should rape be treated the same as murder?

Question

following on from a previous question do you think rape should be classed the same as murder in a murder the victim is no longer suffering this is left to the families of the victim but in rape the victim relives the crime daily and it can effect them for the rest of their lives the perpetrator if found guilty comes out of prison and gets on with life the victims pain and mental suffering carries on
a compulsary life sentence with a minimum 20 years would be a start. what do you think

Answer 1

While rape is a horrible crime, to make the punishment the same as for murder would not be good. In such a case why would a rapist leave a victim alive? That would leave a witness to the crime. It would give the rapist more of a reason to kill the victim after the rape, leaving no victim/witness to speak in a possible court case. I understand your point, but I do not think it would be a good idea.

Answer 2

Satyricon is quite right. Rape can carry a penalty up to and including life imprisonment.

I'm not certain about compulsory minimum tariffs. Every case is different and judges need the ability to be able to sentence according to the particular facts of the case.

That is not to belittle the crime of rape - like many women I have been the subject of more than one sexual assault in my lifetime and no, it never leaves you. But justice has many facets and the judges are given guidelines to help them set sentences. Also the prosecution can appeal if they think the judge has been unduly lenient.

I don't favour the life meaning life argument either. If a prisoner admits his guilt and works towards being rehabilitated then they must have a light at the end of the tunnel to work towards. Also, life prisoners would have nothing to lose if they murdered a prison officer - after all, they're in for life so what's the difference.

This is a very big argument which cannot be entered into fully in this forum, but that's a flavour of my views.

Answer 3

Should rape be treated the same as murder? Short answer, no. Why? Because its so difficult to secure a murder conviction, that rapists would be laughing about the fact that they wouldnt get convicted. Also because when they can, the courts of appeal will almost certainly try to find a reason to downgrade the conviction to manslaughter. Countless times the jury convict of murder, then the court of appeal almost try to weasel around it and downgrade it. R v Hancock and Shankland. R v Moloney. R v Nedrick. R v Woolin. Just a couple of examples off the top of my head.

Giving rape a mandatory life sentence will more likely lead to the same effect of rape as it has on murder. Judges dont like not having the discretion in their sentences. Also with the prison capacity full to the brim (last i heard there were only 157 cells left in the WHOLE of the country) the last thing they want is to have no discretion in whether they go to prison or what.

Mandatory life doesnt work anyway, come on, most of the murderers etc get out after 8 years.

So i'm not really against your idea, but i dont think it would have any effect. If anything it would be detremental. I would suggest (this would save prison space etc) castration or something to stop him rapeing. But then of course because of the hippys in the EU it would be against their Human Rights. I hate this Human Rights legislation. Good idea in theory, but in practise its serving as a loophole for criminal defense lawyers. But the way i see it is that if we can take away their freedom if they do wrong (ie prison) hence removing the threat from society, why cant we by pass that and remove the threat from him? Or brand his forehead or something as has been done in the past. My pick would be death but, whats that? Human Rights? Murders and rapists are not humans.

Edit: I just read barbies response and just to clarify, women CANNOT COMMIT RAPE. Only men can. Statutory definition of rape in s1(1) of the Sexual Offenses Act 2003 is 'penetration of the mouth, anus or vagina with his penis' The fact it says 'his' is irrelevant because in legislation he means anybody, man or women. Obviously the point is that it says that a person must use their penis. If you cant figure out why that means women cant commit rape, i suggest you go to a year 6 or 7 sex ed class!! Women can be guilty of other sexual offenses, but not rape.

Answer 4

definitely as well as paedophiles should be a death.when there is no reason to doubt the case.
but in rape cases their is a fine line to me if a women or man cause men get raped but are too ashamed to report it pleads rape the case has to be cut and dried as an example if a women walking down the street is accosted and raped and the person is guilty without any doubt than yes he should be taken off the streets for the rest of his natural life.
but if the same women had been out and say went to a mans bedroom or her own for that matter and in the middle of sex she says no than i think this should not be taken by the court as rape.
now my reason for this is that when she has voluntarily gone to a bedroom undressed and was having sex why is it the mans fault if she says no you would have to be a god to stop Percy finishing the job so that to me is not rape and should not carry the same sentence and if you don't understand what I'm saying get your wife girlfriend tonight to say no just before the big bang and 100% the man could not stop having sex so should we charge you with rape no ,but i think that people that force another person regardless against their will from the start yes they should get life . this is my opinion and may not be yours so i hope i haven't offended anyone it was not my intention and to try and explain in such a one sided way is really hard .

Answer 5

No, if it's some brutal heinous rape, maybe a nuetering would be effective, lessens agression, exterminates sex drive. Murder is not the same as rape, rape you live, murder you don't. I believe in some pretty harsh punishments for criminals, especially repeat offenders, I'm not a big fan of rehabilitation, it's to risky. Rape is a terrible crime, but there are alot of circumstances. Violent rape is obviously the worst, but there are some who claim rape because they feel ashamed the next day, or there are some other extenuating circumstance where the charge may not be all that it's made out to be. Women need to take more responsibility for knowing there surroundings and their conduct. I mean if a whore gets raped, I think the sentence should not be as harsh as for a 19 year old uni student. If the town bicycle gets raped the sentence should not be as harsh as for 35 year old single mother. I mean if you get snatched off the street and dragged into a dark ally, that's one thing, but if you are hanging off some bloke in the bar and rubbing your t.wat in his face all night, that's another, I not saying the guy should take responsibility for his actions and no does mean no, but women should also take a little more responsibility for their actions. This is a very touchy subject, with many variables.

Answer 6

No. Rape is certainly a terrible crime, but as far as rating it it must stand apart from murder. Murder is the most heinous of crimes. As a man I have no concept of what rape is and I have never had a close associate that was raped; therefore, I cannot conceive of what it is like to live with such a horror. AS is in the case of all crimes forgiveness is at the core of putting it behind.

Answer 7

Yes, I would say that should rape be treated the same as murder and the culprit should be given the maximum punishment..
You are right when you say "in rape the victim relives the crime daily and it can effect them for the rest of their lives"

Answer 8

Certainly the punishment for the 'rapist' should be the same as that for a person committing vile murder. How dare we ever tolerate the 'Rapist' ever in our midst again for all our sakes but very importantly for the victim. The victim already has been given a life sentence which I am sure will never ease from their mind.
No comfort should ever be allowed for any convicted Rapist for the rest of their life, however they are presently dealt with by the law.

Answer 9

I think a lot of it should depend on the specific circumstances, i.e whether it was statutory rape because he was 17 and she was 14 or whatever...

I thik there's some scope for rehabilitation which should be taken into account, but overall I think rapists shuold be treated a lot more harshly than they are now, and in a lot of cases, a life sentence would be appropriate.

We have a less than 5% conviction rate for rape in the UK - it's appalling. We should start by at least getting a few more of the cases to trial!

Answer 10

Speaking as someone who has been raped i feel it should be treated the same as murder. The pysical and emotinal scars left as a result will ever fully heal. the rape make me lost all my faith in men and even when i seen him being put down i was still afriad he would come back, at the moment a rapist can get out in 7 years if they behave in jail which is sick as it can take years to even start getting your life back and even when things r back to normal u still have the nightmares r the panic attacks when something reminds u off the attack. however if your murdered your pain and suffering is over and for many women/men who r raped u suffer the pain of the attack over again for the rrest of your life and some even take their own life to stop the pain.