Thank you for writing and publishing this.

I’m wrestling with your conclusion. Why would rape and sexual assault (violent crimes with real lifelong consequences for real victims) qualify the perps (even if drunk) for special, more tolerant treatment than afforded the perps (even if drunk) of assault, battery, manslaughter, drunk driving or, say, armed robbery?

Take texting and driving. Because of the horrendous things that happen when perfectly nice people text and drive, states have taken a zero tolerance stance. We’re all on notice that doing it even once could have life-altering consequences, even for the nicest, most repentant people with spouses and families. Why would rape or sexual assault rate more lenience?

I’m saying this within the context of how our society approaches crime and punishment, of course. Perhaps we need to redo how we deal out justice to people who break the law, but I’m not sure rape and sexual assault are where we should start.