Austrian Court Sentences Eight Gang Rapists to Prison

[Debater Slayer]

An Austrian court has sentenced eight gang rapists to prison for between nine and 13 years:

An Austrian court has found eight Iraqi nationals guilty of gang-raping a German tourist during New Year celebrations in Vienna.

The Iraqi men, aged between 22 and 48, were given prison terms of between nine and 13 years for the attack, which took place in the early hours of 1 January, 2016.

Full article: Eight Iraqis jailed for New Year gang rape in Vienna - BBC News

What do you think of the sentences? Are they too lenient or suitable? Or otherwise?

Personally, I think capital punishment is arguably warranted when a criminal is certainly found guilty of rape--not absolutely warranted, but at a minimum, it's not out of the question. And in this case, I think that unless there's an extremely high chance of rehabilitiation, a prison sentence of nine years for participating in gang rape is a travesty of justice.

Discuss.

 

[Revoltingest]

You'd kill them all?
Dang...you're hard core.
The sentences seem reasonable.

Hey, what other crimes would you find appropriate for execution?

 

[Debater Slayer]

You'd kill them all?
Dang...you're hard core.
The sentences seem reasonable.

Hey, what other crimes would you find appropriate for execution?

I said "arguably" and only in certain cases of guilt. Generally, I'd be in favor of rehabilitation if it were possible instead of severe punishment. So I wouldn't support "killing them all" unless it were shown that they were beyond rehab or being harmless to society.

A few other crimes I find to arguably warrant capital punishment are mass murder, child rape, intentionally torturing someone to death, and murder in domestic violence.

 

[icehorse]

My intuition is that rape is a more serious crime than other forms of physical assault, but I can't defend that intuition logically. Anyone know of a good way to compare these two?

 

[Rival]

Couldn't we just give them a penectomy?

 

[ADigitalArtist]

I am always against death penalty but especially against it for rape, because I sincerely believe it puts rape victims in more danger. Because the rapist loses nothing by killing them, and gains having no witness to their crime.

That said, I am not entirely sure there is ever go I ng to be a one size fits all approach to how sentencing should work for rapists. I know rapists (I was a victim and have participated in talks between victims and rapists--not theirs specifically but those who have raped) who have been rehabilitated and ones who don't. And they run a wide range of personalities and other problems like mental illness, substance abuse, etc. So I think it would very much, and should very much, depend on the individual case.

 

[Revoltingest]

Couldn't we just give them a penectomy?

Who says the rapist has one?
And if the rapist is female, would she get a hysterectomy & a patch to cover the offending orifice?

 

[Rival]

Who says the rapist has one?
And if the rapist is female, would she get a hysterectomy & a patch to cover the offending orifice?

Big toes amputated?

 

[Debater Slayer]

Sexual assault is one of the few crimes I think need to have a much larger sentence.

Unlike murder, stealing, destruction of property, drugs, etc... there is no material condition which would make it in someone's material interests to commit a sexual assault. Nothing is gained other than a control over a victim.

If one is beyond proven guilty and is not remorseful, shoot them for all I care.

That being said, rehabilitation programs had a very high rate of preventing reoffense in Canada.
(That's until our "hard on crime" leader Mr. Harper got in and closed them to "cut costs" )

What if a perpetrator is not remorseful but is deemed by professionals to be capable of rehabilitating under a specific rehab program?

 

[Debater Slayer]

I am always against death penalty but especially against it for rape, because I sincerely believe it puts rape victims in more danger. Because the rapist loses nothing by killing them, and gains having no witness to their crime.

That said, I am not entirely sure there is ever go I ng to be a one size fits all approach to how sentencing should work for rapists. I know rapists (I was a victim and have participated in talks between victims and rapists--not theirs specifically but those who have raped) who have been rehabilitated and ones who don't. And they run a wide range of personalities and other problems like mental illness, substance abuse, etc. So I think it would very much, and should very much, depend on the individual case.

Thanks. That's pretty informative.

What are your thoughts on the particular case in the OP, especially the nine-year prison sentence? Would you propose a different penalty, whether more or less severe?

 

[Debater Slayer]

Couldn't we just give them a penectomy?

I would consider that a form of torture, not a penalty for any purpose other than revenge (and I don't think capital punishment is always all about revenge either). I'd be completely against that, since I can't think of anything good that could possibly come out of it that other penalties wouldn't achieve more efficiently and less painfully.

 

[Vinayaka]

I think life imprisonment would be fair, with a serious education rehabilitation program, and then, to make up for their crimes, they could be anti-rape speakers in mosques, schools, and elsewhere. Rape culture has to end, the sooner the better.

 

[Mister Emu]

I can't think of anything good that could possibly come out of it that other penalties wouldn't achieve more efficiently and less painfully.

What could more efficiently and less painfully, other than a bullet, forever ensure that the offender's penis is not used as a tool of sexual assault?

 

[LuisDantas]

Couldn't we just give them a penectomy?

Would that even help?

 

[Notanumber]

It is good to see that the BBC is reporting these events, but deportation would be a better option if possible.

They would find this much more punishing than any prison sentence.

If Austrian prisons are anything like British prisons, they will be recruiting centres for Islam and run by Islamist gangs.

 

[idav]

An Austrian court has sentenced eight gang rapists to prison for between nine and 13 years:



Full article: Eight Iraqis jailed for New Year gang rape in Vienna - BBC News

What do you think of the sentences? Are they too lenient or suitable? Or otherwise?

Personally, I think capital punishment is arguably warranted when a criminal is certainly found guilty of rape--not absolutely warranted, but at a minimum, it's not out of the question. And in this case, I think that unless there's an extremely high chance of rehabilitiation, a prison sentence of nine years for participating in gang rape is a travesty of justice.

Discuss.

I don't really know what a suitable punishment is. Nine years does seem like a blink of an eye for a victim especially if the person is bound to be a repeat offender. I have probably seen so many stories watching on Law and Order Special Victims Unit and the cases can be brutal and hard to even consider sometimes. I think capital punishment may be a bit harsh however I wouldn't mind if on top of the ten years the victims could give some lashings or something to the rapists and some sort of monetary compensation to the victim and families. The US has ruled that capital punishment for rape "cruel and unusual", some places will give a shorter sentence for sex offenders agreeing to castration.
Some Sex Offenders Opt for Castration

 

[Revoltingest]

When addressing the general case (not the OP), I'm struck by the presumption that
rapists are male....no women perps. Moreover, so much of the punishment is genital
mutilation...male only again.
The overwhelming consensus here is that rape is about violence & control, but not sex.
So why the obsession with unconstitutional punishment of the body horror variety?

Let's consider these rapists....
10 Unbelievably Sleazy Teacher Sex Scandals - One Tawdry Affair Stands Out Above the Rest
And a local one....
Former Leslie teacher admits to sex with underage boy
Would execution or genital mutilation/removal be appropriate?

 

[Shadow Wolf]

What we absolutely do not need is a form of punishment that puts victims at a higher risk. If a rapist is going to die if convicted, why would the rapist not silence the victim? And bodily mutilation is never an answer, and is rightfully considered torture.
It is great those hooligans were put in prison, but I would have given them at least about twice as many years, and evaluating them at the end of the sentence, and adding more years if necessary.

New It is good to see that the BBC is reporting these events, but deportation would be a better option if possible.

And give them a chance to try again? I wouldn't trust them enough to let them out of eyesight. If we know they are in prison, we know where they are, which is off the streets and not posing a danger to others. Deport them and who knows?

 

[Aštra’el]

I would bring everyone involved into court and flip a coin.

Heads:
Allow the victim to decide the fate of their rapist(s)

Tails:
Banish the rapist to some foreign country, to give them a chance to choose how to move forward with their life, for better or worse

 

[Notanumber]

Unlike British prisons, Austrian prisons might be able to cope with the new influx.

They were talking about this back in 2007 so we can only hope that it has now been implemented, but his should help to stop the deportees from re-entering the West.

UK Home Office plans biometric immigration document to control borders

I know this is 10 years old, but one does wonder if by now those nice Europeans might have reconsidered.

UK cannot view Schengen database for criminals, terrorists