I'm really struggling
 

with the crowd that watched that girl getting raped for 2.5 hours at a school dance in California. Because she is over 14 they can not be charged???? WTF???? They say more than 20 were witnesses. I'm just overcome about it all.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/28...tion/index.html

Whatever happend to "aiding and abetting" as a charge?

WTF...what they mean they cant be bloodywell charged! They are just as guilty as the actual rapists as far as i'm concerned..

I ask you....WHO could stand by and watch someone get raped....certainly no normal person!

Can't they just be strung up by their balls instead? THEN charged, and held in a State Pen shower block for a couple of weeks...........

Yet another intractable ethical problem.

It's just confirming the lack of consequence.

Just a thought, all those "witnesses" should be called up to bear witness against the actual rapists. Because they are not on trial, they can be named and shamed.

Definitely there needs to be punishment for their behavior. :mad:

That seems reasonable. Just because their behavior was not illegal does not mean that there need be no retribution.

Yeah, but in order to find someone guilty of something like aiding and abetting, or being party to a crime as an accessory, one has to prove to a jury that person X actually saw Y happen, and did nothing about it. There may have been "as many as 10 witnesses" who stood by and refused to call 911, but which of the hundreds of people from the potential witness pool were those 10?

Witch hunt, anyone?

The whole thing is disgusting, but other than the people who participated, and can be proven to have been involved, there doesn't seem to be anything actually prosecutable here.

I know in Tennessee there is a standing law that if you go to someone's house and notice a body on the floor you can be arrested for NOT breaking in and trying to revive them. Even if you know from sight there's no use. They don't really care if you contaminate the crime scene or not if you're the first one there and a civilian.

Is this a point where a civil suit for damages against those who failed to render assistance (of the positive kind) may be more productive?

I have a personal issue with the use of civil action if a criminal action fails, but this seems a righter (more right, better, more appropriate) time to use it.

I'm with you Lilith and can't really wrap my head around those people that stood there watching and did nothing to stop what was happening to that poor girl. Pure evil is all I can think of.

I'm waiting to hear about someone getting it on their cell phone.

Ugh! I wouldn't be surprised.

That's disgusting.

When will the law get it's head around adult crime versus kiddie crime?

Kiddie crime is pinching a copy of Green Lantern from a newsagent.

Adult crime includes rape and burglary.

As far as I'm concerned, rape is a hate crime, and the standers-by are morally culpable, if not criminally so. I wish I could be surprised that it went down this way, but I'm not. Sickened, yes, but not surprised. Bernie Madoff will spend the rest of his life in jail for stealing money, but if you hurt a girl...well, then, that's not really such a big deal. Just ask the people lining up to support Roman Polanski. This is the vile natural result of thousands of years of misogyny.

I wish it was that simple.

Times are changing and not in a very good way.

The bystander effect can be shocking when the situation is as potentially lethal as this. It remains a sobering comment on the human condition.

The should be a cure for the condition of the supposed human beings who would stand by and watch such a horrendous act of violence. That cure should be jail time or worse

I've always thought that rapists should be castrated...without anesthetics...

The law being tossed aside for the moment, what kind of character does it take for someone to stand there and watch anything like that without doing SOMETHING? While the "witnesses" didn't do anything to stop the attack, they also weren't the ones participating in the actual event. I am baffled as to why not a single person did something. Are we really getting the entire story? If nothing else, I do think each "witness" should be penalized for witnessing a crime and not reporting it....I don't think I'm making much sense at the moment...Anyway, in my opinion, the crowd that just stood there and watched are seriously mentally messed up and should be punished.

Just found this link about the story:

http://www.wtvr.com/news/wtvr-virgi...0,4405042.story

I was going to amend my previous post, but I deleted it instead.


I think the truth of this issue is locked up in that statement right there. I believe I heard part of the story was that the victim was not fully conscious for the event; a lack of resistance on her part may have led some observers to believe that a consensual act was going down...and without seeing an ID, it could be very tricky to decide if the vic was a minor or not.

As always, I could be wrong here, but it's the only possible scenario that doesn't scare the hell out of me.

After reading the article, the law should be changed. It should read under 18 or just make it a generalized law like "if any bystander witnesses a crime (any crime), they are required by law to report it to the appropriate authorities." Then they just make it a minor crime that the max punishment is 11 months 29 days. Just like DUI.

Consent is a positive thing, not just "she didn't say no".

The world is getting weirder.

They charged a 7th rape suspect today.

I noticed they named the juveniles.

Track them all down like dogs an prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law....... actually execution is too easy on them

They will be tried as adults I hope.

Sad but true.