The line lays at the point where the least harm is done overall. You absolutely cannot deny that false rape convictions have consequences lasting even beyond the extended jail time, can be relatively insubstantial in their prosecutions in terms of evidence leading to charging according to subjectivity instead of objectivity, and while not common are likely still present in significant numbers. In this situation, because of the three said reasons, it is better to follow a utilitarian interpretation of the law, where recognizing that women who have done such false convictions could be intimidated by the presence of legal lashback and therefore not come forward with the truth, meaning that one instance of vengeance would prevent others from coming forward with the truth.
Why do I insist that said perjury goes unpunished? Probably the same reason why courts grant immunity to individuals. Because sometimes its better for the greater good to let such things slide away. That said, I could easily see a lawsuit being filed against someone over this.
I've thought that too.
---------- Post added 2012-11-23 at 04:22 PM ----------
Tell us, what is life like in prison for child rapists? here's a hint, most become rape victims or spend their time in protective custody.
---------- Post added 2012-11-23 at 04:23 PM ----------
and they aren't believed because those that lie about it aren't punished.
---------- Post added 2012-11-23 at 04:25 PM ----------
Cause the DA that prosecuted him and others is incompetent perhaps?
---------- Post added 2012-11-23 at 04:27 PM ----------
I strongly suspect that the mother was behind it, all or in part.
By your own logic, she should be absolved of liability in a lawsuit as well. Otherwise other false allegations might be seen as opening them to lawsuits as well.
As stated, there should be a lesser sentence for coming forward on your own, but you shouldn't be absolved of a crime for doing so. The reason they grant immunity is in a quid pro quo for testimony to take out more important criminals.
This instance, in particular, involves someone fabricating a scenario out of thin air and, in effect, being granted amnesty for their crime by simply admitting they were full of shit despite having stolen 9 years of an innocent man's life.
Being a minor shouldn't even be in question now... 11 + 9 = 20. That's quite a number of years beyond the age of "Adulthood" and for most cases it starts at 16 so with that being known she had plenty of years to rationally understand her mistake. Did she tell anyone during those periods of time when she was an adult? Nope. She should be charged for crimes then.
So I take it you couldn't find where I said she should get a free pass and chose to instead address posts from like 10 pages ago instead.
we shouldnt imprison people for telling the truth, The jury and the judge failed in this case - the lawyer that stood against the man should be liable - But obviously a little girl who didnt know any better was allowed to let this spiral out of control, her life is already ruined, I imagine she will be estranged from her father, and possibly her mother for life, her childhood most likely ruined, the rest of her life will be burdened with guilt, with her whole family treating her like crap - so just let her be, the father will be happy enough that he is no longer being called a rapist/pedophile
Disagree. The idea of there being no repercussions for perjury that results in a man losing a decade of his life should NEVER go unpunished. If the little witch came forward (as happened in this case, but not in the Brian Banks case) then the sentence should be reduced. Just like any other crime.
Not prosecuting because it may cause people to not report lies is such bullshit, maybe if there weren't so many fake claims of rape they might not get discouraged.
Look at someone the wrong way?
Rape.
Be within 20 feet of someone?
Rape.
And people wonder why 1 in 2 males wouldn't help a lost child for fear of being labeled a pedo/rapist.
This thread reminds me of that woman that claimed a guy raped her, got over a million dollars from the school the "rape" happened at, then later admitted she lied. And didn't even have to give the money back.
Last edited by Lassira; 2012-11-23 at 10:48 PM.
No one ever hears "I was in jail for raping my daughter but they let me out because I didn't do it". Every word in that sentence after "raping my daughter" may as well be spoken in Swahili for how little anyone pays attention to addendums in regards to child rape.
Also it's a whole different process to be removed from the sex offender registry.
We should absolutely imprison people for telling the truth. Just less so than if we find out the hard way.
But said lawsuits are far less focused on than decisions of the court, and are based far more on circumstances. In this situation, she would probably never be charged in a lawsuit because she was 11 when it happened. And given this specific incident, your stance is even more flimsy, since you support convicting someone who was barely into her teens at the time that the perjury occurred. If anything, a large part of the blame lays on the legal system, for delivering a charge without proper evidence.
A lesser sentence maintains the present problem, which is the fear of being charged overriding the guilt. The reason they grant immunity is that the courts recognize that at times it is better to ignore certain crimes in order to aid the greater good.
Now please, stop dodging the question, because I've asked it repeatedly: why do the other men who were falsely accused not matter to you, when compared to vengeance? You have spent this entire time only arguing one side of the story, and subjectively ignoring the other.
It can do some harm if you apply a punishment without care, but we can easily mitigate that. Make it very clear to victims that they will not get in trouble for filing a report, only if it is proven that they made a false report.
In most cases, false reports do not name a suspect and the victims recant within days. As long as society and the police do not jump to wild conclusions about all rape victims being liars so that victims fear retribution, we can BOTH increase reporting rates and punish false reports.