This is just sick.

Although this sort of thing happens all too often, I can't wrap my mind around the possibility of anyone I know, even casually, participating in something like this, and my definition of "participating" includes being a prosecutor and hesitating even for a fraction of a nanosecond to prosecute a case like this.

Exactly. I don't even have any other words for this.

I want to know from the girl herself, this is all speculation the boys opinion, if she was raped i believe an eye for an eye rape all those assholes then cut off their penis, if use it to hurt someone u dont disurve to have it, plain and simple. But in a world where sadly the least prized aspect of the human body is its virginity, people are having sex eirlyier and eirlyer, the presure is scary. basicly what does she have to say about the what happened??

The problem is, how do you prove someone was too drunk to consent?
Drunk people do stupid things, they actively consent to things they wold never, ever, do sober. I'm not just talking about sex, drunk people put their lives in danger - often managing to kill themselves - every day. Incredibly stupid, and incredibly deliberate at the time. Juries know this, so when they're asked to rule beyond a reasonable doubt, that's hard, they think back to all the stupid shit they've done when they're drunk, they look the person that's accused of a terrible crime, who'll be labelled for life as a rapist and spend a long time in prison, and they often can't say hand on heart that they have no doubts. Ask that same person when they're sitting at home in their chair, with nothing riding on it, and they'll tell you to castrate the fucker, but it's different when you're on a jury.
Sadly prosecutors know this, and somewhere down the line it falls to someone to make a decision based on the likelihood of them winning. And that's when assholes get off scott-free.

Saddly the criminals have already figured out a way around this. By taking a large amount of testosterone, they can counteract the effect of chemical castration.

I read this to my wife and we were both horrified by the story. Though this doesn't mention it, at least in the one posted here, but I wonder how much the sports angle plays into this. It would seem this countries fascination with sports allows DA's and police to overlook things 'for the good of the team'.

I don't know how it works in the UK, but in all the US law I'm familiar with if you are drunk, and it sounds like this girl was certainly drunk, you cannot actively consent to sex. That's not the hard part to prove.

However, it remains the burden of the state to prove criminal conduct, not the burden of the defense to prove innocence. I'm just a first year law student, so I don't know much about it, but I do know that the conflicting testimony (and it seems like witnesses for the prosecution would be conflicting with one another, based on the article) of a bunch of drunk college kids isn't going to go a long way towards proving anything. So, while this is an absolutely heartbreaking story and at face value it seems like the DA really fucked this one up, I'm willing to presume she had a better idea about the chances of success than I do. If any of the other legal people out there wants to correct this take on it, feel free. I am but an egg.

I'd definately like to second the motion that the three soccer players are fucking heroes and ought to have a statue built for them.

Fuck chemicals, that is letting them off easy. Vice grips, a razor blade, and a 10 gauge threaded needle make a handy home castration kit.

I don't care how drunk they were, sometimes there is no excuse for your actions. And, if you are going to drink and don't know your limit, be prepared for the consequences. Saying, "Oh it only happened because I was drunk" is pure bullshit.

this is the reason why guns were invented...i mean seriously...think what you want about me but anyone who is fucked up in the head enough to do this to somebody should have there fucking head dismembered from there body... there's absolutely no logical excuse to justify someone raping another...fuck that.

If it were up to me the punishment would be alot of fucking torture...and maybe plenty of the strongest pain meds available.. .

Sometimes vigilante justice needs to be legal, this would be a good case for that.

This sounds an awful lot like a story that was on SG a year or two ago about a bunch of California guys that videotaped raping some girl. The evidence was dismissed because "it was videotaped so that means she wanted it videotaped" or something to that effect. One of the rapists was the son of the town's police chief or similar high authority, their charges were dropped.

Just one bullet in their throat, no courts fees, no containment costs, it's simple and affordable.

I'm so sick of hearing about this crap! I'm especially sick of hearing about all these rapists and pedophiles doing time and then just being let out! Do they think a little jail time fixes them? If it were up to me they would all have their hands and privates cut off!!

There exists no question whatsoever in my mind as to the posibility of a 'good' lawyer getting the guys acquitted; that has NOTHING to do with whether or not they should be tried. In them edical field I often have to do stuff that may prove pointless. I've performed CPR for exhausting amounts of time knowing full well that the chances of the patient surviving were roughly equivalent to experiencing a sudden blizzard here in Florida. I also took an oath which h made me keep alive and treat (and do so with an air of compassion) three times a week someone without whom the world would be decidedly better off. I would like to think a prosecutor should be somehow bound to try anyone(s) who may pose a threat to Society.

And, although it may be sexist, does anyone find this somehow especially disturbing that the prosecutor who decided to let these guys continue to rape women (thereby becoming guilty of facilitation of rape herself) is a WOMAN?