Butterfly Cauldron
Thursday, June 18, 2009
More angry!
On the heels of the last lovely piece, what did I find in my newspaper this morning? This lovely story about an attempted rape victim being terrorized by the men accused of the crime!
Both men have been charged with aggravated burglary, simple criminal damage to property, aggravated assault with a firearm and illegal use of a weapon. One man was also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Bond is set at $500k.
So....anyone think that they're not guily of the attempted rape? Anyone?
The men discovered the victim of the attempted rape and a witness to the incident were living in the Millerville area in Baton Rouge and went to their home at 3:45 a.m. Saturday, an affidavit says.
With the help of three unidentified men, Ristick and Mitchell kicked down the door of the house, the affidavit says.
Ristick, holding a black handgun, grabbed the woman who witnessed the rape attempt, threw her to the ground and threatened to kill her unless the charges were dropped, the affidavit says.
He then hit the woman on the head with the gun, the affidavit says.
Mitchell chased the victim of the attempted rape into the living room and held a gun to her head as he threatened to kill her and her family if she did not drop the charges against Ristick, an affidavit says.
Mitchell then pushed the woman’s head to the floor and fired the handgun into the wall, the affidavit says.
Mitchell, Ristick and the three other men then left the house, an affidavit says.
Both men have been charged with aggravated burglary, simple criminal damage to property, aggravated assault with a firearm and illegal use of a weapon. One man was also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Bond is set at $500k.
So....anyone think that they're not guily of the attempted rape? Anyone?
Labels: assault, crime, Louisiana, outrage, police, rape, sick bastard, stupid people
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
WHAT?!?!
This is so horrible and offensive, I don't have words to describe it. So, I'm just going to cut-and-paste the whole horrible thing. Note: this appeared in an indie paper geared toward college students. It's not affiliated with LSU, but it's freely distributed around town and is heavy on LSU-coverage. Given the rates of rape on college campuses, this is beyond appalling.
Ex-boyfriend teaches woman why it's important to lock doors
Yes. That's right. Look at that headline. Look at the lovely detail about the size of the instrument. Look at his rationalization. Which is re-enforced by the fucking headline. And this woman is a quite possible a resident of Baton Rouge, who lives near or even attends LSU. And even if she's not, maybe she's out eating one day (like I was) and sees The Tiger Weekly laying around. And you know, she thinks "Ah, something to read!" And then she reads this. Seriously? I mean, seriously????
Happily, the editors provided us with an email address to give them feedback. How thoughtful! Feel free to comment. E-mail the author at Jenna@tigerweekly.com
Ex-boyfriend teaches woman why it's important to lock doors
A man, who legally cannot be named, currently awaits trial after he entered the home of his ex-girlfriend and raped her with one of her own sex toys.
The assailant entered the woman's home and bound her hands and feet. He then raped her with a "large" sex toy and allegedly poured beer on the victim. After the attack, the assailant then untied the woman and brought her to her place of work.
The assailant has pleaded not guilty to all charges and insists that he committed the offense in order to scare his ex-girlfriend into locking her doors at night.
Yes. That's right. Look at that headline. Look at the lovely detail about the size of the instrument. Look at his rationalization. Which is re-enforced by the fucking headline. And this woman is a quite possible a resident of Baton Rouge, who lives near or even attends LSU. And even if she's not, maybe she's out eating one day (like I was) and sees The Tiger Weekly laying around. And you know, she thinks "Ah, something to read!" And then she reads this. Seriously? I mean, seriously????
Happily, the editors provided us with an email address to give them feedback. How thoughtful! Feel free to comment. E-mail the author at Jenna@tigerweekly.com
Labels: assault, crime, Louisiana, outrage, police, rape, sick bastard, stupid country, stupid people, stupid state
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Some things go too far
This story about Mychal Bell, one of the Jena Six, just makes me sad.
Regardless of how you feel about Bell's involvement in the original incident, the man tried to kill himself. According to the news report, he'd been getting his life back on track. He'd been studying, working out even though he could not play high school ball because he still hoped to be able to play college ball next year. Moving him to Monroe and placing him in foster care seems to have been good for him. And yet, he developed a depression deep enough to make him feel like his life was not worth living.
Now, maybe he was trying to shoplift. So what? Yes, it's wrong. Yes, it's a crime. And yes, if he's guilty, there needs to be punishment. But the fact is, if he had not been involved in the Jena case, his name would never have been more than a single line in the local paper's police blotter. He'd probably end up having to pay a fine, do some probation. It wouldn't be the end of the world and it certainly wouldn't be the end of his football career.
How long will he be punished for the Jena incident? He pleaded to a lesser charge in that case, he did his time and was working to get his life back on track. So how long will it be before we let him move on? Bell was 16 when Jena happened. Everyone is stupid at 16. Some of us are more stupid than others, but we all do things that we shouldn't, things we look back on later and wonder how the hell we ever did. The fact is, no one died in the Jena case. No one was even seriously injured. (And if you're going to say that Barker was, just stop. If you're well enough to attend a party later the same day, you're not seriously injured. Bruised and hurting? Sure. I'll give ya that. But bruises and aches are not serious. I've gotten worse injuries fighting with my brother and he probably WAS trying to kill me.)
How long is this man going to have to pay for being a stupid 16-year-old? How long is he going to be followed by the media? (And believe me, he's being followed. No one is stalking him or anything, but you can be damned sure that ever few months some Editor goes to a reporter and says "Check on Mychal Bell. See what he's up to." Why? Because he made a stupid, dumb mistake that will haunt him for the rest of his life. And if all the reporter finds is that he's now attending college somewhere, the Editor will make them write a story starting with: "Mychal Bell, the only member of the Jena Six to stand trial and be convincted of attempted murder, enrolled at the University of Blahblahblah. . .")
When this man dies, hopefully many many years from now after a well-lived life, his involvement in the Jena Six will be mentioned in his obit. Despite the fact that he may end up being a world-class surgeon that saves lives, despite the fact that he may become a great civil rights leader, despite the fact that he may just become a decent mechanic, whatever the hell he does with his life, the Jena Six thing will haunt him forever.
Listen. The man did his time. He paid for his crime. He's clearly still dealing with the fallout from that. Let it go. Let him be. For gods sake, stop hounding the man until he feels his only option is death.
Regardless of how you feel about Bell's involvement in the original incident, the man tried to kill himself. According to the news report, he'd been getting his life back on track. He'd been studying, working out even though he could not play high school ball because he still hoped to be able to play college ball next year. Moving him to Monroe and placing him in foster care seems to have been good for him. And yet, he developed a depression deep enough to make him feel like his life was not worth living.
Now, maybe he was trying to shoplift. So what? Yes, it's wrong. Yes, it's a crime. And yes, if he's guilty, there needs to be punishment. But the fact is, if he had not been involved in the Jena case, his name would never have been more than a single line in the local paper's police blotter. He'd probably end up having to pay a fine, do some probation. It wouldn't be the end of the world and it certainly wouldn't be the end of his football career.
How long will he be punished for the Jena incident? He pleaded to a lesser charge in that case, he did his time and was working to get his life back on track. So how long will it be before we let him move on? Bell was 16 when Jena happened. Everyone is stupid at 16. Some of us are more stupid than others, but we all do things that we shouldn't, things we look back on later and wonder how the hell we ever did. The fact is, no one died in the Jena case. No one was even seriously injured. (And if you're going to say that Barker was, just stop. If you're well enough to attend a party later the same day, you're not seriously injured. Bruised and hurting? Sure. I'll give ya that. But bruises and aches are not serious. I've gotten worse injuries fighting with my brother and he probably WAS trying to kill me.)
How long is this man going to have to pay for being a stupid 16-year-old? How long is he going to be followed by the media? (And believe me, he's being followed. No one is stalking him or anything, but you can be damned sure that ever few months some Editor goes to a reporter and says "Check on Mychal Bell. See what he's up to." Why? Because he made a stupid, dumb mistake that will haunt him for the rest of his life. And if all the reporter finds is that he's now attending college somewhere, the Editor will make them write a story starting with: "Mychal Bell, the only member of the Jena Six to stand trial and be convincted of attempted murder, enrolled at the University of Blahblahblah. . .")
When this man dies, hopefully many many years from now after a well-lived life, his involvement in the Jena Six will be mentioned in his obit. Despite the fact that he may end up being a world-class surgeon that saves lives, despite the fact that he may become a great civil rights leader, despite the fact that he may just become a decent mechanic, whatever the hell he does with his life, the Jena Six thing will haunt him forever.
Listen. The man did his time. He paid for his crime. He's clearly still dealing with the fallout from that. Let it go. Let him be. For gods sake, stop hounding the man until he feels his only option is death.
Labels: bitching, crime, culture o'death, depression, foster care, Louisiana, outrage, power, racism, stupid people, suicide
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Oh, of course it was her husband. . .
Remember the nurse who killed an intruder with her bare hands? The story deepens. Apparently, he was hired by her husband, whom she is divorcing, to kill her. So, this goes from a cautionary tale about strangers lurking with hammers to a cautionary tale about abusive, psychotic, asswipe husbands hiring strangers to lurk with hammers. Bastards.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — When Susan Kuhnhausen returned home from work one day earlier this month, she encountered an intruder wielding a claw hammer. After a struggle, the 51-year-old nurse fended off her attacker by strangling him with her bare hands.
Neighbors praised the woman for her bravery, and investigators said they believed the dead man — Edward Dalton Haffey — was burglarizing Kuhnhausen’s home.
But after an investigation, police now say the intruder Kuhnhausen strangled was apparently a hit man hired by her estranged husband — Michael James Kuhnhausen Sr. — to kill her.
The 58-year-old husband was taken into custody Thursday and charged with conspiracy to commit murder and attempted murder. He was ordered held on $500,000 bail.
Haffey had worked as a custodian under Kuhnhausen at an adult video store, according an affidavit filed by the Multnomah County District Attorney’s office.
Kuhnhausen and his wife were in the process of getting a divorce, and she told officers “her husband was distraught about the divorce and wanting to reconcile but that she was insisting on the divorce,” the affidavit states.
A background check showed Haffey had served lengthy prison terms for conspiracy to commit aggravated murder and convictions for robbery and burglary.
Inside a backpack Haffey left at the scene was a day planner with “Call Mike, Get letter,” scribbled on the week of Sept. 4, the affidavit said. Michael Kuhnhausen’s cell phone number was jotted on the inside of a folder, it said.
An emergency room nurse who lives in a southeast Portland neighborhood, Susan Kuhnhausen arrived home on the evening of Sept. 6 to find Haffey coming at her with a claw hammer.
She was struck in the head and wrested the weapon away, but the struggle continued and Haffey bit the nurse, according to police. A large woman, she was eventually able to get the slight Haffey into a chokehold and police later found him dead in a hallway. An autopsy revealed the cause of death as strangulation.
Police say she acted in self-defense.
There was no sign of forced entry into the home, but according to the affidavit, Susan Kuhnhausen offered an explanation for the lack of evidence of a break-in: Her estranged husband had the security codes for the home’s alarm system, and would have been able to disarm it.
Michael Kuhnhausen denies any involvement, the affidavit states.
Susan Kuhnhausen was out of town attending a nursing conference and did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
She left this message on her voicemail: “I’m not able to answer all the calls that I’ve received in the past few days. I’m being comforted by your concern and your support. I want you to know that our lives are all at risk for random acts, but more likely random acts of love will come your way than random acts of violence.”
Although, I must say, she seems to be an awesome person. Even after what she went through, reminding people kindness is still more powerful? I wanna give her an award.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — When Susan Kuhnhausen returned home from work one day earlier this month, she encountered an intruder wielding a claw hammer. After a struggle, the 51-year-old nurse fended off her attacker by strangling him with her bare hands.
Neighbors praised the woman for her bravery, and investigators said they believed the dead man — Edward Dalton Haffey — was burglarizing Kuhnhausen’s home.
But after an investigation, police now say the intruder Kuhnhausen strangled was apparently a hit man hired by her estranged husband — Michael James Kuhnhausen Sr. — to kill her.
The 58-year-old husband was taken into custody Thursday and charged with conspiracy to commit murder and attempted murder. He was ordered held on $500,000 bail.
Haffey had worked as a custodian under Kuhnhausen at an adult video store, according an affidavit filed by the Multnomah County District Attorney’s office.
Kuhnhausen and his wife were in the process of getting a divorce, and she told officers “her husband was distraught about the divorce and wanting to reconcile but that she was insisting on the divorce,” the affidavit states.
A background check showed Haffey had served lengthy prison terms for conspiracy to commit aggravated murder and convictions for robbery and burglary.
Inside a backpack Haffey left at the scene was a day planner with “Call Mike, Get letter,” scribbled on the week of Sept. 4, the affidavit said. Michael Kuhnhausen’s cell phone number was jotted on the inside of a folder, it said.
An emergency room nurse who lives in a southeast Portland neighborhood, Susan Kuhnhausen arrived home on the evening of Sept. 6 to find Haffey coming at her with a claw hammer.
She was struck in the head and wrested the weapon away, but the struggle continued and Haffey bit the nurse, according to police. A large woman, she was eventually able to get the slight Haffey into a chokehold and police later found him dead in a hallway. An autopsy revealed the cause of death as strangulation.
Police say she acted in self-defense.
There was no sign of forced entry into the home, but according to the affidavit, Susan Kuhnhausen offered an explanation for the lack of evidence of a break-in: Her estranged husband had the security codes for the home’s alarm system, and would have been able to disarm it.
Michael Kuhnhausen denies any involvement, the affidavit states.
Susan Kuhnhausen was out of town attending a nursing conference and did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
She left this message on her voicemail: “I’m not able to answer all the calls that I’ve received in the past few days. I’m being comforted by your concern and your support. I want you to know that our lives are all at risk for random acts, but more likely random acts of love will come your way than random acts of violence.”
Although, I must say, she seems to be an awesome person. Even after what she went through, reminding people kindness is still more powerful? I wanna give her an award.
Labels: assault, crime, domestic abuse, outrage
Friday, September 08, 2006
Then again, sometimes we fight back
In contrast to the tales below, I give you this lovely story of a woman who found herself in danger and well...read for yourself.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A nurse returning from work discovered an intruder armed with a hammer in her home and strangled him with her bare hands, police said.
Susan Kuhnhausen, 51, ran to a neighbor’s house after the confrontation Wednesday night. Police found the body of Edward Dalton Haffey, 59, a convicted felon with a long police record.
Police said there was no obvious sign of forced entry at the house when Kuhnhausen, an emergency room nurse at Providence Portland Medical Center, got home from work shortly after 6 p.m.
Under Oregon law people can use reasonable deadly force when defending themselves against an intruder or burglar in their homes. Kuhnhausen was treated and released for minor injuries at Providence.
Haffey, about 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, had convictions including conspiracy to commit aggravated murder, robbery, drug charges and possession of burglary tools. Neighbors said Kuhnhausen’s size — 5-foot-7 and 260 pounds — may have given her an advantage.
“Everyone that I’ve talked to says ’Hurray for Susan,’ said neighbor Annie Warnock, who called 911. “You didn’t need to calm her. She’s an emergency room nurse. She’s used to dealing with crisis.”
Not that I'm a fan of killing, but I keep a baseball bat next to my bed for just such occurances. If I have the chance, anyone who tries to hurt me will not be walking away unscathed. Plus, look at her -- not a young woman, doubtlessly taunted for being fat. Probably seemed like a good target. Oops?
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A nurse returning from work discovered an intruder armed with a hammer in her home and strangled him with her bare hands, police said.
Susan Kuhnhausen, 51, ran to a neighbor’s house after the confrontation Wednesday night. Police found the body of Edward Dalton Haffey, 59, a convicted felon with a long police record.
Police said there was no obvious sign of forced entry at the house when Kuhnhausen, an emergency room nurse at Providence Portland Medical Center, got home from work shortly after 6 p.m.
Under Oregon law people can use reasonable deadly force when defending themselves against an intruder or burglar in their homes. Kuhnhausen was treated and released for minor injuries at Providence.
Haffey, about 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, had convictions including conspiracy to commit aggravated murder, robbery, drug charges and possession of burglary tools. Neighbors said Kuhnhausen’s size — 5-foot-7 and 260 pounds — may have given her an advantage.
“Everyone that I’ve talked to says ’Hurray for Susan,’ said neighbor Annie Warnock, who called 911. “You didn’t need to calm her. She’s an emergency room nurse. She’s used to dealing with crisis.”
Not that I'm a fan of killing, but I keep a baseball bat next to my bed for just such occurances. If I have the chance, anyone who tries to hurt me will not be walking away unscathed. Plus, look at her -- not a young woman, doubtlessly taunted for being fat. Probably seemed like a good target. Oops?
Labels: crime, domestic abuse
Reasons to hate the penis (or select possessors thereof)
We interrupt our regularly scheduled deep thought and contemplation to bring you a reminder that People.Are.Shit.
First up, a little snippet about a girl, her crush and the 20 plus boys who wanted an oral gangbang:
MILWAUKEE (AP) — It began with a crush, police said, and turned into one of the most shocking crimes in Milwaukee’s long, violent summer: an 11-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by as many as 20 boys while a 16-year-old girl she was romantically interested in watched and coached her.
The 16-year-old and a 15-year-old boy have been charged in juvenile court in the alleged attack, which authorities said took place Monday in a house on the city’s north side. The teenage girl’s 40-year-old uncle might also be charged, authorities said.
. . .
The 11-year-old girl told police she was interested in the teenage girl, who looked and dressed like a boy, authorities said in court records. She and two friends went to the teen’s house, where the child performed oral sex on three teenage boys, the court records said.
The teenage girl’s 40-year-old uncle admitted he also had sex with the 11-year-old and told police that his niece was coaching the child, the records said.
The 11-year-old told police she then went to the basement, where there were about 15 males and “began to choose who she wanted to perform oral sex on,” the records said.
The teenage girl told police that the 11-year-old had told her she wanted to perform oral sex on the boys in the house, according to court records. The 16-year-old denied encouraging her.
The teenage girl and the 15-year-old boy were charged with being a party to sexual assault. Torbenson said he will probably seek to have them tried as adults.
Ok -- first idiot who makes some comment about what does she expect, being all lesbianish, is going to get their ass kicked. Second -- what the fuck? Seriously? I can almost, almost (in that what the fuck were they on? sorta way) understand the teenagers -- but a 40 year old??? Huh? The hell? And what sort of evil uses a person's crush to get them to 'perform' for the masses? Who does that to an 11 year old?? I have a cousin who is 11. Oh.My.God. I'd fucking kill anyone who did this to her.
But, lest you believe that this is an isolated case -- this molestation of children and destroying their innocence -- I present episode 2:
BASTROP, La. (AP) — A Morehouse Parish grand jury has returned indictments against a former Morehouse Parish jail trusty arrested on rape charges after it was learned his wife’s 11-year-old daughter was pregnant.
Rodney O. Morrison, 37, of Bastrop, was indicted Thursday on one count of aggravated rape and one count of oral sexual battery. He is scheduled for arraignment Sept. 26.
Morrison was arrested Aug. 14 after the victim’s mother contacted police. According to the arrest affidavit, Morrison admitted to having sex with the girl once, though she told police they had sex on numerous occasions since he married her mother in September 2005.
District Attorney Jerry Jones said he personally will prosecute the case. “There is no way in hell I’d let anyone else try this case,” Jones said.
Morrison was arrested in December 2005 after his probation was revoked for testing positive for cocaine and alcohol multiple times.
He was arrested in March 2003 for possession of cocaine and later placed on probation and assigned to the parish Drug Court. He became a trusty at the Morehouse Parish jail sometime after Feb. 21.
After Morrison’s arrest, Morehouse officials last week decided to end the jail’s trusty program.
Police Chief Alan Freeman told The News-Star last week that the investigation thus far indicates the child became pregnant before Morrison was jailed last December.
If convicted, aggravated rape carries a mandatory life sentence without possibility of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. Oral sexual battery carries up to 10 years in prison.
Who wants to stab this guy in the eyes? Anyone? Anyone? Yeah, me too. Pregnant at 11, by her fricking step-father? They won't ask for the death penalty, although they can in this state since the victim was under 12. I'm assuming she didn't have the baby, since it would have been born by now and well -- someone would have noticed that, I'm sure. Still, fuckers like this should be slowly boiled to death then eaten by a pack of rabid dogs. Fuckers.
Oh, but it's not just the young who suffer! No, it's not safe to be an old woman either!!
MONROE, La. (AP) — A convicted felon was arrested on charges he raped and robbed an 84-year-old woman at gunpoint inside her home here, police said.
Dallas Taylor, 30, of Monroe, was booked Thursday into Ouachita Correctional Center on charges of armed robbery, aggravated rape, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, authorities said. In 1993, Taylor was convicted of armed robbery.
Maj. Don Bartley said the suspect spoke with the woman — whose name was not released — early Thursday, asking if her husband was at home because he was to do some yard work at the house.
“He forced his way into the house and put a gun to her head,” Bartley said. “He took her to the back of the residence and did a sexual assault on her.”
Bartley said Taylor then took two rifles, jewelry, cash and other items from the home and left in a green truck.
When officers later spotted the vehicle, Taylor got out and ran, Bartley said. He was caught a short time later. The stolen items were found in the truck, Bartley said.
Aggravated rape on a person under the age of 13 and over the age of 65 is an offense punishable by death, Bartley said. Armed robbery can carry a sentence of up to 99 years in prison.
And people think I'm paranoid because I keep my doors locked all the time and won't let anyone use the phone or whatever if I don't know them. (Even though, even that's not safe.) You know what gets me? In Louisiana, if you're young or old and are raped, your assailant could go to jail for life or the death penalty. But if you're over 13, younger than 65? They get jail time. Maybe. You get more time in this state for armed robbery than rape. What sense does that make? Seriously? Someone steals my car and they could go to jail for 20 plus years, but if they rape me they'll get less than 10? What? Goddamn fuckers.
Clearly, I'm pissed off. I need a new job before this one kills me with rage.
First up, a little snippet about a girl, her crush and the 20 plus boys who wanted an oral gangbang:
MILWAUKEE (AP) — It began with a crush, police said, and turned into one of the most shocking crimes in Milwaukee’s long, violent summer: an 11-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by as many as 20 boys while a 16-year-old girl she was romantically interested in watched and coached her.
The 16-year-old and a 15-year-old boy have been charged in juvenile court in the alleged attack, which authorities said took place Monday in a house on the city’s north side. The teenage girl’s 40-year-old uncle might also be charged, authorities said.
. . .
The 11-year-old girl told police she was interested in the teenage girl, who looked and dressed like a boy, authorities said in court records. She and two friends went to the teen’s house, where the child performed oral sex on three teenage boys, the court records said.
The teenage girl’s 40-year-old uncle admitted he also had sex with the 11-year-old and told police that his niece was coaching the child, the records said.
The 11-year-old told police she then went to the basement, where there were about 15 males and “began to choose who she wanted to perform oral sex on,” the records said.
The teenage girl told police that the 11-year-old had told her she wanted to perform oral sex on the boys in the house, according to court records. The 16-year-old denied encouraging her.
The teenage girl and the 15-year-old boy were charged with being a party to sexual assault. Torbenson said he will probably seek to have them tried as adults.
Ok -- first idiot who makes some comment about what does she expect, being all lesbianish, is going to get their ass kicked. Second -- what the fuck? Seriously? I can almost, almost (in that what the fuck were they on? sorta way) understand the teenagers -- but a 40 year old??? Huh? The hell? And what sort of evil uses a person's crush to get them to 'perform' for the masses? Who does that to an 11 year old?? I have a cousin who is 11. Oh.My.God. I'd fucking kill anyone who did this to her.
But, lest you believe that this is an isolated case -- this molestation of children and destroying their innocence -- I present episode 2:
BASTROP, La. (AP) — A Morehouse Parish grand jury has returned indictments against a former Morehouse Parish jail trusty arrested on rape charges after it was learned his wife’s 11-year-old daughter was pregnant.
Rodney O. Morrison, 37, of Bastrop, was indicted Thursday on one count of aggravated rape and one count of oral sexual battery. He is scheduled for arraignment Sept. 26.
Morrison was arrested Aug. 14 after the victim’s mother contacted police. According to the arrest affidavit, Morrison admitted to having sex with the girl once, though she told police they had sex on numerous occasions since he married her mother in September 2005.
District Attorney Jerry Jones said he personally will prosecute the case. “There is no way in hell I’d let anyone else try this case,” Jones said.
Morrison was arrested in December 2005 after his probation was revoked for testing positive for cocaine and alcohol multiple times.
He was arrested in March 2003 for possession of cocaine and later placed on probation and assigned to the parish Drug Court. He became a trusty at the Morehouse Parish jail sometime after Feb. 21.
After Morrison’s arrest, Morehouse officials last week decided to end the jail’s trusty program.
Police Chief Alan Freeman told The News-Star last week that the investigation thus far indicates the child became pregnant before Morrison was jailed last December.
If convicted, aggravated rape carries a mandatory life sentence without possibility of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. Oral sexual battery carries up to 10 years in prison.
Who wants to stab this guy in the eyes? Anyone? Anyone? Yeah, me too. Pregnant at 11, by her fricking step-father? They won't ask for the death penalty, although they can in this state since the victim was under 12. I'm assuming she didn't have the baby, since it would have been born by now and well -- someone would have noticed that, I'm sure. Still, fuckers like this should be slowly boiled to death then eaten by a pack of rabid dogs. Fuckers.
Oh, but it's not just the young who suffer! No, it's not safe to be an old woman either!!
MONROE, La. (AP) — A convicted felon was arrested on charges he raped and robbed an 84-year-old woman at gunpoint inside her home here, police said.
Dallas Taylor, 30, of Monroe, was booked Thursday into Ouachita Correctional Center on charges of armed robbery, aggravated rape, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, authorities said. In 1993, Taylor was convicted of armed robbery.
Maj. Don Bartley said the suspect spoke with the woman — whose name was not released — early Thursday, asking if her husband was at home because he was to do some yard work at the house.
“He forced his way into the house and put a gun to her head,” Bartley said. “He took her to the back of the residence and did a sexual assault on her.”
Bartley said Taylor then took two rifles, jewelry, cash and other items from the home and left in a green truck.
When officers later spotted the vehicle, Taylor got out and ran, Bartley said. He was caught a short time later. The stolen items were found in the truck, Bartley said.
Aggravated rape on a person under the age of 13 and over the age of 65 is an offense punishable by death, Bartley said. Armed robbery can carry a sentence of up to 99 years in prison.
And people think I'm paranoid because I keep my doors locked all the time and won't let anyone use the phone or whatever if I don't know them. (Even though, even that's not safe.) You know what gets me? In Louisiana, if you're young or old and are raped, your assailant could go to jail for life or the death penalty. But if you're over 13, younger than 65? They get jail time. Maybe. You get more time in this state for armed robbery than rape. What sense does that make? Seriously? Someone steals my car and they could go to jail for 20 plus years, but if they rape me they'll get less than 10? What? Goddamn fuckers.
Clearly, I'm pissed off. I need a new job before this one kills me with rage.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
The right to play football trumps a little brain damage
You know, things like this just make me want to shake someone. A couple of kids pull a stupid trick and other people end up with brain damage/other serious injuries. They only get 60 days in jail. But they get to finish playing football before serving it. I'm stunned this wasn't from La. or Texas.
KENTON, Ohio (AP) — A judge decided two high school athletes can complete the football season this fall before they serve 60-day jail sentences for a car crash caused by a decoy deer placed in a country road. Two teens were injured.
“I shouldn’t be doing this, but I’m going to. I see positive things about participating in football,” Judge Gary McKinley said Tuesday.
Dailyn Campbell, a 16-year-old quarterback for Kenton High, and 17-year-old teammate Jesse Howard will serve their time in a juvenile detention center. They were also ordered to write a 500-word essay titled “Why I Should Think Before I Act.”
Last November, teens stole the decoy from a man’s home, created a base to help it stand upright because it had only two legs, and then drove up and down the road, watching as drivers swerved to avoid it, prosecutor Brad Bailey said. He said Howard did not stop the prank.
Robert Roby Jr. crashed his car into a pole and broke his neck, collarbone, arm and leg. His passenger, Dustin Zachariah, suffered brain damage, Bailey said.
Campbell and Howard pleaded no contest to vehicular vandalism and other charges. Three other teenagers are awaiting trial in the fall.
“None of these guys will ever know what our sons have gone through,” Roby’s mother, Mary, wrote to the court. “If they get nothing for what they’ve done, they’ll do something worse later. They need more than a slap on the wrist.”
Both Campbell and Howard apologized at their sentencing.
“I think every day that I hurt someone, and that hurts me inside,” Howard said.
A broken neck. Brain damage. And this is what they get?
Now, I'm all for giving people second chances, especially kids. And 60 days in jail? Okay. But...fucking football? Do you know how screwed up that is? "Well, boys, I know you screwed up the lives of two other people. And they're going to have to live with that damage for the rest of their lives. Gods, with brain damage, you may have completely altered one fella's life. But you know...the team needs ya. And football is king!"
Fuck that. What sort of message does that send to the victims? You're important, but not as important as winning the state tourny? We understand your pain, but can you put in on ice? Just for a few months? Please.
KENTON, Ohio (AP) — A judge decided two high school athletes can complete the football season this fall before they serve 60-day jail sentences for a car crash caused by a decoy deer placed in a country road. Two teens were injured.
“I shouldn’t be doing this, but I’m going to. I see positive things about participating in football,” Judge Gary McKinley said Tuesday.
Dailyn Campbell, a 16-year-old quarterback for Kenton High, and 17-year-old teammate Jesse Howard will serve their time in a juvenile detention center. They were also ordered to write a 500-word essay titled “Why I Should Think Before I Act.”
Last November, teens stole the decoy from a man’s home, created a base to help it stand upright because it had only two legs, and then drove up and down the road, watching as drivers swerved to avoid it, prosecutor Brad Bailey said. He said Howard did not stop the prank.
Robert Roby Jr. crashed his car into a pole and broke his neck, collarbone, arm and leg. His passenger, Dustin Zachariah, suffered brain damage, Bailey said.
Campbell and Howard pleaded no contest to vehicular vandalism and other charges. Three other teenagers are awaiting trial in the fall.
“None of these guys will ever know what our sons have gone through,” Roby’s mother, Mary, wrote to the court. “If they get nothing for what they’ve done, they’ll do something worse later. They need more than a slap on the wrist.”
Both Campbell and Howard apologized at their sentencing.
“I think every day that I hurt someone, and that hurts me inside,” Howard said.
A broken neck. Brain damage. And this is what they get?
Now, I'm all for giving people second chances, especially kids. And 60 days in jail? Okay. But...fucking football? Do you know how screwed up that is? "Well, boys, I know you screwed up the lives of two other people. And they're going to have to live with that damage for the rest of their lives. Gods, with brain damage, you may have completely altered one fella's life. But you know...the team needs ya. And football is king!"
Fuck that. What sort of message does that send to the victims? You're important, but not as important as winning the state tourny? We understand your pain, but can you put in on ice? Just for a few months? Please.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Really? The music made you do it?
I'm skeptical of this report. I need to track down the center that did the study, to evaulate any potential bias they may have. But frankly, I just don't buy it. Music with sexually explicit/degrading lyrics leads to early teen sex? You know, I just don't believe it. I was a teenage metal head (which would be a great name for a book) and, listening to the stuff now, the lyrics were pretty misogynistic and I didn't have sex until I was 19.
The more often teens listen to sexually degrading songs — marked by obscenities and stereotypes of women as sex objects and men as sexual predators — the likelier they are to have sex at an early age, according to a new study.
A sex drive is, of course, a natural thing for adolescents, but the Rand Corp. study released Monday points out that engaging in intercourse too early can lead to unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, or STDs, making the matter a public health concern.
“People have been concerned about the sexual content of music lyrics for decades. The concern is not new,” said the study’s leader, Steven Martino, a psychologist. “What’s new here is that we conducted a study that as closely as possible establishes a connection between the type of music kids listen to and their sexual behavior.
Now, I'm not going to argue that kids -- or anybody, really -- should be indulging in a musical diet of sexual degradation. I'm all for keeping track of what your kids are listening too and, if it gets too rough, putting the kabash on it. (Much to my shame. I rebelled against my parents for doing just that.) I'm an adult. Some of the stuff I listen to, I'm not letting my young niece or cousins hear. Or at least not without me being right there with them, to talk to them about what's being said and how it would really play out in RL, ya know?
That said -- music isn't making kids have sex at a younger age. No way. If it had that power, I'd have been making like a bunny by age 12.
Not to say teens won't blame some of their choices on music. (Or tv or the book they read or whatever.) I remember, my senior year in high school, riding on a bus with some classmates. We were, of course, listening to the radio. One song came on, some romantic thing that I couldn't stand, and the girl sitting next to me makes this coy remark about the song "making" her do things. And even at that age, I was smart enough to know that was bullshit.
And, being cheeky, I told her as much. She insisted she'd only done what she'd done (though she wouldn't tell me what it was exactly) because of the song on the radio.
Riiiiight. Because hormones have nothing to do with it. Because social station, the imagination, sheer curiosity, a sense of rebellion, of sheer teenage invulnerability had nothing to do with it. Uh-huh.
“The lyrics we categorized as degrading are especially degrading in their treatment of women, but nevertheless girls were affected in the same way boys were. The more they listened to music with degrading sexual content, the sooner they initiated sexual activity,” Dr. Martino said.
The study, which first appeared in this month’s edition of the scientific journal Pediatrics, was funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and performed by researchers from Rand Health, a health policy research group. The scientists were based in Pittsburgh, Santa Monica, Calif., and Los Angeles.
Do you think maybe those girls were lacking other things in their lives? Maybe it's not the music, stupid, but the society. Maybe it's the fact that girls get told, from the time they're old enough to listen, that their role is to be secondary. That they're here to perform for men. That their self-worth is directly tied to how many men they can get affection from. That they're nurturers and mothers and really, let the men do all the thinking, won't you just stand there and look pretty? Girls are given very narrow parameters for their lives. They have to be thin and pretty and not too smart and not too ambitious. They have to be supportive girlfriends or wives. They're supposed to differ to the man's judgement.
Bullshit.
It's not the music, as bad as it may be. A girl who doesn't know who she is, whose never been allowed to develop a true self, isn't going to be able to stand up for herself. She isn't going to know she's allowed to say no. And maybe, she's a little too ashamed of that fact to acknowledge it. So it's easier for her, and society, to blame the music she hears than to admit that we've failed our sisters and daughters and nieces horribly.
The more often teens listen to sexually degrading songs — marked by obscenities and stereotypes of women as sex objects and men as sexual predators — the likelier they are to have sex at an early age, according to a new study.
A sex drive is, of course, a natural thing for adolescents, but the Rand Corp. study released Monday points out that engaging in intercourse too early can lead to unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, or STDs, making the matter a public health concern.
“People have been concerned about the sexual content of music lyrics for decades. The concern is not new,” said the study’s leader, Steven Martino, a psychologist. “What’s new here is that we conducted a study that as closely as possible establishes a connection between the type of music kids listen to and their sexual behavior.
Now, I'm not going to argue that kids -- or anybody, really -- should be indulging in a musical diet of sexual degradation. I'm all for keeping track of what your kids are listening too and, if it gets too rough, putting the kabash on it. (Much to my shame. I rebelled against my parents for doing just that.) I'm an adult. Some of the stuff I listen to, I'm not letting my young niece or cousins hear. Or at least not without me being right there with them, to talk to them about what's being said and how it would really play out in RL, ya know?
That said -- music isn't making kids have sex at a younger age. No way. If it had that power, I'd have been making like a bunny by age 12.
Not to say teens won't blame some of their choices on music. (Or tv or the book they read or whatever.) I remember, my senior year in high school, riding on a bus with some classmates. We were, of course, listening to the radio. One song came on, some romantic thing that I couldn't stand, and the girl sitting next to me makes this coy remark about the song "making" her do things. And even at that age, I was smart enough to know that was bullshit.
And, being cheeky, I told her as much. She insisted she'd only done what she'd done (though she wouldn't tell me what it was exactly) because of the song on the radio.
Riiiiight. Because hormones have nothing to do with it. Because social station, the imagination, sheer curiosity, a sense of rebellion, of sheer teenage invulnerability had nothing to do with it. Uh-huh.
“The lyrics we categorized as degrading are especially degrading in their treatment of women, but nevertheless girls were affected in the same way boys were. The more they listened to music with degrading sexual content, the sooner they initiated sexual activity,” Dr. Martino said.
The study, which first appeared in this month’s edition of the scientific journal Pediatrics, was funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and performed by researchers from Rand Health, a health policy research group. The scientists were based in Pittsburgh, Santa Monica, Calif., and Los Angeles.
Do you think maybe those girls were lacking other things in their lives? Maybe it's not the music, stupid, but the society. Maybe it's the fact that girls get told, from the time they're old enough to listen, that their role is to be secondary. That they're here to perform for men. That their self-worth is directly tied to how many men they can get affection from. That they're nurturers and mothers and really, let the men do all the thinking, won't you just stand there and look pretty? Girls are given very narrow parameters for their lives. They have to be thin and pretty and not too smart and not too ambitious. They have to be supportive girlfriends or wives. They're supposed to differ to the man's judgement.
Bullshit.
It's not the music, as bad as it may be. A girl who doesn't know who she is, whose never been allowed to develop a true self, isn't going to be able to stand up for herself. She isn't going to know she's allowed to say no. And maybe, she's a little too ashamed of that fact to acknowledge it. So it's easier for her, and society, to blame the music she hears than to admit that we've failed our sisters and daughters and nieces horribly.
Friday, August 04, 2006
Another sentencing in clinic bomb
The boyfriend of the woman I blogged about yesterday was sentenced today. He got a year for hiding her. I'm kinda not sure about this one. I mean, it's kind of instinct to protect the one you love, but still. . .
SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) — A man who helped his girlfriend hide from police after she set a Molotov cocktail on fire outside a Shreveport abortion clinic was sentenced Friday to one year in jail.
Jeremy Dunahoe, 19, had pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact. Prosecutors said he drove Patricia Hughes, 25, to Hope Medical Group for Women on Dec. 12 and then hid her when she found out police were looking for her
Considering he drove her, he knew what she was up to. So, in that case, one year? Eh. It'll do. He'll be out in a few months, so long as he doesn't get out of line.
SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) — A man who helped his girlfriend hide from police after she set a Molotov cocktail on fire outside a Shreveport abortion clinic was sentenced Friday to one year in jail.
Jeremy Dunahoe, 19, had pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact. Prosecutors said he drove Patricia Hughes, 25, to Hope Medical Group for Women on Dec. 12 and then hid her when she found out police were looking for her
Considering he drove her, he knew what she was up to. So, in that case, one year? Eh. It'll do. He'll be out in a few months, so long as he doesn't get out of line.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
And the winner of Sick Fuck of the week is. . .
The pagans I know would cut this bastard's balls off. In no way is he representative of the faith. And I'd like to slap him around, because really, we just need more bad press down here in Jesusland.
A suburban Cleveland man accused of sexually assaulting nine disabled boys told a judge Wednesday that his apartment was a religious sanctuary where smoking marijuana and having sex with children are sacred rituals protected by civil rights laws.
This prick is claiming freedom of religion. That his gods told him to molest these boys. Funny, I don't recall getting that particular memo.
Distasio, a self-professed pagan friar, is representing himself on 74 charges. He said he's the leader of a church called Arcadian Fields Ministries, and that some of his congregants are among the victims in his case.
. . .
Distasio was arrested on charges he molested two disabled boys he was tutoring at his home. He's also accused of raping seven other autistic children at a Cleveland school for special-needs students, The Plain Dealer reported. All but one of the boys was under 13, which carries a mandatory life-in-prison sentence if he is convicted, the paper reported.
Police said they found journals at Distasio's apartment in which he described his illegal activities, along with child pornography and videotapes of him engaged in sex with boys, The Plain Dealer reported
"Not all pedophilia is bad, and sex [with boys] can be healthy," Distasio told the court.
According to the journals, two of Distasio's victims were so helpless they could never tell anyone what happened.
"The defendant describes acts in which he had autistic children and he did what I would call sadistic sexual acts with these children," said Mason.
Now, I'll be the first to agree we've got some prudish views on sex in this society. But you do not fuck disabled, autistic children. For gods sake! Sex with boys is not healthy. Not for the boys, not for those who cannot give willing, enthusiastic consent. Lock this son-of-a-bitch up and lose the key.
Full story can be found here.
A suburban Cleveland man accused of sexually assaulting nine disabled boys told a judge Wednesday that his apartment was a religious sanctuary where smoking marijuana and having sex with children are sacred rituals protected by civil rights laws.
This prick is claiming freedom of religion. That his gods told him to molest these boys. Funny, I don't recall getting that particular memo.
Distasio, a self-professed pagan friar, is representing himself on 74 charges. He said he's the leader of a church called Arcadian Fields Ministries, and that some of his congregants are among the victims in his case.
. . .
Distasio was arrested on charges he molested two disabled boys he was tutoring at his home. He's also accused of raping seven other autistic children at a Cleveland school for special-needs students, The Plain Dealer reported. All but one of the boys was under 13, which carries a mandatory life-in-prison sentence if he is convicted, the paper reported.
Police said they found journals at Distasio's apartment in which he described his illegal activities, along with child pornography and videotapes of him engaged in sex with boys, The Plain Dealer reported
"Not all pedophilia is bad, and sex [with boys] can be healthy," Distasio told the court.
According to the journals, two of Distasio's victims were so helpless they could never tell anyone what happened.
"The defendant describes acts in which he had autistic children and he did what I would call sadistic sexual acts with these children," said Mason.
Now, I'll be the first to agree we've got some prudish views on sex in this society. But you do not fuck disabled, autistic children. For gods sake! Sex with boys is not healthy. Not for the boys, not for those who cannot give willing, enthusiastic consent. Lock this son-of-a-bitch up and lose the key.
Full story can be found here.
Labels: children, crime, rape, religion, sick bastard
Maybe this will send a message...but I doubt it
Bomb a women's clinic, go to jail. As it should be.
SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) — A woman was sentenced Wednesday to six years in prison for igniting a small firebomb outside a Shreveport abortion clinic.
Patricia Hughes, 25, pleaded guilty last month to a state charge of manufacturing and possessing a delayed incendiary device. Hughes, who had a previous simple burglary conviction, could have received up to 20 years.
Surveillance video at Hope Medical Group for Women showed a vehicle circling the parking lot Dec. 12. It shows a woman walking toward the front of the building and a fire breaking out once she left.
Prosecutors said the device used was a bottle filled with gasoline, a rag and a candle. Defense attorney Edward Mouton said the device was meant only to be a lamp memorializing her sister’s child, aborted earlier at the clinic.
The device fell away from the building and burned, but the fire did not spread to the clinic.
Hughes’ former boyfriend, Jeremy Dunahoe, pleaded guilty last month to being an accessory. Prosecutors said Dunahoe hid Hughes after they found out police were looking for her.
Dunahoe, who has been jailed since his plea, was scheduled to be sentenced Thursday
Is six years too stiff? I don't know. Twenty would have been, since no one was harmed. And, with our Good Times laws, she'll be out in much less time, probably 18 months or so. But it's important to send a message that you cannot attempt to burn a clinic and get away with it.
I don't buy the whole memorial for her sister's fetus. I can believe she wanted to memorialize it, if she believes it was a fully formed human being. Sure. But you do that by lighting a candle at church or writing a poem or making a donation to a pro-life charity. You do not do it by filling a bottle with frigging gasoline and leaving it on private property. I'm sure she was hoping, if not necessarily intending, that it would burn the place down. (Of course, I note I'm making these generalizations based on what I know of the 'pro-lifers' down here.) Or, you know, if you wanted to light a lamp, why didn't she light an actual lamp? Kerosine lamps are pretty darn cheap and reasonably safe.
Hope Clinic is one of the few in the state that do abortions. They don't need people trying to burn the place down, for gods sake. And really, would her sister's child have wanted her/his aunt to burn some place down? That's a lovely legacy, isn't it?
SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) — A woman was sentenced Wednesday to six years in prison for igniting a small firebomb outside a Shreveport abortion clinic.
Patricia Hughes, 25, pleaded guilty last month to a state charge of manufacturing and possessing a delayed incendiary device. Hughes, who had a previous simple burglary conviction, could have received up to 20 years.
Surveillance video at Hope Medical Group for Women showed a vehicle circling the parking lot Dec. 12. It shows a woman walking toward the front of the building and a fire breaking out once she left.
Prosecutors said the device used was a bottle filled with gasoline, a rag and a candle. Defense attorney Edward Mouton said the device was meant only to be a lamp memorializing her sister’s child, aborted earlier at the clinic.
The device fell away from the building and burned, but the fire did not spread to the clinic.
Hughes’ former boyfriend, Jeremy Dunahoe, pleaded guilty last month to being an accessory. Prosecutors said Dunahoe hid Hughes after they found out police were looking for her.
Dunahoe, who has been jailed since his plea, was scheduled to be sentenced Thursday
Is six years too stiff? I don't know. Twenty would have been, since no one was harmed. And, with our Good Times laws, she'll be out in much less time, probably 18 months or so. But it's important to send a message that you cannot attempt to burn a clinic and get away with it.
I don't buy the whole memorial for her sister's fetus. I can believe she wanted to memorialize it, if she believes it was a fully formed human being. Sure. But you do that by lighting a candle at church or writing a poem or making a donation to a pro-life charity. You do not do it by filling a bottle with frigging gasoline and leaving it on private property. I'm sure she was hoping, if not necessarily intending, that it would burn the place down. (Of course, I note I'm making these generalizations based on what I know of the 'pro-lifers' down here.) Or, you know, if you wanted to light a lamp, why didn't she light an actual lamp? Kerosine lamps are pretty darn cheap and reasonably safe.
Hope Clinic is one of the few in the state that do abortions. They don't need people trying to burn the place down, for gods sake. And really, would her sister's child have wanted her/his aunt to burn some place down? That's a lovely legacy, isn't it?
Monday, July 31, 2006
A crime without a punishment
I realize this is not new, but I was flipping through YouTube earlier and stumbled on this video of anti-choice protestors. They were asked what should happen to women who have abortions, should abortion be ruled illegal. Their answers are telling, as you'd expect. None of them had thought the issue through. None of them could see beyond the "poor babies." (And frankly, I wanna know where they get their sign info. Because those pictures are not typical of what an fetus looks like when terminated.)
The interviewer makes a very good point -- this would be a crime without a punishment. Which makes the whole point of making it illegal dumb. If I knew I wouldn't be punished if I had an abortion, why wouldn't I have one if I needed one? Of course, they're willing to punish the doctors who perform them and the people who drive women to their appointments, but not the women themselves. Exactly what other crime does that? Particularly one that results in the killing of another human being? I mean, if you're mugging someone on the street and accidently kill someone, you're still charged with murder regardless of the fact that you didn't start intending to kill anyone. (Or maybe you get charged with a lesser offense. I don't know. Depends on the state. Point is, you don't get a free pass.)
At least one women in this video admitted she'd never thought about what happens to the women, she only thought about the babies. How you can not think about what happens to the women is beyond me, seeing as how it's the women who are pregnant and deciding to abort. They're the ones who have to live with the outcome of any pregnancy. They're fucking central to the whole argument. Without them, hey, no abortion contraversy! Maybe these people think babies should grow on trees or something.
Frankly, this is the point I think pro-choicers should hammer home. You cannot outlaw abortion without punishing women. You cannot say abortion is the taking of a human life and then let those central to that action have a free pass. You cannot, logically, make the claim that a fetus is equal to a human and make its death less meaningful in the law. It doesn't work that way. Either it's a human life with all attendant rights or it's not. (Frankly, my personal view comes down somewhere in the middle on that issue, depending on the point of gestation. But the anti-choicers have polarized this issue so much that there's no room for compromise anymore.)
Women who have had abortions also need to be more open about them. At least, those women who in positions to talk about them should be. I understand that there are lots of women who have abortions in situations where it would be more dangerous for them to admit that. I know that if I'd had to have an abortion when I had my pregnancy scare, I'd never be able to talk to my family about it. And my family wouldn't do anything drastic or dangerous to me. But women who have had abortions, who can safely talk about them, should do so. Right now, the anti-choicers have control of the debate. They get to paint the face of abortion, even though the facts point out just how wrong they are.
Frankly, I'm praying for early menopause so I won't have to worry about accidental pregnancy. My mother started menopause in her late 30s, so I'm hoping I get lucky too. *sigh*
The interviewer makes a very good point -- this would be a crime without a punishment. Which makes the whole point of making it illegal dumb. If I knew I wouldn't be punished if I had an abortion, why wouldn't I have one if I needed one? Of course, they're willing to punish the doctors who perform them and the people who drive women to their appointments, but not the women themselves. Exactly what other crime does that? Particularly one that results in the killing of another human being? I mean, if you're mugging someone on the street and accidently kill someone, you're still charged with murder regardless of the fact that you didn't start intending to kill anyone. (Or maybe you get charged with a lesser offense. I don't know. Depends on the state. Point is, you don't get a free pass.)
At least one women in this video admitted she'd never thought about what happens to the women, she only thought about the babies. How you can not think about what happens to the women is beyond me, seeing as how it's the women who are pregnant and deciding to abort. They're the ones who have to live with the outcome of any pregnancy. They're fucking central to the whole argument. Without them, hey, no abortion contraversy! Maybe these people think babies should grow on trees or something.
Frankly, this is the point I think pro-choicers should hammer home. You cannot outlaw abortion without punishing women. You cannot say abortion is the taking of a human life and then let those central to that action have a free pass. You cannot, logically, make the claim that a fetus is equal to a human and make its death less meaningful in the law. It doesn't work that way. Either it's a human life with all attendant rights or it's not. (Frankly, my personal view comes down somewhere in the middle on that issue, depending on the point of gestation. But the anti-choicers have polarized this issue so much that there's no room for compromise anymore.)
Women who have had abortions also need to be more open about them. At least, those women who in positions to talk about them should be. I understand that there are lots of women who have abortions in situations where it would be more dangerous for them to admit that. I know that if I'd had to have an abortion when I had my pregnancy scare, I'd never be able to talk to my family about it. And my family wouldn't do anything drastic or dangerous to me. But women who have had abortions, who can safely talk about them, should do so. Right now, the anti-choicers have control of the debate. They get to paint the face of abortion, even though the facts point out just how wrong they are.
Frankly, I'm praying for early menopause so I won't have to worry about accidental pregnancy. My mother started menopause in her late 30s, so I'm hoping I get lucky too. *sigh*
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Finally. Compassion.
I know this will not be a popular verdict in may places, but Andrea Yates was found not guilty by reason of insanity in her re-trial today.
The 42-year-old will be committed to a state mental hospital, with periodic hearings before a judge to determine whether she should be released. If convicted of murder, she would have faced life in prison.
Yates’ attorneys never disputed that she drowned 6-month-old Mary, 2-year-old Luke, 3-year-old Paul, 5-year-old John and 7-year-old Noah in their Houston-area home in June 2001. But they said she suffered from severe postpartum psychosis and, in a delusional state, believed Satan was inside her and was trying to save them from hell.
I can think of no greater punishment for this woman than to live with the knowledge that she killed her children. A lot of people will doubtlessly say that this verdict excuses her crime, or does not bring justice to her children. I disagree, but I can see their point. However, I'd say to those people that they've probably never lived with a mental illness and felt firsthand it's crippling effects.
Yates had a documented history of severe mental illness. She had been to multiple doctors and hospitals, on many, many medications. She needed to be committed for longterm care, but that never happened for her. I've heard reports that her husband didn't want that for her, I've heard reports that other people in her family didn't want that and objected. I cannot say if those stories are true, but if they are, I would not be surprised. Most people have no real concept of just how sick mental illness makes you. There are diseases that you can't just take a pill for. They don't go away because you want them to, they don't go away because you get a prescription. Complex mental illness requires medication and therapy, sometimes intensive therapy away from the typical living situation.
I get a little angry at her ex-husband. She was told after the birth of her fourth son not to have any more children, because of the severity of her PPD. Her doctors warned her that a recurrance was almost guaranteed and would likely be worse, if she had another child. And yet...and yet, they had a fifth child.
I get angry knowing how very religious her family/friends/she was, how unhealthy that was for her. Demanding, fundamentalist religions are bad for women, clearly, but it's very hard to make people understand that when they're in the middle of them. For years, the Yates' family lived in a small travel-bus. They were deeply committed to their faith, and the gender roles it proscribed. On it's own, that's something a person can survive. But combine those teachings with severe mental illness and you've got the makings of a tragedy.
Once she had been on medication consistantly and under treatment by doctors, Yates came out of her PPP. She knows, now, what she did. Can you imagine, just for a moment, what it would be like to know that you held your children under water until they died? Can you imagine, just for a moment, what it's like to realize that you're responsible for that? Does anyone think, really think, that this verdict does anything to ease her guilt and grief? I don't have children, but if I did, the thought that I had hurt one of them....I'd probably kill myself.
I say this is compassion, because at least she can get treatment and medication. At least she can have the chance to pull some kind of life together. There are people who believe she shouldn't be allowed to do that, that she should be allowed to do anything but suffer endlessly. Sadly, most of those people claim to be Christians. But I remember Jesus talking about forgiveness and redemption and second/third/1,000th chances. Five lives have already been lost, what good does it do to throw away a sixth? No amount of retribution is going to bring any of those children back. Doesn't Andrea Yates have a soul? Doesn't she have value, even as flawed as she is?
I don't mean those questions to sound like some flaming liberal (even though I am.) I mean those seriously. I don't see how there are easy answers in cases like this for truly thoughtful people.
The 42-year-old will be committed to a state mental hospital, with periodic hearings before a judge to determine whether she should be released. If convicted of murder, she would have faced life in prison.
Yates’ attorneys never disputed that she drowned 6-month-old Mary, 2-year-old Luke, 3-year-old Paul, 5-year-old John and 7-year-old Noah in their Houston-area home in June 2001. But they said she suffered from severe postpartum psychosis and, in a delusional state, believed Satan was inside her and was trying to save them from hell.
I can think of no greater punishment for this woman than to live with the knowledge that she killed her children. A lot of people will doubtlessly say that this verdict excuses her crime, or does not bring justice to her children. I disagree, but I can see their point. However, I'd say to those people that they've probably never lived with a mental illness and felt firsthand it's crippling effects.
Yates had a documented history of severe mental illness. She had been to multiple doctors and hospitals, on many, many medications. She needed to be committed for longterm care, but that never happened for her. I've heard reports that her husband didn't want that for her, I've heard reports that other people in her family didn't want that and objected. I cannot say if those stories are true, but if they are, I would not be surprised. Most people have no real concept of just how sick mental illness makes you. There are diseases that you can't just take a pill for. They don't go away because you want them to, they don't go away because you get a prescription. Complex mental illness requires medication and therapy, sometimes intensive therapy away from the typical living situation.
I get a little angry at her ex-husband. She was told after the birth of her fourth son not to have any more children, because of the severity of her PPD. Her doctors warned her that a recurrance was almost guaranteed and would likely be worse, if she had another child. And yet...and yet, they had a fifth child.
I get angry knowing how very religious her family/friends/she was, how unhealthy that was for her. Demanding, fundamentalist religions are bad for women, clearly, but it's very hard to make people understand that when they're in the middle of them. For years, the Yates' family lived in a small travel-bus. They were deeply committed to their faith, and the gender roles it proscribed. On it's own, that's something a person can survive. But combine those teachings with severe mental illness and you've got the makings of a tragedy.
Once she had been on medication consistantly and under treatment by doctors, Yates came out of her PPP. She knows, now, what she did. Can you imagine, just for a moment, what it would be like to know that you held your children under water until they died? Can you imagine, just for a moment, what it's like to realize that you're responsible for that? Does anyone think, really think, that this verdict does anything to ease her guilt and grief? I don't have children, but if I did, the thought that I had hurt one of them....I'd probably kill myself.
I say this is compassion, because at least she can get treatment and medication. At least she can have the chance to pull some kind of life together. There are people who believe she shouldn't be allowed to do that, that she should be allowed to do anything but suffer endlessly. Sadly, most of those people claim to be Christians. But I remember Jesus talking about forgiveness and redemption and second/third/1,000th chances. Five lives have already been lost, what good does it do to throw away a sixth? No amount of retribution is going to bring any of those children back. Doesn't Andrea Yates have a soul? Doesn't she have value, even as flawed as she is?
I don't mean those questions to sound like some flaming liberal (even though I am.) I mean those seriously. I don't see how there are easy answers in cases like this for truly thoughtful people.
Labels: crime, death, mental illness
