Yes you make many valid points Richter but that is our system of law and, while it is constantly being upgraded and hopefully improved, it is based on the presumption of innocence so you are right that it is weighted in favour of the accused and consequenly will be 'against' the victim - it doesnt mean to that's just the system.Richter wrote:One more thing, whilst I understand that in law priors are inadmissible in court, in fields such as forensic psychiatry, the single biggest predictor in determining whether an individual is likely to reoffend violently is whether or not they have previously committed an act of violence.
So, whilst the law clearly protects the right of the individual to have a 'fair' trial, by the very fact of this omission it cuts off an extremely valuable tool that is commonly used in clinical risk assessment, to give you but one example.
The law is not a science, and IMO for sexual crimes it is far too weighted against the victim and in favor of the accused.
The law of sexual assault has changed drastically in the last 20 years -when I went to Law School - rape was 'the feloniousl f***..g of a female through fear or force - now it involves all types of penetration (that why Lovett was also charged with digital assualt), it is gender neutral so now includes males and transgender folk, and now also includes lack of consent via fraud (what the prosecution in the Lovett case was trying to prove).
Also much has been done with the investigation aspects of the crime with police and prosecutors having training in improving empathy towards the victim. In prosecution stage the rules of evidence for sexual assault cases has been changed compared to other serious crimes to favour the victim so that the old cross examination of a victim's past which often went on for days with the defence trawing through a victim's sexual past in the finest and often embarassing detail, is restricted.
Sure it is still a very difficult crime to investigate, prosecute and sentence, but things are changing. Maybe not at the rate you would like, understanding your own personal experiences with sexual assault victims, but nevertheless changing. And remember, the Legal System has always been the most conservative of all our structures, so change will be slow.
I empathise with any victim of sexual assault - it is the most under reported crime, it is the most common crime for police not to charge, it is the least prosecuted crime and on top of all those barriers, it has the lowest guilty rate.
In the end Richter, the only way is through education at school that teaches our young basic moral values and respect for all people (even dare I say other team's supporters)
Sorry for the long discourses of technical aspects of the law
The jury has spoken so its finished so on to the Gold Coast Game
Go Saints
