Ohio man who sexually assaulted baby seeks mercy
Source: Associated Press
Posted on Tuesday, 04.02.13
Ohio man who sexually assaulted baby seeks mercy
By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS
AP Legal Affairs Writer
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A condemned Ohio killer is making an unusual plea for mercy ahead of his scheduled execution next month.
Attorneys for Steven Smith are arguing that while Smith intended to sexually assault his girlfriend's 6-month-old daughter, he never intended to kill the girl.
Smith's attorneys say evidence shows the baby died because Smith was too drunk to realize his sexual assault was killing the child.
Smith's attorneys say Ohio law is clear that a death sentence must involve an intent to kill the victim.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/04/02/3318757/ohio-man-who-sexually-assaulted.html#storylink=cpy
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/04/02/3318757/ohio-man-who-sexually-assaulted.html#storylink=cpy
kelliekat44
(7,759 posts)pnwmom
(108,977 posts)He's even admitting that he did it. Just claiming an alcohol defense.
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)SkyDaddy7
(6,045 posts)I might be pro-death penalty in this case...He is one disgusting MONSTER!!
Kelvin Mace
(17,469 posts)then you also accept the innocent people who die as well. That is what makes the price of vengeance too high.
What the man did is heinous. An argument certainly can be made that killing him is too merciful. I want someone like this sitting in a a little box for the rest of his life.
Response to Kelvin Mace (Reply #30)
Post removed
marble falls
(57,081 posts)in the end the concept of an exception to a death penalty ban only makes it clearer how wrong the death penalty is. The fact the there is a case that argues for exception is proof shows that there will always be an exception case for someone and is argument that the death penalty will always be applied inequally. The death penalty is wrong. And life imprisonment without parole is a form of the death penalty. This is horrible stuff. It tests our values and notions.
LeftInTX
(25,316 posts)This guy would have done this again if he would ever be let out. That is just sick.
marble falls
(57,081 posts)atreides1
(16,079 posts)marble falls
(57,081 posts)done anything like this before, well that guy never did anything like that before, either.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)and society must be protected from him.
Life without possibility of parole is more than reasonable. It's the bare minimum appropriate.
Lock him up, throw away the key.
marble falls
(57,081 posts)punishment.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)up for life so that he can never harm another person.
It's proportional to the crime, if anything mild compared to the heinous nature of the offense.
fasttense
(17,301 posts)The thing with child molester is they don't get caught often (there whole lives are arranged around getting an opportunity to have sex with a child) and when they do, the children they rape make terrible witnesses and so the rapist frequently does not get convicted.
"The problem with using recidivism rates to determine the rate of re-offending is readily apparent when considering the following example. If 100% of released molesters re-offended, but the rate of reporting is only 12%, and the conviction rate is half of this, than the recidivism rate would be reported as only 6%!"
When I worked in the field, it was well known that child molesters would re-offend if given the opportunity. Think of it this way, what would make you NOT want to have sex with an adult and be attracted to children? You have been attracted to adults all your life, you are not aroused by naked children, even when drunk. What would make you want to stop having sex with consenting adults and start having sex with children? Most normal people would say nothing would make them sexually attracted to a child. Yet these child rapists are expected to stop being attracted to children just because they went to jail for having sex (or murdering) a child.
"The dry research figures only confirm what I have seen over and over in this field: there are a lot of sexual offenses out there and the people who commit them don't get caught very often. When an offender is caught and has a thorough evaluation with a polygraph backup, he will reveal dozens, sometimes hundreds of offenses he was never apprehended for. In an unpublished study by Pamela Van Wyk, 26 offenders in her incarcerated treatment program entered the program admitting an average of 3 victims each. Faced with a polygraph and the necessity of passing it to stay in the treatment program, the next group of 23 men revealed an average of 175 victims each."
http://www.leadershipcouncil.org/1/res/rcd.html
So the odds are very, very good this child rapist would do it again if given the chance.
mzmolly
(50,992 posts)code and/or impulse control mechanism would have prevented future such acts?
Sunlei
(22,651 posts)In_The_Wind
(72,300 posts)May he find his spot there very soon.
freshwest
(53,661 posts)In_The_Wind
(72,300 posts)Let the cat chew the oxygen tube full of holes.
freshwest
(53,661 posts)In_The_Wind
(72,300 posts)snooper2
(30,151 posts)Anybody who rapes a child 10 or younger should be eliminated from society. Rabid humans, no need for them around.
freshwest
(53,661 posts)Prosecutors presented evidence at trial that Smith's attack lasted as long as 30 minutes, during which time Smith beat the girl to death.
An innocent, tiny, 6 month old baby who endured a half a hour of torture through raping a little body not built or capable in any way of handling or surviving that, plus he was beating her.
No doubt to stop her screams of terror and agony just that so he could continue to enjoy himself as much as he felt he deserved.
Sorry, I just found an exemption to my ideas on capital punishment. I'm not as good a person as some, is all I can say.
In_The_Wind
(72,300 posts)An innocent, tiny, 6 month old baby who endured a half a hour of torture through raping a little body not built or capable in any way of handling or surviving that, plus he was beating her.
freshwest
(53,661 posts)Besides, he and the other rapists might enjoy swapping stories of what they did with each other. No, he simply needs to go. His defense now is particularly disgusting.
Response to freshwest (Reply #14)
Post removed
freshwest
(53,661 posts)It's claimed rape victims don't want their rapist dead. I can tell you that is not always true. Some don't feel they will ever be safe again as long as their rapist lives.
I don't believe reports of how rapists are treated in prison and think it's a fantasy of those who read these in the news. He's been in prison for 15 years but it's so good he doesn't want to leave, huh. Speck, Gacy and others had great times in prison.
He just needs to leave, he's won't get better. The story says he still tries to blame alcohol for it all. Says he drank a dozen beers a day or more.
I was with a bunch of work guys one afternoon, we went out on Tuesdays. We had a big drinking thing one day. Yeah, dumb, anyway. It was big, nice place with music. We each had 24 beers and had to get rides home.
We didn't raise hell, didn't commit any crimes, weren't willing to drive drunk and hurt anyone, and no one was out to rape or beat anyone. His defense is total bullshit.
He admitted...
He intended to rape a 6 month old baby.
He intended to rape a 6 month old baby.
He intended to rape a 6 month old baby.
No matter how many times one says that with amazement, it's not human.
To hell with his ass. No, he doesn't get to hang out another 15 years with his pen pals. or 30, or 60.
The disclaimer to all that you and I or anyone else has written here, and whatever passions this may have aroused in us, it that we don't know anything more than the news has deigned to inform us with. We only have a limited set of paragraphs and quotes, and we may be wrong. But in the context of what we concieve to have happened here... you know?
In_The_Wind
(72,300 posts)There is no justifiable excuse for what he decided to do.
I have no mercy for him or anyone like him.
I cannot_abide_rape of a child or anyone.
Obviously, this brings out the less than lovely side of me.
Obviously, news coverage is not_all_that_is known. Yellow_journalism_still_exist!
Aristus
(66,344 posts)Do you know how many men behind bars are fathers? They don't take kindly to child molesters and/or child murderers. Extra-judicial punishment may not be desirable from a standpoint of enlightened humanity, but I don't think any of us would be entirely wrong for wanting it to happen...
freshwest
(53,661 posts)I'm sorry I commented on this thread to begin with. Didn't feel well and couldn't sleep and got upset. I don't generally comment on these and don't certainly don't want our system to be any worse than it is.
So this morning's take from me, as if it really mattered, is he can spend life in prison. I suspect the light of day has made others unhappy with sentiments they expressed last night.
But I don't believe he's going to mind, since he obviously wants that. Just my humble internet opinion, speculating as we all do.
LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)My father was prison during my formative years until I was just out of middle school (approximately seven years-- half in state, the other half in fed).
There's not (or certainly wasn't at the time) any special treatments nor punishments set out by other prisoners against any one type of criminal behavior-- it was merely a pecking order predicated on both personal strength and gang affiliation that decided who and why one prisoner or another met with any violence.
Kelvin Mace
(17,469 posts)if we are going to have the death penalty, then we are going to execute innocent people. In fact, we already have.
So, how many innocent deaths are acceptable to have our "pound of flesh"?
firenewt
(298 posts)in an execution. You can sentence a person to life and later release if the conviction is overturned. If you kill him or her, best you can do is "sorry, my bad". Not a very good trade off. Forty years ago one of my college minors was the philosophy of crime and punishment. It was apparent how the attitude toward incarceration in the US morphed from rehabilitation to revenge. Nothing has changed. If fact it has gotten worse.
Kelvin Mace
(17,469 posts)It comes down to our desire for blood.
Arugula Latte
(50,566 posts)MrSlayer
(22,143 posts)It's far better than he deserves.
BainsBane
(53,032 posts)nothing is. I'm against the death penalty, but of all the guys asking for mercy, this is the LAST one I'd grant it to.
ReRe
(10,597 posts)...for the merciless.
LadyHawkAZ
(6,199 posts)sometimes it's a very hard ideal to stick to.
if only it could be administered fairly and without error. But that will never happen, so...
AAO
(3,300 posts)It makes the revengee happy, but hurts society greatly. Do not Kill - OR we'll KILL YOU!!
Andy Stanton
(264 posts)Is a quick death.
liberalla
(9,247 posts)What a monster.
I'm generally against the death penalty, but I won't complain too loudly when this guy receives his... (penalty)
PolitFreak
(236 posts)I hope they inject him through the eye.
Comrade_McKenzie
(2,526 posts)cali
(114,904 posts)and that means opposing the dp for this man and this heinous crime.
I wish I could explain why I'm so unwaveringly opposed to the dp: Partly it's because I know that innocent people have been killed. Partly it's because I'm opposed to the state killing. And partly it's just a visceral inchoate feeling that I can't coherently explain.
peace13
(11,076 posts)I pick and choose from the smorgasbord of Christianity but this one makes my plate. When we decide who lives and dies ...well that is pretty out there.
AAO
(3,300 posts)DisgustipatedinCA
(12,530 posts).
wordpix
(18,652 posts)down, down in the darkest prison basement
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)never even seeing the light of day.
historylovr
(1,557 posts)Mercy isn't one of them.
riqster
(13,986 posts)Put him in chains and make him mine mercury with hand tools, or something equally horrific. Let him suffer: no, make damned sure he suffers.
demwing
(16,916 posts)quick and relatively painless
madrchsod
(58,162 posts)he`ll meet his justice in prison
Doctor_J
(36,392 posts)the mercy for this guy, that is
Arugula Latte
(50,566 posts)If there is an all-powerful deity pulling strings, why does it condone or cause misery for humans on this planet?
Doctor_J
(36,392 posts)the same God who let his heinous crime happen can protect him in prison. Good luck with that
peace13
(11,076 posts)What is his attorney thinking?
musical_soul
(775 posts)I'm for stopping the execution, but only because I'm against the death penalty.
moobu2
(4,822 posts)So, I cant see why we should act just like him and and do something vile and inhuman. I mean, what would it solve to kill the guy? nothing.
Sheldon Cooper
(3,724 posts)and decide to stick his dick in her. I really just don't get it.
AAO
(3,300 posts)Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)guy was a drifter, a half-insane drug addict...
but this was a shitty neighborhood with broken homes, a young, dumb mom who didn't know any better so she was just happy to have someone watch the baby while she worked and ran errands even though she just barely knew the guy...
In case you're wondering, the guy got life, iirc (he had a list of previous drug/theft crimes on his record)
polly7
(20,582 posts)meaning of the word? I don't believe in the DP, but cases like these almost wish I did. I wonder if he spends every waking moment suffering over the horror of what he did to that tiny infant - very doubtful. In a just world, he'd never have a single night sleep not haunted by the sight and screams of that baby. Horrible, disgusting human being.
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)two teenagers invaded a couple's townhouse on a Friday evening, made the man pull cash out of the ATM, came back home, beat the man to within an inch of his life, tied him up and made him watch while they took turns raping his fiancee (and probing her with several objects), which went on nonstop until Sunday night...Then the two boys grabbed the valuables and left...
But they were caught, convicted and on sentencing day, oh my lord these two demons had a line of people a mile long begging the judge for leniency...parents, relatives, neighbors, teachers, coaches, their preacher all speaking endlessly on what "good boys" they were...
polly7
(20,582 posts)What a terrible story. It's just unfathomable to me that anyone, I don't care how close they are to these people, could expect leniency for such cruelty. And a preacher, even?! I guess with supporters like this, it's more understandable they grew up to be the horrors they are. Awful!
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)if we're going to have it, "I raped the baby to death instead of trying to murder it" is not going to work as a defense.
Helen Reddy
(998 posts)I am refusing to give any of my energy to the rapist. All of my focus and light will be for the little baby and her family, as well as all the other little baby girls who are in similar horrendous situations.
SDjack
(1,448 posts)so he can have the rest of his "natural" life to reflect.
Response to Judi Lynn (Original post)
Post removed
Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)Nye Bevan
(25,406 posts)I really want to. But this is about the hardest I have ever had to struggle to do so.
L0oniX
(31,493 posts)is over 4 million. @ 35k per year it is cheaper to give them life without parole.
Third Doctor
(1,574 posts)In this instance I don't care either way. If Ohio upholds the sentence I will not shed a tear. Neither will I say he needs to be given a life sentence.
marshall
(6,665 posts)With a six month old daughter in her care, this woman should have been far more circumspect in who she chooses to take into her home and her bed.
Samurai_Writer
(2,934 posts)Because child molesters are so well known to be honest and forthcoming about their 'proclivities'. Most of them don't have criminal backgrounds. Most of them hold jobs, pay bills, and seem to be 'regular guys'. Exactly HOW was she supposed to know this guy wanted to rape babies?
marshall
(6,665 posts)Although I realize that many out there would blame the mother, that is not my point nor my intent.
I wonder what there is about a man like this that makes him seem okay. At the very least, it seems that his drinking 12 beers a day would be a big red flag (but I'm not a drinker, so maybe I'm not looking at it fairly).
I think we as a society owe it to women like Kaysha Frye to examine situations like this and learn all we can, so that all efforts can be taken to prevent such future events.
One can understand without placing blame.
Douglas Carpenter
(20,226 posts)such a person is not right in the head
mzmolly
(50,992 posts)were not around. That's a choice, sir.
Douglas Carpenter
(20,226 posts)such compulsions. The vast overwhelming majority of people will never in their life experience even the slightest fleeting temptation to want to rape a baby. Whatever micro-percentage of the population there is that does feel tempted to do something like that -most either have strong enough will power to resist or the compulsion is not strong enough to ensnare them. The whole point I am getting at - I don't think people who are driven by such compulsions ever choose to have such compulsions and I doubt that anyone would choose to have such compulsions if they did have a choice. It goes without saying that this is very sad for the baby and the baby's family. That is assumed. It is also sad that some people are driven by heinous compulsion which they likely did not choose to have and would not have chosen to have if having such compulsions were a matter of conscious choice.
mzmolly
(50,992 posts)Last edited Wed Apr 3, 2013, 02:46 PM - Edit history (1)
choice.
Seriously. I have a family member with tics and actual compulsions.
Please don't compare the two.
Douglas Carpenter
(20,226 posts)Last edited Wed Apr 3, 2013, 05:46 PM - Edit history (1)
imagination conceive that anyone consciously chooses to have absolutely unnatural heinous desires that they know beyond any doubt will destroy themselves as assuredly as it would destroy others. I don't know how one can know whether a person such as this one is able to turn off their desires even if they choose to. But given that this involves something they would assuredly know would destroy their own lives, disgrace themselves way beyond the slightest hope of society's eventual forgiveness even as it ends the life in the most brutal of fashions of someone absolutely innocent - I would tend to doubt they had very much ability if any ability to turn off these dark and sinister forces that were driving them.
If one considered less heinous but nonetheless very serious crimes such as robbing a bank or killing for revenge - it is possible for a normal person to imagine the motivation. It is possible for a normal person to conceive of why someone might want to do such a thing especially if they were in a state of desperation or grave misfortune. But since this involves actions that no normal person would ever under any circumstances want to do - no matter their state of desperation or how painful life has treated them - I am left to conclude that a genuine pathology of some sort must be at work - a pathology that no one would consciously choose to have.
mzmolly
(50,992 posts)and don't seek help, you've made a conscious choice. If you have such desires and place yourself around babies, you've made a choice.
There is a book called Imp Of The Mind, that helps one distinguish between obsessive bad thoughts and the choice I noted above.
Douglas Carpenter
(20,226 posts)Last edited Wed Apr 3, 2013, 05:47 PM - Edit history (1)
I would guess that they probably do not know themselves very well and may have convinced themselves that they do not have such desires. It is not usual for people to create walls of denial over far less serious matters.
mzmolly
(50,992 posts)to carry out their wishes.
AverageJoe90
(10,745 posts)Gimme a few seconds with this fucking jerk-off and he'd wish he'd never even thought about hurting that poor baby.....and what makes it all so much worse is that he beat her on top of that.
AnneD
(15,774 posts)granting mercy would be Godly, but I 'm not God, nor even pretend to be. Justice is the one thing you should always find in this lifetime. This child's life cannot be brought back and she died a horrendous death.
This really is beyond the pale and claiming alcohol is no defense. Time for him to man up (probably for the first time in his life) and accept responsibility for what he has done.
I firmly believe in giving folks facing the death penalty every opportunity to defend themselves, but guilty is guilty. Here in Texas, I don't think he would have lasted this long.
NickB79
(19,236 posts)I need to go hit the gym and find a heavy bag now to work out some of this fury.
magical thyme
(14,881 posts)It's not about vengeance. That would be served by locking him in a tiny cell.
It's not about justice. Putting him in the general prison population would provide justice.
It's not about punishment, because no punishment is enough and none will undo what he has done.
It's about removing him from society permanently so he can never, ever, ever hurt any little baby again. No chance of parole. No chance of escape. As long as he is alive, he is a permanent danger to society.
He only meant to rape? A 6 month old infant? Put him down. Euthanize him. Just get him off this planet for good.
Macoy51
(239 posts)I am not much for revenge fantasies; he should be killed quickly and painlessly. Nothing personal, society is just better off with out a person who could rape and beat a 6 month old to death.
Macoy
killbotfactory
(13,566 posts)He'd probably kill himself in a few months anyway.
freshwest
(53,661 posts)killbotfactory
(13,566 posts)freshwest
(53,661 posts)ancianita
(36,055 posts)If rape is a war crime, and rapists rape for shows of power, then rapers of children should lose their weapons.
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)genitalia. Rapists who are unable to perform do just that.
ancianita
(36,055 posts)Not all castrated rapists even have the drive to do it anymore. Check the study done in the Czech Republic.
"...According to Dr. Martin Hollý, director of the Psychiatric Hospital Bohnice in Prague, none of the nearly 100 sex offenders who had been physically castrated had committed further offenses.[39] One serial offender stated that being castrated was the "best decision" he ever made: "On the one hand you have to protect the potential victims and on the other hand I wanted to be protected from myself, I wanted to live like a normal person."[40] Don Grubin, a professor at Newcastle University's Institute of Neuroscience who also runs a chemical castration program backed by the U.K.'s Ministry of Justice, was initially opposed to physical castration. After visiting the Czech Republic, however, he agreed that some form of castration might be of benefit to some sex offenders..."
Also: "...A study conducted at a mental institution in Kansas, where a large number of male inmates had been castrated, found that the eunuchs lived an average of 14 years longer than the uncastrated men.[52] A similar study of historical eunuchs in Korea's royal court found a 14 to 19 year increase in lifespan compared to intact men of similar socioeconomic background; these eunuchs had a centenarian rate of over 3%.[53]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castration
Sunlei
(22,651 posts)Manifestor_of_Light
(21,046 posts)Voluntary intoxication is not a defense to murder or manslaughter. That's what I learned in law school in Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure, anyway.
He also had the presence of mind to hide some of the baby's clothing in a garbage bag and attempt to throw it away after the police were called, thus showing awareness of guilt and an attempt to dispose of damning evidence.
He's also not innocent. We have irrefutable proof that he murdered this baby in the totality of the evidence.
I read the appellate court's opinion in response to his allegations of reversible error at trial. It was pretty sketchy in its descriptions of the deceased's injuries, but was quite sickening anyway.
State of Ohio v. Smith, Supreme Court of Ohio, Appellate Judgment, December 13, 2002:
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/oh-supreme-court/1066003.html
I did NOT get my law degree at Costco, unlike Frito Pendejo.
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)He then attempted penetration in her anus and vagina, and kept holding her down as she fought him.
The details are not sketchy...they show that he moved with purpose and intent.
It took her a long, long time to die.
I think the death penalty is a horrible thing, but I won't shed a friggin' tear for this piece of filth.
Wolf Frankula
(3,600 posts)Let his execution be quick and sure. It would be cruel to let him live and put him in the genpop of a prison and make book on how long he'll live.
But if that is done, put me down for 2 hours.
Wolf