply. We’ve all been there, we know the feeling. I, personally, have never been mistreated… unless you count that unfair stop sign ticket when I was sixteen…
Knowing the awesome power of a law officer they should suffer double the penalty if found guilty. However, his identity should be held secret, just like the woman’s, until that determination.
We have all seen situations where lovers quarrels have turned into false and hurtful accusations.
Right on Fred!
Great comment, Ernie. I will differ partially on the point of someone convicted of making false accusations receiving double the penalty if found to be lying.
The problem is, just because someone is convicted, doesn't mean they're actually guilty. Just as just because someone is acquitted, doesn't mean they didn't commit some sort of crime, but that's the way the system works.
We don't want anyone from being dissuaded from filing a criminal complaint. Then again we don't want someone filing a complaint for nefarious reasons.
I'm not sure what the middle ground is. I do wonder if names in a he said/ she said accusation shouldn't be kept private for a certain period of time? That might well avoid some of the lynch mob mentality when this sort of thing makes the early news.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Fred, one of my biggest fears is being wrongly accused of a crime, since the time, energy and money in defending one's innocence is considerable.
Even though someone has been wrongly accused of a crime and eventually exonerated of the charges, the public stigma still lingers, especially in rape cases.
Post a Comment
<< Home