'Horrific' rape at the Jeffco Jail

Rocky Mountain News ^ | July 24, 2002 | By Sue Lindsay

[sheik yerbouty]

No criminal should be allowed to benefit from the incarceration of another. Might I ask what if any, racial component was invoved in this case.

[general_re]

Pretty much. God forbid I or anyone I know should ever find themselves in that situation, but I certainly hope I'd do whatever I had to do to defend myself. If he's taking it from me, he's taking it from a corpse is how I look at it.

But I'm older now, and this kid was 19 - just a kid, scared sh*tless at being in lockup for the first time. We all say we'd fight back, but realistically we weren't there and we weren't him.

[Drew68]

Male on male sex in any form is homosexuality, wether these prison queers admit it on not.

I agree with your statement. Certainly anal-sex between two men is a homosexual act. I just don't see these perps as homos in the typical limp-wristed sense. They are more sadistic, looking for a way to inflict an unimaginal form of abuse on someone physically smaller than them for no better reason than to exert power and dominance in a situation where they are otherwise powerless. I would doubt that outside of prison, these people exhibit any homosexual tendencies whatsoever.

[sheik yerbouty]

Yes, but good liberals will go to their very deaths proclaiming "It wasn't racial!"

[Drew68]

Might I ask what if any, racial component was invoved in this case.

While the race of the kid was not given this being Jefferson County he was almost certainly white. The rapist, on the other hand was awaiting transfer from Denver to prison. Why he was sitting in Jefferson County's jail I don't know. Most likely they had more space available.

[GBA]

"There is very little that goes on in a jail that the guards don't know about.

This stuff will stop when enough victims of jail rape have collected enough millions in compensation to get someone's attention.

But not before. At least in my state, the guard's union is politically very strong, and no guard will ever lose his job for this kind of shenanigan. Get a lawyer and sue them til they love you."

I say sue the guards in charge. Sue their union. Sue the sherrif personally. Sue whomever was in charge of who went into which cell. Make them personally responsible. No letting them hide behind the taxpayer's checkbook. Put them in there with the animals.

[connectthedots]

Jefferson County might as well hand a blank check to the victim now and let him fill it in. Any number with seven or fewer figures with the first being 5 or less will be a better deal than a jury would award.

[GBA]

" Agreed. This "serial rapist" with whom the young man was forced to share a cell should have been kept in solitary confinement (after having the crap beaten out of him, but I digress). This situation was preventable. "

The serial rapist, deviant Westbrook should lose all his genitalia. What Westbrook did was cruel and unusual. What the State should do is remove the possibility that he will be able to do that again. This is the only punishment that fits the crime, IMHO.

[pseudogratix]

FWIW, my high school biology teacher had to scrape the victims of a drunk driving accident off the pavement one Christmas Eve. The victims were two parents on their way home with a truckload of presents for their young kids. After that experience, his position on drunk driving was that "they should be taken out and shot on their first offense."

[GBA]

"In a society with true justice, Mr. Westbrook would never see daylight again. "

In a society with true justice, Mr. (and I use that derisively) Mr. Westbrook would forever squat to pee.

[kpp_kpp]

>What Westbrook did was cruel and unusual.

unfortunately it probably isn't "unusual". what is unusual is the victim speaking out - or being able to speak out in the case of those that aren't in for an overnighter.

[wku man]

I agree with you. Even if there was a size and strength disparity, a 19 year old man should have at least some knowledge of how to defend himself, and dogonne it, the will to not be victimized, or in the face of certain doom, to go down fighting. If I were in the same situation, I'd rather die than suffer the indignity of letting some foul, scumbag, perverted POS like the guy in the picture force me to do anything.

And yes, he should have been in jail. Maybe his sad misfortune will be a lesson to the other spoiled, rich, white boys that Littleton is so full of (from what I hear). Their privileged, sheltered little world can come to a screeching halt.

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!

[GBA]

I agree with you about it not being unusual. I'm using the term "unusual" in its constitutional sense in that a punishment shouldn't be cruel or unusual, but should fit the crime.

The scary thing is that people like Westbrook will learn or perfect this desire while in prison and then will be released amongst us. The state needs to come up with a punishment that will prevent such an act by animals like Westbrook on the rest of us. I have a "eunuch" solution to the rapist problem.

[E Rocc]

The scary thing is that people like Westbrook will learn or perfect this desire while in prison and then will be released amongst us. The state needs to come up with a punishment that will prevent such an act by animals like Westbrook on the rest of us. I have a "eunuch" solution to the rapist problem.

We're thinking along the same lines. Castration, and not the chemical kind either. Make that the sentence for committing a rape in prison and we'll see how many happen.

-Eric

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

I don't know that anyone here said this 19-year-old deserved the rape, even though he did deserve to be incarcerated for his crime.

I know you didn't, mountaineer - but post #15 jokingly implied as much, and when I objected, the same person posted #51. (There may have been a couple of other similar comments as well - I didn't go back and look for them, though.) Also, I think the "he should have fought back" position places a subtle kind of blame on the kid for not preventing what happened. That's not the same as saying he deserved it, but it seems as to me it's one step removed.

[AppyPappy]

Of course not but when someone tries to rape you and he doesn't have a weapon, it's time to resort to nastiness.

[Basil Duke]

I think what the mother was inferring is that having her son be anally raped, and possibly infected with HIV, for a drinking offense is a fairly strong penalty.

[Britton J Wingfield]

A friend of mine was raped 60+ times when DC police deliberately put him in a cell full of racist goons. He was in jail because he refused to pay $10 bail on principle, after arrest for unlawful assembly. It screwed up his entire life.

Stop Prisoner Rape

[Skwidd]

Boo. Hoo.

Criminals go to jail, where they belong. Bet he'll show up for his classes next time!

[Prodigal Son]

I'm sorry, my bad. I mistook what it was you were saying in your post- bit of a "Duhhh!" moment on my part. I was thinking you were saying the guy that got raped would be out in three years and the rapist three months. Now that I look back on it I have no idea how I got that out of your post- but it's like that sometimes. ;-)