US ARMY COMBAT MEDIC

[maverick56]

Someone in, or recently out of, the US Military please answer this one:

I am under the impression that a member of the US Military, if convicted, in a Judge Advocate General Court Marshal court, of Rape, could be subject to Execution. Is this the case, or was this the case, or am I getting my "Education" from some Hollywood movie I probably saw many years ago, if only on this subject?

UCMJ Article 120. Rape and Carnal Knowledge

(a) Any person subject to this chapter who commits an act of sexual intercourse with a female not his wife, by force and without consent, is guilty of rape and shall be punished by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.

[scubanurse]

And why can't civilian courts have the same law???? I wholeheartedly agree with that punishment for rape.

[akflightmedic]

And why can't civilian courts have the same law???? I wholeheartedly agree with that punishment for rape.

First, for the record, I do not advocate rape or sexual abuse of any type, let us be clear.

Look and see how many times that punishment has been enforced within the military and you will see why it does not exist within the civilian sector.

Quite honestly, it is a benign threat and here is why.

Do you think a law which says the death penalty is applicable for rape will stop rapes? Do you think a rapist will actually have that thought just prior to committing the act? Not a chance. The rapist will still rape. Therefore, the law will not be a deterrent.

There are hundreds of millions of people in this world who do not believe in hell. Isn't it amazing that they are not running around raping amongst other evils, even though the threat of hell exists (to some)....

The point is, the action will occur once the person has their mind set on it, regardless of later consequences. Out of the crimes punishable by death, rape can be one of the more difficult ones to prove beyond a shadow of doubt. Heck, we have had convicted murderers released and their cases thrown out due to new evidence, namely DNA which exonerates them. And these were cases where there was obvious death involved.

Again, I am not belittling the severity of a rape, I do understand how traumatic and devastating it can be both physically and emotionally for many, many years. But, the death penalty is too extreme, especially when there is such a high margin of error in proving the assailant did or did not.

[scubanurse]

But the code states, death penalty or a punishment deemed so by the court.... it provides the option for the death penalty, which in some serial rapists, might not be a bad option to remove them from society as a whole.

I agree it will not deter rapes, and that is the main reason for punishments, but there are some people who just do not belong in society or even in jails. There are some rape cases which are so heinous that the current laws and precedent are not enough.

[akflightmedic]

I agree in principle Scoobs, but what I fear is when you give a law which allows that...it will NOT be applied equally across the board. That gives 1000's and 1000's of judges the right to sentence people to death for "less offensive" or unproven crimes. It is too broad of a law with far more ramifications than simply deterring or punishing a rapist.

It is an awesome power which must not be handed out to just anyone.

[FireMedic65]

Why give them the easy way out? Toss them in a cell and throw away the key.

[Kiwiology]

UCMJ Article 120. Rape and Carnal Knowledge

(a) Any person subject to this chapter who commits an act of sexual intercourse with a female not his wife, by force and without consent, is guilty of rape and shall be punished by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.

So the military thinks its OK if I have non consensual sex with my wife?....

Please let me be mistaken

[maverick56]

So the military thinks its OK if I have non consensual sex with my wife?....

Please let me be mistaken

Yes, you are mistaken. It was amended, effective Oct 2007, to cover more modern circumstances and expectations. Sorry, I didn't notice before. I'm not an expert on this particular area of the UCMJ. My experience is pretty much limited to what my soldiers may have run into, Article 15s and such. Here's the whole amended Article 120: My link

[Richard B the EMT]

In foreign countries, members of the military are representatives of their own country. Perhaps that is why the military code of justice can be hardline on our own people.

Then, again, and I was unable to find the specific, sometime in either the early 1970s or late 1980s, somewhere in the US, a wife successfully sued her husband for rape, because she said "No" to his advances, and then he forced himself on her anyway. Made all the newspapers, and jokes on the Johnny Carson "Tonight" show.

[Chief1C]

Why give them the easy way out? Toss them in a cell and throw away the key.

But, of course, then we have to feed, care for, educate, entertain, et al.. them for x period of time. Vs. the cost of a casket.