Posted on 08/13/2007 7:13:07 AM PDT by flowerplough
Cassandra M. Hernandez, a female airman at the Pope Air Force Base near Fayetteville, N.C., faces court-martial after refusing to testify in her own rape trial, the Washington Post reported Aug. 8. Hernandez accused three male airmen of raping her in May, but then refused to testify because she said she felt pressured by the Air Force judicial process and intimidated by a defense attorney, who interviewed her without a victim's advocate present.
The three accused men received administrative punishments and criminal charges were dropped against them. The Air Force has given the men immunity to testify against Hernandez, who has now been charged with an indecent act and for neglect of duty for drinking alcohol while underage.
Following publicity about the case, the Air Force released a statement that said the investigation revealed inconsistencies in Hernandez's testimony, the Associated Press reported Aug. 9, an assertion that her attorney quickly denied.
(Excerpt) Read more at womensenews.org ...
I wish the civilian judicial system worked the same way.
************
Oddly enough, having rape wished on me or my loved ones does nothing to instill sympathy in me for someone who refused to testify after charging others with rape. Nice temper tantrum, though.
“She didn’t deserve to be assaulted. One day, it will be your daughter, wife, graddaughter or YOU and we’ll see your tune change then!
~~Walking away in disgust”
While walking away, remember Nifong.
This female had the opportunity to testify and refused. To me that equals “she probably did ask for it and regretted it later”.
Otherwise I can see no reason she would not testify.
It’s interesting to me, that it’s usually men talking about buyers remorse with rape.
And yet, the same comparison is not made with murder victims...”well hey s/he was walking around with money. They were asking it for it.”
Or people that were robbed while a bank robbery was in process. We never hear “They asked for it, they needed to do a financial transaction, they should have waited and gone with armed guards. How many times did they make a withdrawl in that bank? Don’t they know how dangerous that it?”
It’s absurd! The thought that somehow young women shouldn’t drink, they should have very intimate details of their life questioned like it has a bearing on something unrelated because obviously if she’s done it willingly once, that means she wants it whether she says no or not the next time.
Yet, there’s probably only nothing but disgust for this type of crime...because it happened against men right?
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/02/apafrape070227foratmcnt/
opposite kenny
Since May 29, 2007
Welcome to Free Republic, kenny.
That’s the best you can do is post a sign up date?
Cassy Hernandez is getting the proverbial shaft as Major Jill Metzger gets OSI and Chief of Staff protection. Why is it the command and OSI can come down on a lowly female Airman but can’t stand up to an errant field grade officer? To convict lowly Airman Cassandra Hernandez while letting a worse scoundrel go Scott free is an insult and a betrayal of all we stand for! Hey Cassy! You aren’t connected, so therefore you’re not protected! You need an OSI husband and OSI father in law! Too bad your daddy isn’t a retired Colonel who can run/obstruct justice for you! Hey Cassy,— if you’re going to have sex, it should be with high ranking officers, not other airman! That way if you’re threatened with prosecution, you can use “the dirt” as Machiavellian leverage to weasel out of the charges and accountability.
Why the disparity of justice??—We’ve heard that the sort of behavior Cassy allegedly engaged in is EXACTLY what Major Metzger was allegedly doing at the 4th of July party at the Manas-Bishkek Airfield!
I think it’s hypocritical of the convening authorities and the OSI to go after Cassy now. They should have just dropped the matter especially since EVERYBODY knows about the Major Metzger scandal and cover up. What happened to equal justice under law?
Ok, I take it back. You’re not welcome to Free Republic. Happy now?
Because "the investigation revealed inconsistencies in Hernandez's testimony," people are deducing that she got caught in a lie. If that's the case then they should force her to testify or else charge her for not cooperating.
There is another aspect to this, and it's regarding a soldier's duty. It's one thing to be a civilian and tolerate rapists in your midst. You can't do that in the Air Force. If she knows the men are guilty of something, then she owes it to the Air Force to testify against them.
If you have a comment on what I said that’s fine, but posting a sign up date to dismiss what was said is kinda like a dog marking his territory, may feel good for a minute, but looks pretty silly.
What “Rape”?
She alleged rape and then refused to cooperate with the prosecution. One might more readily conclude that she was using accusations of rape to cover up her own misconduct.
I’m disgusted with the laissez-faire attitude people here are taking toward the crime of sexual assault.
1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men have been assaulted sexually. 60% will not come forward because of people like you.
trisham
Since Feb 21, 2002
Since we are welcoming...
Why does the above date matter?
"One day, it will be your daughter, wife, graddaughter or YOU and we’ll see your tune change then!”
Been there, done that.
BECAUSE I have a close relative who was a victim of rape, I’m not keen on women who make false charges of rape.
One of two things is possible in this case: the woman was truly raped; the woman is making a false allegation.
If she was truly raped, she truly has an obligation to herself and to other women to testify against her attackers. The process is difficult, and unfortunately, because those of us looking from the outside in can’t know a priori who is a real victim and who is a liar, the process must be adversarial, must protect the rights of the accused, and the charges must be sustained by evidence.
If she was truly raped, once having made formal allegations, she must continue through the process, or be compelled by the courts to do so.
If she wasn’t raped, then I don’t blame her, in a sense, for backing out. Certainly, the punishment that she’ll receive for backing out is less than the punishment she’d have received if she went to trial, testified falsely, and was then proven a liar under oath.
But if she wasn’t raped, and her charges are false, then frankly, my hope is that she is severely punished.
sitetest
Don't get personal. People "like me" are awesome. There should be millions more people "like me", and the world would be almost perfect.
Hey trisham: Relax.
or he aked standard questions.
The prosecutor would be on her side, she was his witness.
This reminds me of that fiction commercial that was foisted on the superbowl that said something like 1 in 6 women were raped and it turns out the number is a fraud pushed by some now gang group.
It could be she was caught in a lie during the deposition and if she raised her right hand, perjury in a military court would be more serious than the refusal to testify.
That's because men are pigs, and in today's society some sex is better than no sex; even if you wouldn't want you friends to know about her.
In all seriousness, though, men are falsely accused of rape all the time; the Duke Lacrosse case for example. It happens, and it is patently unfair and hypocritical to not exhaust all avenues before proclaiming guilt or innocence.
And yet, the same comparison is not made with murder victims...”well hey s/he was walking around with money. They were asking it for it.”
Maybe in your circles. If someone is wandering around the bad part of town, late at night, obviously loaded with cash, and they get mugged, then they deserve derision for their stupid choice of locals.
Your bank robbery line of thought is flawed. Just as a woman should expect a degree of safety in her own home, bank patrons deserve it too. There is a huge difference between standing in line at a bank, and pulling $300 out of an ATM at mid-night in the bad part of town. Just like there is a difference between a woman spending a quite evening at home and some woman dressed in hoochie clothes, drinking heavily and grinding against some guy she just met at a club.
I am not saying that one "deserves" to be raped and the other doesn't. What I am saying is that someone needs to point out that if you make decisions like that, then the possibility that you are going to be raped will increase, greatly. Also, if you do make bad decisions like that, then don't be surprised if people question the veracity of your statements; true of false.
What bothers me is that your, and others, train of thought is basically, she said she was raped, so it's true, no need to go any further. Thank God our legal system doesn't work like that, despite the best efforts of some, or else I could think of at least three young men who would be sitting in jail on the false testimony of a drugged out stripper in North Carolina.
So since you stand for equal justice why don’t you explain why MAJOR JILL METZGER has not been prosecuted.
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