There are group home for victims of domestic violence, but she may not be allowed to live in one because she has a felony record. I hope that because the judge is allowing her to be rehabilitated, her attorneys have already found a placement for her somewhere where she can get better.

So you think society would be best served if he was locked up and we threw away the key?

I agree. Here's an editorial on the subject that explains how juvenile justice should work better than I could: http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2013/12/ethan-…

Hey Jez - you should cover this story about a rape victim who was later put into prison at 15 years old. Years later she is dying of breast cancer but finally getting paroled: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nat…

She's more likely to pay restitution if she's outside prison than inside, where you earn cents to the dollar.

All children deserve second chances.

I also work in the criminal justice system and have all of my senses at my disposal. I work in a part of the country where the habitual offender laws mean life in prison (or close to it) for many who commit what most people would think are very petty crimes. Perhaps you see people going through the system so many…

The quality of lawyer's at PD's office vary by city and state. Individually some of these lawyers are very good. However, they are assigned too many cases to be competent lawyers. Here are just a few links. If you google your city and public defender "crisis", "caseloads", or "budget," I'm sure you can find more…

You responded to my comment, which cites studies of racial bias in the criminal justice system and the history of racial terror in the south, with racist imagery. Congratulations! You win the internet today!

Last night there was more than one comment that said "Kill the rapist." I'm not making this shit up.

You are so uneducated. Violent crime rates are at a 40 year low. The high incarceration rate is due to harsh sentencing laws that were started during the Reagan Administration and continued well into the 90's (three strikes your out, mandatory minimums and sentencing enhancements for the amount of drugs you're…

Another reason not to like football: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/30/spo…

Also, even rich, black men get discriminated against and profiled by cops. There are a few high-profile examples: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Lou…; http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la…; http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/fores….

I'm responding to the article, which uses this case to talk about larger issues with the system, including arguing that criminal defendants get too much protection and leeway, and that accusations of rape by white women against black men are taken less seriously/are less likely to be believed. I'm quoting the article…

I took this article to be using this case to talk about the system more generally. I totally agree with you that class plays one of the biggest roles in who we see getting prosecuted and also victims that the police and D.A. take seriously. But studies that have controlled for all other factors except race have…

I think the larger number is relevant because we're discussing rape victims not being believed (the subject of this article). People on parole and probation and with felony convictions are generally not believed and are victims of crimes (including rape), crimes that are often not prosecuted. This is especially a…

We are definitely on the same side. I just have a little correction to your prison statistic - actually more than 7.3 million, or 1 in every 31 U.S. adults - are in the system - in jail, prison, probation, or parole. http://www.pewtrusts.org/news_room_deta…

I am not shitting over women. I am engaging in this discussion of the criminal justice SYSTEM and pushing back against the suggestions in this article, that white victims are discriminated against and that the criminally accused are afforded too much protection. Both of these suggestions are patently false.

One in three black men will be in jail or prison at some point in their life. I can't accept any solution to this valid problem you (and this article) raise, the problem of entrenched sexism in rape prosecutions (or lack thereof), that will result in a less due process given to the criminally accused, particularly…

For all the bleating people do about an alleged rape victim's credibility (see the comments here), they seem to forget that the same can and should be applied to the accused, his or her witnesses, and the investigators as well.