Rape: How to decifer ?

Question

I was wondering after my father was brought in on Jury duty to a rape trial. How does a jury decide. The case concerned a man and a woman. The woman said the man raped her three months prior, when asked wy she didnt report it sooner, she said she was too ashamed. The man said he did have sex with this woman, that it was consentual.
My father was the chairman of the jury, it concluded that the man was innocent.
But why do you think? How would you decide who is telling the truth. Is there any hard evidence to prove convicted rapist's committed their crime? Random question but it makes you think...

Answer 1

It is terribly difficult - and although it is true that some women will not report a rape at the time due to shame - it is equally true that some women claim rape - sometimes as simple revenge, sometimes to explain an "not possible" pregnancy to a partner (eg: if he sterile).

I hate to say it, but if the only evidenceis verbal and is months down the line, then I think it is almost essential to conclude not-guilty - as all evidence has been "washed away". the idea you should convict someone purely on the evidence of a vengeful person is worrying.

What I do wish - for the sake of men AND for GENUINE survivors of rape - is that women who are PROVED to have cried rape when it was not, should be imprisoned for the same amount of time as the innocent man would have been if her lies had not been exposed.

Rape is a grotesque crime - but arguably even worse to imprison someone totally innocent of the offence.

A really hard decision, but I think the jury were correct - if there was no evidence other than "she says - v - he says", it would be totally wrong to convict.

Mark

Answer 2

Science marches forwards. We are able to prove things today that years ago relied purely on he said she said.

Years from now, science may be able to prove more stuff, that cannot be proven today.

DNA

If a woman is pregnant, evidence can be taken from the child fetus without harm to the fetus that gives info like the father smokes so much, the child will be harmed by it.

If a rape is reported prompty, there can be a medical examination of the alleged victim to see if there is evidence of recent sex, and if it was rough sex.

This by itself is not proof of rape, but if the person whose DNA is there initially tries to claim there was no sex, he not know that woman, etc. then it looks very suspicious for the man.

Then there is the question of whether these two people having a relationship, and what they have told other people. Their friends and family, possible witnesses who have seen them together like in a restaurant, previous complaints either have made, previous behavior either of them with other possible romantic partners. Young people often not want their parents to know. Married couples cheat then not want their partners to know. So there's a lot of lying going on out there.

It can be very traumatic for the victim, trying to describe what happened, while the police are anxious to get the facts, at a time when she might have partial amnesia. Remember the Duke Lacross Team? Sounds like the woman may have had consentual sex the same nite she was attacked.

Rape is terrible, but seems like if the victim had consentual sex the same nite, she is treated like not worth defending.

It could be in weighing the scales of justice that it seems equally likely that the man is lying, the woman is lying. If you can't decide in a criminal trial, you have to declare the man not guilty.

It is always possible that the woman was raped, but by some other man.

Answer 3

I was raped when I was 18. Someone took me to a party and I drank too much and had to lay down on the bed of the older man who owned the house. When I woke up, he was raping me in my mouth and pulling my hair. I struggled and struggled and couldn't get away. I never told anyone for years because I was so ashamed and because I didn't realize it was rape at the time. I blamed myself for what happened because I got too drunk. There was no one in the house. He drove me home like it was nothing on a 3-wheeler Harley. For at least ten years after that, every time I'd hear a loud motorcycle, the memories would flood back. They finally went away until someone started driving by my house every day on a 3-wheeler. The point I'm trying to make is that the woman very well may have been raped. But, because she waited so long, she had no physical evidence to prove her claim. Because a jury cannot convict when there is reasonable doubt, your father's jury did the right thing. The man very well may have raped the woman. We will never know. Another thing to consider is that perhaps the woman did have consensual sex with the guy the became vindictive after she realized she was just a one night stand. Possibly, after obsessing on the guy and waiting every waking moment for his call that never came, she decided to get even with him. Your father and his Jorey made the right decision.

Answer 4

I think the jury of a rape case have the hardest job of any jury, there is so often no forensic evidence, and more likely than not is the mans word against the womans. It's a real moral dilemma, and you can totally see why rape so often goes unreported, as a woman faces public humiliation and trauma during the court case.
The only thing that can be done is the raising of awareness, and encouragement for victims of rape, both female and male to report the crime as soon as it's happened. This is no mean feat, as alot of the time the police aren't as sympathetic as they could be, and it can seem a huge ordeal to go through hours of rigorous questioning and invasive examinations.
Don't think there is any easy way for a jury to decide. It's a toughy.

Answer 5

For one thing, they could have tried to have her tested by a psychiatrist. Rape leaves some fairly typical mental traces that could be helpful in determining whether a rape actually occurred. Interviewing her friends about anything she may have said could be a good start, since she may have told some of them.

Ultimately though, without physical evidence, which almost certainly would provide definitive evidence for rape, chances of a conviction are pretty slim.

Also note that not convicting does not mean innocent . . . it just means there is a reasonable doubt that the man did not commit the crime.

Answer 6

There is no hard evidence after that time frame...I think this is when others take the stand and are character witnesses. You know they will say if you slept around, are a good citizen and things like that. Who knows what really happened but if you get raped you need to go to the hospital to do the rape kit so at least there is some documentation or "hard evidence"

Answer 7

yeah, this is a tough one. rape is a terrible crime but it can be difficult to prove either way. the concern that i have, because my friend has experienced it, is when a girl gets mad at a man later and decides to accuse him of rape even though it was consensual. this is difficult to square with the need to protect people, and i dont really have a good idea. i do want people to know that sometimes men are actually innocent and the woman is out for revenge.

Answer 8

This really depends...That long after the incident, the man will almost always be acquitted...becuase there is no proponderence of evidence...but if she had reported it sooner, like that day or the next, then the hospitals have rape kits that detect forced entry and such...other evidence would be defensive wounds such as bruising or scratch marks...both on her and him...but with that much time after ward, all of the evidence would be gone!

Answer 9

When it is reported at a later date, it is hard to decipher who is telling the truth. I understand her being ashamed and not wanting to come out and talk about it, but she did herself a disservice by not doing it right when it happened - when there was evidence. Three months later it would have to be a judgement call - I would not want to be on that jury.

Answer 10

In my opinion; the only person who can decipher if it is rape, is the victim. The only kind of evidence would be like a video tape, or maybe even bruises from violence or something. I'm not saying everyone is a liar, but many people do lie about a rape. And I think that is very, very wrong. So, I guess you never know.