The story on CNN covers the current release of Ma’lik Richmond who was convicted last year of raping a 16 year old girl in Steubenville Ohio in 2012. Richmond was sentenced to a minimum of one year in a juvenile correctional facility, but he was credited for his time served before the trial. Both Richmond and Mays have been classified as tier II sex offenders and will be required to report to their local sheriff’s office every six months for the next 20 years. A statement was made that “he is a better, stronger person and looks forward to school, life and spending time with the family”. The victims attorney called it “disheartening” that the statement failed to mention the girl at the center of the case “whom Richmond and his co-defendent scarred for life.”
Vivid text messages, social media posts, cell phone pictures and videos helped raise the national profile of the case, which revolved around Richmond and Mays’ actions during a series of end of summer parties in August 2012. It attracted the attention of bloggers, who questioned everything from the behavior of the football team to the integrity of the investigation.
A big question during this investigation and still today was if the punishment these boys received fit the crime. Some people even went as far as blaming the girl for her own assault. Others said the boys should have been tried as adults because of the extent of the crime. It is definitely a debatable topic. On the one hand science has shown that young people have poor judgement and it is not an accurate predictor if they will be a repeat offender as an adult. On the other hand these girls rights were seriously violated and is one year in juvenile detention bring justice to the crime?
That is really an important question Stephanie. I kind of kept up with this story when it was on the news. I was very shocked by their minimal sentencing. This is something very terrible that happened to this girl that will affect her for the rest of her life. I can imagine I would want that to affect those boys for the rest of their lives, but will it?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Meagan that this question is very important. Despite one's beliefs there are so many sides to this story that can be argued. Does he feel guilty? Is the guilt he will live with punishment? Should he have been tried as an adult? What is the excuse of young people having poor judgment? Poor judgment does not mean not knowing the difference between right and wrong. That to me is probably the most crucial thing to consider in cases such as this. Poor judgment is an excuse for cheating on a test or trying a drink of alcohol not an excuse to make bad decisions of this severity. How do you regulate that? I don't know but I don't think poor judgment constitutes raping an innocent victim.
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