Wednesday, February 20, 2002
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Wednesday, February 20, 2002 |
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Voyles' sentence is double standard favoring women The slap-on-the-wrist sentencing in the Laura Voyles case is yet another fine example of the double-standard of the female-only defense, where a woman receives a lighter sentence than a man for an equal crime, and is painted by the media to look like a victim, rather than an ignorant human being who made a very bad decision. In this case, if a man were the perpetrator, he would have been prosecuted to the fullest extent, complete with jail time, and a humiliatingly detailed story and photo on the front page of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Here, because of her gender, Ms. Voyles was allowed to plead guilty to a lesser crime because the sex was consensual. There is no provision for this if a male is charged. He is still guilty of statutory rape, because the law says anyone under 18 is not able to make those kinds of decisions. I submit that this is both unconstitutional and sexist, and so are the practices of the judge who presided over this case. Note that the story was neatly tucked into a not-so-visible corner in the papers. If it were a man, it would have been front-page news, and the public would have been screaming for vengeance and protection for their children. In a land where a man can face a sexual harassment suit for merely asking a female coworker his own age out on a date, I find it infuriating that the law has once again allowed a woman to use her body as a bargaining tool. Matthew White Athens, Ga.
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