If a mentally-ill woman is raped, does she have a chance in hell at getting justice?

[ecstatic]

The things a defense attorney uses as evidence to discredit rape victims--past mental health, past accusations, profession, etc... Theoretically, can a mentally ill woman who is raped expect to get any justice?

[LiberalFighter]

1. Depends on which state the rape occurred and the state law.

[pnwmom]

2. That would depend on the totality of the circumstances.

DNA, other physical evidence, witnesses, etc.

[Richard Steele]

3. Only if her friends/family are wealthy and well-connected.

Otherwise, it's extremely goddamn unlikely.

[Colobo]

4. Are you referring to any case in specific?

[ecstatic]

9. No. Generally speaking... nt

[Warren Stupidity]

5. If this is in regards to the Duke case, those men were innocent.

A better question might be "If a DA decides to go after you despite having zero evidence do you have much of a chance of not having your life wrecked?".

[Richard Steele]

8. Only if your friends/family are wealthy and well-connected.

Otherwise, it's extremely goddamn unlikely.

[Warren Stupidity]

10. good answer.

Had those kids not had good lawyers they would still be up shit's creek.

[Richard Steele]

12. Sadly, the OP question has the same answer.

I have ZERO faith that justice is served to
anyone who can't afford to buy it themselves.

[MannyGoldstein]

6. Wouldn't It Depend?

Witnesses? DNA?

[kiahzero]

7. If she's not a credible witness, it would depend entirely on physical evidence.

What would you change to make this not the case?

[ecstatic]

11. I don't know... I'd say chances would become slim to none

They do rape kits but people don't seem to take the results seriously. What if the victim had voluntary sex earlier that day? That combined with her mental condition would mean a slam dunk acquittal.

[mondo joe]

13. Which people don't take the results seriously?

Please be specific.

[kiahzero]

16. If there's reasonable doubt, there's reasonable doubt.

I'm not really seeing what could possibly be done to change that.

[TygrBright]

14. Other: The "defendents" wouldn't go free because there would BE no "defendents."

If her mental illness was severe enough to impair her ability to function at a very high level, the chances of the law enforcement system even treating the case seriously enough to investigate thoroughly are low.

And I know because I've seen it happen. To the daughter of a friend of ours. Raped by a medical transportation service driver. Who was never even prosecuted. In spite of her unhesitating identification of him as the perpetrator.

It was disgusting. The man did lose his job, though. Turned out he had a RECORD of sexual assault and should never have been hired in the first place. The lawsuit against the transportation provider is pending, but the asshole walked away anyhow.

Yeah. Justice.

Tell me about it.

bitterly,
Bright

[ecstatic]

19. Agreed. nt

[Sticky]

15. My former foster daughter was raped last year

She is high functioning autistic and after enduring the rape, the 911 call by a witness, ambulance to the hospital, the rape kit and the statement to police (conducted in my living room) the police officer told me my foster daughter would never make a credible witness in court. Even with all the evidence they had documented and a history of sexual misconduct by the accused, the police did not pursue the charges.

[Djinn]

17. She'd have a better chance than a mentally ill man would have

in fact she'd have a better chance of seeing a conviction than any man has when reporting rape.

In general it's really hard to prove rape - in the vast majority of cases there are no witnesses, and the perpetrator is known to the victim.

Whilst it is crap situation, I'm a strong believer in "beyond a reasonable doubt" and unfortunately when all you have is one person's word against anothers that the sex was consensual it's almost impossible to convict.

[flying_monkeys]

18. Doubtful.

Juries are human. They would probably not tend to accept a mentally ill person as a credible witness, on either side of the court room. Unless the case could proceed without their testimony, either party would lose.

Mental health is not an issue most people on a jury could understand (specifying: BIGGER mental health issues than a pill for mild depression or anxiety issues).

[ComerPerro]

20. generally, and sadly, being mentally ill and getting justice don't often go together