Some recent judicial decisions are making it abundantly clear how little some U.S. judges and prosecutors respect the human rights of women and are determined to exert punishment of those seeking to control their own lives.
For example, Purvi Patel, a 35-year-old Indiana woman, served a year in prison of a 20-year sentence for “feticide” (a self-induced abortion) before an appeals court recently overturned that conviction. She was re-sentenced to three years for a Class D felony for “neglect of a dependent” (the fetus), then released on time served plus good behavior.
Meanwhile, Bresha Meadows will stand trial for the murder of her abusive father. She was 14 when she allegedly shot him following years of constant physical abuse of her mother and verbal abuse and menacing of the entire family, including threats to kill them all.
Men who do the right thing and support women can go under the gavel as well. Take Deric Lostutter, a young activist with Anoymous who used his hacker skills to expose the gang rapists of a 15-year-old girl in Steubenville, Ohio in 2012. To try to make the long story short, two of the rapists were convicted, one served only a few months, as did Brock Turner in the Stanford rape case. The other served two years and is now playing college football. Others involved went scot free.
Meanwhile Lostutter, who helped bring some of the rapists to justice, is facing a 16-year sentence for hacking a high school’s football sports fan site, Roll Red Roll, where RT reported he “found evidence of the 2012 rape and subsequent boasting by the perpetrators who shared footage with friends.”
Videos showed the victim being dragged from party to party by a “rape crew” and video and photos of the attacks. RT wrote:
In a chilling video retrieved by Anonymous, athlete Michael Nodianos described the unconscious teenager as being “deader than Trayvon Martin,” as well as comparing her to JFK, OJ’s wife, and dead toddler Caylee Anthony.
Nodianos also tweeted, “Some people deserve to be peed on,” on the night of the rape.
“She is so raped,” he said. “Her p*** is dryer than the sun right now.”
When the young woman tried to press charges, she was dismissed and her character attacked by the football-crazy town.
Where were the adults in this, you may ask, those who should have stepped up to see that justice was done? Apparently they had a stake in the outcome and were part of the attempted cover-up. The RT continues:
One of the homes where the girl was assaulted allegedly belonged to the prosecutor, who has a son on both the football and wrestling teams and had allegedly pressured the victim and her family not to press charges.
Following the conviction of Richmond and Mays, a grand jury indicted four school officials over the scandal, with half of the charges related to another rape of a 14-year-old girl in April 2012.
In the Nodianos video, he referred to an earlier rape at “Palooza,” a nickname for the football coach’s home. The 14-year-old girl said she drank from a red cup and became so intoxicated she couldn’t stop the assault.
In 2015, the school’s technology director William Rhinaman pled guilty to deleting files related to the rape, Refinery 29 reports.
Lostutter’s previous hackings have included attacks on Hunter Moore, the man behind revenge porn, and the hate group the Westboro Baptist Church.
Lostutter commented:
“You get 16 years for forcibly entering your way into a computer, but you get one year for forcibly entering your way into a woman. I think that’s the precedent the government is setting here.”
His trial is scheduled to start on November 8.