Day of Blogs

Having previously criticized the incredibly graphic coverage of this case, I won’t repeat it.  Let it suffice to say that the woman who was raped, tortured and attempted to be murdered by Robert Williams was put through a living hell.  And he has now been sentenced to 422 years.

As someone who does not believe in the death penalty and who also never wanted this guy to again see the light of day, I’m happy with the outcome.  And yet, I cannot help but feel sad that it has to come to this for sexual violence to be taken seriously.  While 422 years wouldn’t normally be an appropriate sentence, it’s obscene that a woman has to be tortured in every way possible before peple start giving a shit and feeling appalled.

And while I agree that the woman’s strength and composure throughout the ordeal is commednable, I do have to wonder if things would have played out differently if she was not perceived to have survived because of her intelligence, if she wasn’t a Columbia University graduate student, if she didn’t display the “grace” that jurors witnessed, and if Williams was not a black man, an ex-con and homeless.  It’s sad that I have to wonder.  But I do.