Missoula: Chapter 13&14

In chapter 13 of Missoula we find out that Beau Donaldson's bail on his rape charge was reduced from $100,000 to $50,000 (p. 263). This 50% reduction made it twice as likely that Donaldson could make bail, which he did end up doing. This caused me to wonder what the average bail is set at in Missoula for rape cases, particularly around 2010, when Donaldson was being charged. It seems the trend is that if the man is over 18 and the girl is under 18, the rape charge is taken a lot more seriously. An 18-year-old boy raped a 16-year-old girl and his bail was set at $75,000. A 40-year-old man raped a 13-year-old girl and his bail was set at $100,000. I'm no lawyer and I'm not saying it isn't bad for a 40-year-old man to rape a 13-year-old girl, but it doesn't make closer-age rape less hard on the victim. The fact that Donaldson was first given $100,000 bail and then it was reduced to $50,000 sends a message that his rape was less serious and he is, therefore, less of a threat to society.

Aside from the topic of age gap between the rapist and victim, serial rape is also something to talk about. Donaldson's case became a little more serious when Hillary McLaughlin's story came to light. Krakauer writes: "as David Lisa has noted, persuading a jury to convict a serial rapist is a lot easier than convicting someone who's under suspicion of committing only a single rape" (p. 264). So what does this say about how society views rapists? Rapists seem to get a pass if they "only convict once." Now, I'm wondering, why is this not the case with murderers? If someone murders one victim, they are not given a light sentence until they prove they are a problem and deserve a harsher sentence. They are given a harsh sentence because they did a harsh crime and deserve to be punished accordingly. This makes me curious about how many rape victims come out after another person has been raped by their rapist. As I was talking about before, Hillary McLaughlin came forward (with the help of Sharon Mortimer, but still) after Allison Huguet's case became popular. This not only strengthened Huguet's case against Donaldson, but also gave McLaughlin some closure she hadn't realized she needed. But what about other rape victims that don't feel comfortable confronting their rapist until they are accused by another victim? The "U.S. Department of Justice estimates 110,000 women between the ages of 18 and 24 are raped annually, and that 80 percent of rapes are unreported." This is a problem because that means 88,000 women are raped annually and do not report it. In 2008, the year Donaldson tried to rape McLaughlin, there were 17 reported rapes committed in Missoula. That means there were actually 85 rapes, reported and unreported, one being McLaughlin's.

In the case of McLaughlin and Donaldson's (although McLaughlin never pressed charges), one of the defendants of Donaldson was Sharon Mortimer, one of his seemingly close friends. Mortimer defended Donaldson saying he would never rape or try to rape someone and that McLaughlin was flirting with Donaldson the whole night, even inviting him upstairs with her. Whether McLaughlin was flirting or not, that does not mean she wants to engage in sexual intercourse, but that is besides my point here. What I'm getting at is no one that wasn't friends with Donaldson came to his defense. Donaldson's only defender was someone who couldn't see the bad in him because it was her close friend, someone she showed up to the party with. What does kind of change things a bit is that Donaldson's defender, Mortimer, is female. Having a female protect a rapist who raped another female is a bit of a game-changer. Women empowering other women has been a strong case for quite some time, and to have a woman go against another woman who is claiming rape is kind of a bold statement, in my opinion. If a man had come to Donaldson's defense, I don't think it would be as strong as if the woman did. On the other hand, a man going against Donaldson would be just as effective as a woman defending Donaldson. In the recent case of Brock Turner, the Stanford University student who raped an unconscious woman, two Swedish graduate students were the witnesses against Turner. Having two witnesses who were unbiased because they didn't know either the perpetrator or the victim strengthened their testimony and helped convict Turner much faster than if the witnesses had been friends with either side of the case (rapist or victim).

Chapter 14

• "According to Montana state law, the maximum sentence for a person convicted of sexual intercourse without consent (SIWOC) is incarceration in the state prison for one hundred years" (p. 278-279).
• "[if] no serious bodily injury was inflicted on the victim-the minimum sentence could include no prison time at all" (p. 278).
• "From 2001 through the first three months of 2012, sixty-seven men had been convicted of SIWOC in Missoula County" (p. 278). Source?
• "In the other twenty-one cases (out of 67), the sentences included no incarceration whatsoever" (p. 278). 
• "Milt Datsopoulos was a skilled criminal attorney with a long history of winning rape cases" (p. 285).
• "Consider the environment in Missoula. Beau had been a celebrated and beloved hometown high school football star who now played for the Grizzlies" (p. 285).
• "Beau's poor family. Remember that they're victims as well. Beau's actions have caused them significant financial herm and emotional harm" (p. 288).