Sexual Assault Oklahoma Court Ruling

[FauxLiz]

Ragdoll and Eve thank you for the support, I know this court decision doesn't make my suffering less real, invalidate what happened to me but I am only just beginning the processing of my past. For the better part of 25 years I ignored, pushed down and made excuses to myself to no think about, discuss or in any way deal with everything that I had endured. After a new event happened in my life it triggered a flood of memories, emotions and for the past 10 years I have been working to process things I never wanted to remember.

It's not easy to turn off the messages that parts of society still tell us that it is our fault, that we some how did something to cause the events.

 

[Ronin]

there will be a court somewhere that has acquitted someone for something similar

Or courts that stoned the victim to death for daring to be abused, share anything of it to close friends within hearing distance, or any variant there of.

 

[RussH]

I am going to try and write this in a way that does not offend anyone, but I think it needs to be said. There are three separate yet connected issues here:
1 The suffering of the victim.
2 The US stipulation that someone is innocent until proven guilty.
3. The courts requirement to follow the law.

First, regardless of how the courts act, there is a victim, and their pain is real. While that pain may, or may not be eased by the courts convicting the rapist is debatable, but the failure of the court to act certainly adds to the pain of the victim.
2 In this country a person being tried is presumed innocent until proven guilty. The evidence must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant committed the act, or they must be acquitted. The acquittal does not invalidate the suffering of the victim, it simply means that our legal system (rightfully so) is weighted in favor of the defendant to reduce the chance of convicting an innocent person.
3. In this case the court read the law, as written, and determined the guy could not be convicted because of the exclusion of being passed out drunk could not prove the refusal to give consent. It is a poorly written law, and needs to be fixed yesterday.

The courts ruling does not invalidate the victims pain, nor does it show the perpetrator is innocent. He is not guilty because of a poorly written law.

What needs to happen is the victim needs counselling and moral support She needs help dealing with her trauma.
The Oklahoma legislative branch needs to quickly fix the law by amending it, or rewriting it completely.

I do think if the victim chooses to do so, she can sue him in civil court, where the law is more favorable to the victim. The jury only has to be convinced the defendant is at least 50% guilty to rule in favor of the plaintiff.

Again I stand by my previous statement that the girl while the girl being passed out drunk does not prove she did not give consent, neither does it prove she gave consent.

I completely empathize with the victim, and I will not put into print what I think should happen to the jerk who did this, but I promise it would not be pretty.

 

[Whyteferret]

I don't want to trigger anyone else here but I guess I am just wondering if anyone else has had any is...

Definitely. More nightmares. More fear. A lot more anger. Not sure if all that is the ruling or if that was just one thing too many.