# Convicted of rape of a 2-month-old -- what should the penalty be? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 2, 2004, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convicted-of-rape-of-a-2-month-old-what-should-the-penalty-be/222391 "2004-01-02T22:57:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Blonde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Blonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blonde)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2004, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convicted-of-rape-of-a-2-month-old-what-should-the-penalty-be/222391/21 "2004-01-03T05:30:09Z")
As we say in Texas… Is that cord plugged in? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@Sam\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_H)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2004, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convicted-of-rape-of-a-2-month-old-what-should-the-penalty-be/222391/22 "2004-01-03T05:38:38Z")
Rape. His own child. Two months old. I agree with **Scylla.** He isn’t human. That may be one of the worst crimes I’ve ever heard about. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2004, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convicted-of-rape-of-a-2-month-old-what-should-the-penalty-be/222391/23 "2004-01-03T05:44:37Z")
Jeez, people, listen to yourselves! I could tie the guy down, place his testicles on a metal platform, hand you a ball peen hammer and a legal document authorizing you to carry out the punishment… 95% of you are going to see another human being lying there, cringing in fear and you couldn’t do it. You’d think you could, but you couldn’t. 95% of you. The other 5%, I want nothing whatever to do with. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2004, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convicted-of-rape-of-a-2-month-old-what-should-the-penalty-be/222391/24 "2004-01-03T06:01:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bobkitty \* > \*\*Just let him into the prison. No special treatment, no secluded cell or special cell block. I guarantee he’ll get exactly what he deserves. \*\* This might be just in some cosmic sense, but I must object to the idea that it’s just in our crude human approximation of justice. We have the financial resources to treat our prisoners humanely … I do not believe true justice comes in allowing them to be abused, raped and killed in prison. Just for the record. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2004, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convicted-of-rape-of-a-2-month-old-what-should-the-penalty-be/222391/25 "2004-01-03T06:01:59Z")
He’s a sex offender AND his dad was head of the department of corrections… This guy is gonna have a _very_ difficult time in prison. ---
**Author:** ![Jurhael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cab0a1/32.png) [@Jurhael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurhael)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2004, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convicted-of-rape-of-a-2-month-old-what-should-the-penalty-be/222391/26 "2004-01-03T06:03:41Z")
“95% of you are going to see another human being lying there, cringing in fear and you couldn’t do it. You’d think you could, but you couldn’t. 95% of you.” Just out of curiosity, what makes you so certain of that? And would you be so certain if that were THEIR child? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2004, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convicted-of-rape-of-a-2-month-old-what-should-the-penalty-be/222391/27 "2004-01-03T06:04:59Z")
I just finished reading Frank Abagnale’s book CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (on which the movie is loosely based). When he was arrested in France he was sentenced to Perpignan Prison where he was stripped naked, placed inside a 5x5x5 cubicle with no contents other than a slop jar (only empted once weekly, if that) and left there in complete darkness, underfed and with no human contact, for six months. I was thinking about how horrible and inhumane this was for him (even if he is a sociopath), but it would seem ideal for this guy. Leave him there until he dies, feeding him just enough to keep him alive and refusing to let him go on a hunger strike. ---
**Author:** ![Blonde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Blonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blonde)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2004, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convicted-of-rape-of-a-2-month-old-what-should-the-penalty-be/222391/28 "2004-01-03T06:16:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jurhael \* > \*\*elucidator’s quote: “95% of you are going to see another human being lying there, cringing in fear and you couldn’t do it. You’d think you could, but you couldn’t. 95% of you.” > > Jurhael’s comment: just out of curiosity, what makes you so certain of that? And would you be so certain if that were THEIR child? \*\* Right you are. I’d flip that switch with no regrets whatsoever, if it were my child. It’s easy to throw death wishes about, that I grant you. But, still. You don’t mess with our children, ever. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2004, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convicted-of-rape-of-a-2-month-old-what-should-the-penalty-be/222391/29 "2004-01-03T06:23:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elucidator \* > \*\*Jeez, people, listen to yourselves! > > I could tie the guy down, place his testicles on a metal platform, hand you a ball peen hammer and a legal document authorizing you to carry out the punishment… 95% of you are going to see another human being lying there, cringing in fear and you couldn’t do it. You’d think you could, but you couldn’t. 95% of you. > > The other 5%, I want nothing whatever to do with. \*\* Ha. If that were my child, you better fucking believe I would be in that 5%. Better yet, I’d cut his balls off and make him eat them (just like on Fear Factor, I’d make him chew up each and every last bit). Geezus H. Motherfucking Krist, that monster is so fucking horrid. If that mother had killed him right then and there, that would certainly be justifiable homicide. ---
**Author:** ![Palewriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@Palewriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palewriter)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2004, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convicted-of-rape-of-a-2-month-old-what-should-the-penalty-be/222391/30 "2004-01-03T06:49:11Z")
Well, there’s a huge difference between “flipping the switch” and “a ball peen hammer”. Even relegating the dirty work to the depraved and violent inmates of some penitentiary seems to be something of a copout. Are we condoning prison rape and worse? Sensible society needs to find a way to deal with animals such as this. But the solution isn’t to turn ordinary, normal people into torturers. Life without hope of release in some remote hole seems like a good idea. Leave the ball peen hammer to the sadists. - PW ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2004, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convicted-of-rape-of-a-2-month-old-what-should-the-penalty-be/222391/31 "2004-01-03T07:16:14Z")
Chop off his dick. Hand him a First Aid kit, and tell him if he gets an infection you’re going to give him a concussion. Put him in a chain gang, and make sure that all the other guys know why he’s there. Make him do something constructive, like hitting rocks with a hammer for 16 hours a day. Two meals a day, plus vitamin suppliments. He sleeps in an 8x10’ room, with a bed, sink, and toilet. Once a month you have the janitor leave his cleaning cart there during a lunch break. He cleans his “bathroom” or he gets no food that day. He steps out of line, he goes to The Hole (those who have seen _Oz_ on HBO know what I mean by The Hole) for a week. Leave him be until he has learned his lesson. Then let him stay there for the rest of his life. Just because. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2004, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convicted-of-rape-of-a-2-month-old-what-should-the-penalty-be/222391/32 "2004-01-03T07:26:00Z")
For what it’s worth, **'Luc** , I think you’re probably right. ---
**Author:** ![zephyrine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/35a633/32.png) [@zephyrine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zephyrine)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2004, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convicted-of-rape-of-a-2-month-old-what-should-the-penalty-be/222391/33 "2004-01-03T07:29:37Z")
**re: Convicted of rape of a 2-month-old – what should the penalty be?** Death. Long-drawn out and painful. And everyone involved in sentencing him should have a painful time too. ---
**Author:** ![Q.N.Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3da27b/32.png) [@Q.N.Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.N.Jones)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2004, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convicted-of-rape-of-a-2-month-old-what-should-the-penalty-be/222391/34 "2004-01-03T08:17:31Z")
I can’t think of anything fitting. He’s never going to be sorry for what he did, or reformed. Simply throwing him in prison just isn’t bad enough. And the stuff that is bad enough…well, it’s so depraved that I know I could never advocate actually going through with it. I think death by lethal injection is probably as close as I can come. And I’m against the death penalty. ---
**Author:** ![Snake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Snake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snake)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2004, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convicted-of-rape-of-a-2-month-old-what-should-the-penalty-be/222391/35 "2004-01-03T08:42:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elucidator \* > \*\*Jeez, people, listen to yourselves! > > I could tie the guy down, place his testicles on a metal platform, hand you a ball peen hammer and a legal document authorizing you to carry out the punishment… 95% of you are going to see another human being lying there, cringing in fear and you couldn’t do it. You’d think you could, but you couldn’t. 95% of you. > > The other 5%, I want nothing whatever to do with. \*\* I guess I won’t have to worry about you knocking on my door during dinner then. People like this guy have no business existing. This is a case where you need a trap door in front of the judge’s bench. When the verdict of guilty is reached, pull the lever and the douchebag falls into an alligator pit. Fuck him. Yes, I know, its not quite as fun or entertaining as ball peen nut crunching, but it is quick, cheap, permenantly removes the threat to society, and no clean up involved. Next case … ---
**Author:** ![WILLASS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/54ee81/32.png) [@WILLASS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WILLASS)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2004, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convicted-of-rape-of-a-2-month-old-what-should-the-penalty-be/222391/36 "2004-01-03T09:04:18Z")
I want to know why this is so much worse than someone anally raping their own son, or raping an elderley woman - everyone seems more offended because the baby is 2 months old. While I readily admit that I would happily see this sick fuck rot away in a cage for the rest of his natural, I still think the age of the victim is irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2004, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convicted-of-rape-of-a-2-month-old-what-should-the-penalty-be/222391/37 "2004-01-03T09:20:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elucidator \* > \*\*Jeez, people, listen to yourselves! > > I could tie the guy down, place his testicles on a metal platform, hand you a ball peen hammer and a legal document authorizing you to carry out the punishment… 95% of you are going to see another human being lying there, cringing in fear and you couldn’t do it. You’d think you could, but you couldn’t. 95% of you. > > The other 5%, I want nothing whatever to do with. \*\* Everyone hit your knees and thank God elucidator wasn’t the one to provide protection for you while growing up. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2004, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convicted-of-rape-of-a-2-month-old-what-should-the-penalty-be/222391/38 "2004-01-03T11:07:10Z")
Shoot him. ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2004, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convicted-of-rape-of-a-2-month-old-what-should-the-penalty-be/222391/39 "2004-01-03T11:25:21Z")
Mercedes Lackey came up with what I think is a very neat and fair solution for this sort of thing in one of her books as a punishment for a man who raped his teenage daughters. The punishment was a psychological feedback loop which meant that until he realized how fundamentally and reprehensibly wrong his actions were, he experienced what his daughters experienced. The more he justified his actions, the worse his fear and pain got. That sounds appropriate to me. I wish we could set things up so that this creature experienced what the 2 month old did experience, not what he told himself she was experiencing, with those experiences getting worse each time he tried to tell himself they weren’t wrong. Unfortunately, current technology isn’t even close to being up to the job. If it were, however, I would have no problem administering the sentence. My heart goes out to his fiance. I cannot imagine how it would feel to find out the love of your life, as he was called in the second link, is something truly monstrous. CJ ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2004, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convicted-of-rape-of-a-2-month-old-what-should-the-penalty-be/222391/40 "2004-01-03T11:28:47Z")
Kill it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convicted-of-rape-of-a-2-month-old-what-should-the-penalty-be/222391.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convicted-of-rape-of-a-2-month-old-what-should-the-penalty-be/222391.md?page=3)