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  • THURSDAY AUGUST 9 2007 4:00 PM

Beyond My Ability to Bitch

Submitted by Bitch_PhD

Edited by Bitch_PhD

Tags: rape, rape trials, air force



Some things are just beyond . . . well, I can't even say what they're beyond.

A female airman says she faces a court-martial next month because she refused to testify against three male airmen she accused of rape.

The woman is charged with one count of committing indecent acts and one count of consuming alcohol as a minor. The defense says the charges involve the same men she accused of raping her.
...
The charges against her allege that she performed an indecent act on one of the men she accused while the other two watched, the defense says.

In her letter, the woman said she reported the attack and was given a medical examination. The three men were charged with rape, but the charges were dropped after she refused to testify, she said.

"The pressure of the judicial process was too much for me, and I felt like no one was looking out for my interests," the woman wrote.

The men received nonjudicial punishments and have been granted immunity for their testimony in the woman's trial, according to documents the defense provided.


The up side is that the story's been getting plenty of news coverage since the woman involved contacted Texas and North Carolina legislators, so probably the USAF will end up dropping the charges.

Hat tip to the Reclusive Leftist, who apparently has deeper wells of outrage than I'm capable of mustering.

Bitch_PhD suggests that their propensity to rape coworkers makes men unfit for military service. Not all men, of course, but only the ones who can prove that they're not potential rapists should be allowed to do these jobs.

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Comments
LordHAlmighty

LordHAlmighty

Citrus Heights, CA
July 2007

AUG 09, 2007 04:29 PM

Bitch Doctor said...


only the ones who can prove that they're not potential rapists should be allowed to do these jobs



Well, since rape is legally defined as unwanted penile/vaginal intercourse, that DOES mean every man is a "potential rapist".

It's too bad the alleged victim did not pursue courtroom justice, because sadly that's the only way the alleged rapists would have been brought to justice. I know the legal proceedings for rape are exceptionally painful for all involved, but it just seems like it could be worse for her to file charges and then drop them...

MistressMissy

mistressmissy

Grand Rapids, MI
March 2003

AUG 09, 2007 04:35 PM

No...what's sad it she couldn't face seeing these men while recounting her story so she dropped the charges...but they are oh so willing to testify against her.
Oh but they won't be court-martialed for taking part in the indecent acts or giving a minor alcohol. They get immunity for testifying against the girl. That makes fucking loads of sense there!
Some people.

Morgan

Morgan

SUICIDEGIRL

Illinois, USA

AUG 09, 2007 04:38 PM

MistressMissy said:
No...what's sad it she couldn't face seeing these men while recounting her story so she dropped the charges...but they are oh so willing to testify against her.
Oh but they won't be court-martialed for taking part in the indecent acts or giving a minor alcohol. They get immunity for testifying against the girl. That makes fucking loads of sense there!
Some people.



This is one of those times where vigilante justice is really tempting.

unfiltrator

unfiltrator

San Francisco, CA
April 2004

AUG 09, 2007 04:40 PM

That shit got fucked up and some lawyers should get fired there.

Sydni

Sydni

SUICIDEGIRL

Washington, USA

AUG 09, 2007 04:43 PM

I could just be ignorant, but to me it seems like rape charges in the military have seemed to leave the womans integrity demolished and instead of feeling proud and relieved that they testified against their attackers, they are ridiculed.

I'm sure that there are cases that have been up to justice, but it could be that the military is just really unwilling to admit (and more willing to humiliate and shame the person filing charges) that they get rapists amongst their midsts too.

SockPuppet

SockPuppet

I'm lost
July 2006

AUG 09, 2007 04:50 PM

LordHAlmighty said:

Bitch_PhD said:
only the ones who can prove that they're not potential rapists should be allowed to do these jobs



Well, since rape is legally defined as unwanted penile/vaginal intercourse, that DOES mean every man is a "potential rapist".



That would be correct. Surely making war is important enough that this sort of behaviour shouldn't be allowed to interfere with it.

ogichida30

ogichida30

Concord, CA
September 2004

AUG 09, 2007 04:53 PM

Morgan said:

MistressMissy said:
No...what's sad it she couldn't face seeing these men while recounting her story so she dropped the charges...but they are oh so willing to testify against her.
Oh but they won't be court-martialed for taking part in the indecent acts or giving a minor alcohol. They get immunity for testifying against the girl. That makes fucking loads of sense there!
Some people.



This is one of those times where vigilante justice is really tempting.



Careful what you say, I made a similar comment some time ago and was crucified for being a violence pornographer. I said it about child molesters and rapists though.

mingol

mingol

Singapore
July 2005

AUG 09, 2007 04:53 PM

Christ, what a revolting story.

Also, I think it's really sad that she refused to testify because she "wanted to move on with her life." I would like to believe that seeing your rapists convicted and punished would be the best way to do that, and it's sort of awful that she didn't think, for whatever reason, that that was a realistic scenario.

Tiger_Fodder

Tiger_Fodder

Braintree, MA
June 2007

AUG 09, 2007 04:55 PM

I have no words for this.

Morgan

Morgan

SUICIDEGIRL

Illinois, USA

AUG 09, 2007 04:57 PM

mingol said:
Christ, what a revolting story.

Also, I think it's really sad that she refused to testify because she "wanted to move on with her life." I would like to believe that seeing your rapists convicted and punished would be the best way to do that, and it's sort of awful that she didn't think, for whatever reason, that that was a realistic scenario.



But it isn't a realistic scenario for many victims. Most cases do not result in a conviction, many convictions are pathetically short, and often the trial is just another trauma to pile onto whatever the victim has already experienced. Why WOULD she want to go through that, knowing that justice was an unlikely result of her efforts?

mingol

mingol

Singapore
July 2005

AUG 09, 2007 04:59 PM

Morgan said:

mingol said:
Christ, what a revolting story.

Also, I think it's really sad that she refused to testify because she "wanted to move on with her life." I would like to believe that seeing your rapists convicted and punished would be the best way to do that, and it's sort of awful that she didn't think, for whatever reason, that that was a realistic scenario.


But it isn't a realistic scenario for many victims. Most cases do not result in a conviction, many convictions are pathetically short, and often the trial is just another trauma to pile onto whatever the victim has already experienced. Why WOULD she want to go through that, knowing that justice was an unlikely result of her efforts?



Oh, I agree. I'm just saying that I think it's a very demoralizing state of affairs.

KingHELL

kinghell

Portland, OR
July 2003

AUG 09, 2007 05:34 PM

Jesus. Not to mention the fact that apparently female soldiers have died of dehydration because they didn't want to use the latrines alone at night, for fear of being raped by fellow soldiers.

This war keeps lookin' better and better, don't it?

Saraphine

Saraphine

SUICIDEGIRL

Pennsylvania, USA

AUG 09, 2007 05:35 PM

There was an article in Vanity Fair a few years ago about this sort of thing-- women get raped in the military and are then made to realize the fucking unheard of, unbelievably sick, never looked into consequences of actually going through with the prosecution. The article was compelling and extraordinarily sad. Did anyone read this article? I can't find it online

Bitch_PhD

Bitch_PhD

I'm lost
February 2007

AUG 09, 2007 05:37 PM

LordHAlmighty said:
Bitch Doctor said...


only the ones who can prove that they're not potential rapists should be allowed to do these jobs



Well, since rape is legally defined as unwanted penile/vaginal intercourse, that DOES mean every man is a "potential rapist".



Hey, I didn't say it.

capitalistfig

capitalistfig

Los Angeles, CA
November 2004

AUG 09, 2007 05:38 PM

http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=269157


Dr. John Foubert, a Virginia-based rape prevention expert, reviewed the case and said the evidence supports Hernandez's allegation of rape.




http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2007/08/airforce_rape_controversy_070808/


But then the three airmen and Hernandez were all referred for nonjudicial punishment on charges that they willingly participated in indecent acts.

The three other airmen accepted the Article 15, but Hernandez declined the Article 15 because, she said, she did not want to admit to indecent acts when, in fact, she was raped.

She instead requested trial by court martial.



From what I went around reading, it seems like the others agreed to the indecent acts charges and they were punished. I couldn't find any other story where it said they had 'immunity' from rape charges in the future.

It seems to be the case that the military has not tried to hide knowledge of this case, and for the sake of dealing out SOME 'justice,' they resorted to this. If there was any sort of punishment to be levied against the three men, she had to either carry forward with her case (which seems as though she would have won) or she had to be brought up on the same charges, as she was (albeit an unwilling one) a participant in the events.

While this case is quite distressing, it was and is within her power to make the choice between the two, sadly, extremely difficult options. The military, at no point, seemed to be refusing her the right to seek out justice against the people who wronged her.

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