3 ms·

The Steubenville rapists will probably get less time.

by afreak 14y ago

numbsafari 14y ago
Not to defend them, because what they did was reprehensible, but they were charged as juveniles. This guy is an adult. If the two guys from Steubenville had been over 18, the sentences would have been considerably higher.
- flyinRyan 14y ago
  What a horribly screwed up system that seeks maximum penalty for a guy who wanted the public to be able to see the research they actually pay for but charge rapists as juveniles as if rape is less evil if you're less than 18 when you commit it.
  - rdl 14y ago
    I think there's a strong case for less culpability for children. If a 5 year old (EDIT: "accidentally" not intended here) rapes or kills someone, that's a different crime than if an adult does it. But, 18 shouldn't be the dividing line for responsibility.
    - warfangle 14y ago
      How the fuck do you accidentally rape someone? Do you like, trip and fall in?
      - rdl 14y ago
        Heh, that was a spurious "accidentally" I guess.
  - tzs 14y ago
    If you are referring to Swartz, no one sought anywhere near the maximum penalty. If are referring to weev, none of his actions had anything to do with making public funded research available to the public.
  - numbsafari 14y ago
    There is significant research into the culpability of minors. There have been significant steps taken by the Supreme Court to limit and restrict the prosecution of minors because of fundamental research into neurological development and youths' ability to make proper judgements. What those guys did was reprehensible and they should be in jail. No questions asked. But we have two separate penal systems in this country: one for juveniles and one for adults. The adult penal system uses harsher punishments than the juvenile one. You simply cannot compare the sentence handed down in both of these cases, because they are happening under two effectively different penal systems. For ANOTHER thing, the actual sentences handed down by the judge in the Steubenville rape trial where that they are remanded to the state juvenile detention facility for at least one year (for the one who only participated in the rape) and for at least two years (for the one who also sent around the pictures). At most, they will stay in such a facility until they are 21. In addition, these two must also register as sex offenders for the rest of their lives, effectively giving them life-long parole. So, when we are talking about Aaron Swartz, everyone quotes the maximum penalty he could have faced, even though it was almost impossible he ever would have received such a sentence. But in the case of these two rapists, everyone is saying they only got one or two years. The fact is, when you want to say punishment is potentially harsh, you quote the maximum, but when you want to say it is weak, you quote the minimum. Make up your mind. Again, I'm not trying to defend those two guys. I'm making the point that you cannot compare juvenile and adult sentences. Perhaps question whether or not these two should have been tried as adults, sure, but then there are many who would argue that that is overly aggressive prosecutorial action[1]. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jena_Six http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jena_Six

The Steubenville rapists will probably get less time.

by afreak 14y ago

The Steubenville rapists will probably get less time.

Not to defend them, because what they did was reprehensible, but they were charged as juveniles. This guy is an adult. If the two guys from Steubenville had been over 18, the sentences would have been considerably higher.

flyinRyan 14y ago
What a horribly screwed up system that seeks maximum penalty for a guy who wanted the public to be able to see the research they actually pay for but charge rapists as juveniles as if rape is less evil if you're less than 18 when you commit it.
- rdl 14y ago
  I think there's a strong case for less culpability for children. If a 5 year old (EDIT: "accidentally" not intended here) rapes or kills someone, that's a different crime than if an adult does it. But, 18 shouldn't be the dividing line for responsibility.
  - warfangle 14y ago
    How the fuck do you accidentally rape someone? Do you like, trip and fall in?
    - rdl 14y ago
      Heh, that was a spurious "accidentally" I guess.
- tzs 14y ago
  If you are referring to Swartz, no one sought anywhere near the maximum penalty. If are referring to weev, none of his actions had anything to do with making public funded research available to the public.
- numbsafari 14y ago
  There is significant research into the culpability of minors. There have been significant steps taken by the Supreme Court to limit and restrict the prosecution of minors because of fundamental research into neurological development and youths' ability to make proper judgements. What those guys did was reprehensible and they should be in jail. No questions asked. But we have two separate penal systems in this country: one for juveniles and one for adults. The adult penal system uses harsher punishments than the juvenile one. You simply cannot compare the sentence handed down in both of these cases, because they are happening under two effectively different penal systems. For ANOTHER thing, the actual sentences handed down by the judge in the Steubenville rape trial where that they are remanded to the state juvenile detention facility for at least one year (for the one who only participated in the rape) and for at least two years (for the one who also sent around the pictures). At most, they will stay in such a facility until they are 21. In addition, these two must also register as sex offenders for the rest of their lives, effectively giving them life-long parole. So, when we are talking about Aaron Swartz, everyone quotes the maximum penalty he could have faced, even though it was almost impossible he ever would have received such a sentence. But in the case of these two rapists, everyone is saying they only got one or two years. The fact is, when you want to say punishment is potentially harsh, you quote the maximum, but when you want to say it is weak, you quote the minimum. Make up your mind. Again, I'm not trying to defend those two guys. I'm making the point that you cannot compare juvenile and adult sentences. Perhaps question whether or not these two should have been tried as adults, sure, but then there are many who would argue that that is overly aggressive prosecutorial action[1]. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jena_Six http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jena_Six