Comment: As you read the news story below this comment, consider the following: This is a news report about the woman who had a religious conversion and recanted her rape lie, which led to freedom for the man she had wrongly imprisoned for four years. We've discussed this case on this site many times. Now she is claiming that she was so drunk, she did not have the specific intent to commit the crime of making a false report.
Why would she be permitted to raise this defense when a man or boy accused of rape couldn't? The simple legal answer is that rape is a general intent crime to which voluntary intoxication is no defense, but, presumably, making a false rape report is a specific intent crime for which voluntary intoxication is a defense. Pretty fair, isn't it? The more important question might be this: if she really was so drunk, why on earth was her rape lie believed in the first place? That's a really frightening thought, isn't it? That a drunk woman who has no idea what she's doing can run to the police and have you imprisoned for years. If her defense is valid, then the law enforcement officials responsible for this innocent man's incarceration ought to be jailed for stupidity, or malice, or both.
Second, it is wonderful that she recanted, but she waited a long time to do so, and she needs to be punished as a deterrent to other false accusers. An innocent man should not need to depend on a false accuser's whim as to whether she will, in her sole and unilateral discretion, free him from his false rape hell. False accusers need to be sent a powerful message before they lie that they can't destroy a man's life by falsely accusing him of rape, and if they do, the punishment will be severe. The only way to stop the false rape epidemic is to truly send a powerful message. Too many falsely accused men have sat in prison waiting for the recantation that never came, and it's time to stop depending on the good will of rape liars by hoping, often in vain, that they show mercy to the innocent men and boys whose lives they've already destroyed.
Here is the news story:
Lawyers: Woman Believed Her Made-Up Story About Rape
The woman whose false rape accusations sent an innocent man to prison for nearly four years claims she was so drunk that night that she started to believe her own lies. Lawyers representing Biurney Peguero Gonzalez—who is currently facing jail-time on perjury charges—say she was so inebriated when she falsely accused William McCaffrey of raping her in a van in Upper Manhattan in 2005 that she lost all memory of the incident and came to believe her own story.
After getting married and undergoing a religious conversion, Gonzalez confessed that she had invented the crime in an attempt to cover up a fight with her girlfriends and make them feel sorry for her. Gonzalez faces between two and seven years in prison for lying to a grand jury and lying during her trial, though she might be sentenced to less time. Her lawyers have asked that she be sentenced to probation, noting that if she didn't come forward, McCaffrey never would have been exonerated.
McCaffrey had his 20-year sentence cut short in December, and said it was "courageous of her to come forward and finally tell the truth."
Link: http://gothamist.com/2010/02/23/lawyers_rape_liar_believed_her_made.php
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16 comments:
OT, but misandric all the same
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1253083/NHS-manager-bragged-I-better-man-jailed-12-months-lesbian-sex-attack.html
”Lawyers representing Biurney Peguero Gonzalez—who is currently facing jail-time on perjury charges—say she was so inebriated when she falsely accused William McCaffrey of raping her in a van in Upper Manhattan in 2005 that she lost all memory of the incident and came to believe her own story.”
While this sounds perfectly STUPID to begin with, how can anyone truly believe her when she “outs” her own lie of not being able to remember and coming to instead believe her own lies, by “remembering” not only that she made the story up, but why she made it up as well.
”Gonzalez confessed that she had invented the crime in an attempt to cover up a fight with her girlfriends and make them feel sorry for her.”
For the entire duration of the time from initial claim to four years after sentencing, she could remember what happened, but then, after learning that the DNA evidence was being reexamined (by a group looking to exonerate McCaffery) she suddenly could remember enough to start feeling guilty enough to wish to have a priest absolve her of her sins? Right!
Chances are, if she had realized the priest would “force” her to also confess to police as well, she wouldn’t have ever told even the priest.
If the court buy her “I forgot for over four years” excuse, and gives her probation, I’m going to puke!
”Peguero's lawyer, Paul Callan, is asking that she be sentenced to probation. He notes that her recantation was key to exonerating McCaffrey.”
Apparently Mr. Callan neglected to note that her lying about being raped, and her continuing with that lie to the point of seeing an innocent man go to prison, was the key to his being in prison, so as to need to be exonerated and released.
slwerner, I don't think you understand. After the arsonist burns down the house, after he watched it collapse, piece by piece, into its own ash, he should be rewarded for calling the fire department.
As for her suddenly remembering, you must understand that when it comes to rape, the mind doesn't work the way it does in any other circumstance, for any other event. Things long hidden in the darkest recesses of the brain -- mirabile dictu! -- suddenly reappear, and there is no rational explanation (other than that the person is lying about it, which can't possibly be the case for rape).
This stuff infuriates me.
This guy lost 4 years of his life and she should be serving a MINIMUM of 20 in prison for this plus register as a sex offender for life.
But as we see time and time again she will get away with this with a joke of a punishment..if anything at all...just watch and see!
I know that this is off-topic, but I figured it is newsworthy.
Amazing news: Woman who falsely accused man of rape, sending him to prison for 4 years, gets 1-3 years in prison!
Well, I guess it's not entirely off-topic, but just the same, it's great news.
J Bowen: It is great news, and that depresses me so much. She's getting less time in jail than he did, but we're gratetful she's getting any.
We're celebrate an injustice because it's not as bad as what normally happens.
If the girl that falselly accussed me of raping her was any better of a liar, i would probibbly be in jail.
The perverts down at the law enforcement office were foaming at the mouth to get a conviction. When law enforcement lose their willingness to "protect the innocent", that is when their actions become a systemic perversion.
I know you were being a little ... uh... sarcastic, but it struck a nerve when you said "Things long hidden in the darkest recesses of the brain -- mirabile dictu! -- suddenly reappear".
Certainly not in this case, but that CAN happen, you know.
lol Slwerner the veins are popping out of your neck tonight.
the law enforcement officials responsible for this innocent man's incarceration ought to be jailed for stupidity, or malice, or both
agreed
cbgirl
"Certainly not in this case, but that CAN happen, you know."
No, there is no evidence to validity of "recovered" memories.
"the law enforcement officials responsible for this innocent man's incarceration ought to be jailed for stupidity, or malice, or both"
And exactly what laws did they break?
Of the Law Enforcement involved, one anonymous poster to another - "And exactly what laws did they break?"
They broke no laws (so, they cannot be prosecuted), and they likely even followed normal procedures. What they did (collectively) do was a very poor job. From the detectives who more-or-less stopped at her word and bites marks as having done their job investigating, to rape counselor(s) who didn't press her just a bit to test her veracity, to prosecutors who seem not to have bothered to take a critical look at the evidence (making assumptions that everyone else had already closed up any loose ends) - they all bear culpability for this huge miscarriage of justice.
And let's not leave off the list the defense (likely public defenders) who didn't do their due diligence on behalf of their client (they did not effectively challenge either the non-matching bite marks nor the lack of DNA match), nor even the jury.
They all need to look back on this with a sense of shame for their individual roles.
Hopefully, this will stand as a learning opportunity, not only for them, but for those who will be involved in future cases.
But, in the end, it is the liar herself who bears the primary blame for this. She may only serve 6 months, which would be a travesty; but, her prosecution for perjury (sadly, the only felony she committed) did serve to highlight the reality of FRA's and the potential damages from them.
If it were up to me, Gonzales would be forced to do a public service announcement (filmed with her standing behind bars) about her having sent an innocent man to prison by her lies, and imploring others not to lie about such a serious matter - with both the PD and DA Office picking up the tab for the air time.
The very best outcome we could possibly have (as it regards all men) would be a solid public education campaign. The next best thing would be that the PD and DA feel enough guilt that they would make some tangible contribution to restoration of McCaffrey - even if it meant passing the hat or personal contributions from those who know what a lousy thing they done to another human being.
This also show why you have to have PHYSICAL PROOF that a rape occurred.
Because it's all too easy to just make something up and send an innocent man to prison.
Unless you have physical proof there should never even be an arrest.
This was a one in a million shot that this woman confessed to lying.
It makes me really wonder about all the other guys that are in prison for rape.
If it is this easy to just say you were raped without ANY proof and put an innocent man in prison for 20 years. Then how many others are in prison for the same type of case.
Anonymous said...
This also show why you have to have PHYSICAL PROOF that a rape occurred.
Because it's all too easy to just make something up and send an innocent man to prison.
Unless you have physical proof there should never even be an arrest.
This was a one in a million shot that this woman confessed to lying.
It makes me really wonder about all the other guys that are in prison for rape.
If it is this easy to just say you were raped without ANY proof and put an innocent man in prison for 20 years. Then how many others are in prison for the same type of case.
Feb 24, 2010 9:27:00 PM
There is a catch to having physical proof. After consensual sex, the "victim" only has to have one drop of the man's semen on her body or clothes to provide probable cause that a rape occured. She can also tell the man that she loves rough sex.
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