Reply #19: That's not what MJ concluded at all [View All]

[JackintheGreen]

I hadn't followed this case and needed to be pointed here (posts #5, 15), but I read the MJ article and nowhere does it call her a liar. It points out inconsistencies between her and KBR's stories and spells out how the defense has used them to cast doubt on her story. And there is plenty there to cause the court to come back with a not-guilty verdict, since I don't see how guilt can be established beyond a reasonable doubt. That's our legal system. But if this was the UK, where the burden of proof is reversed (in my admittedly banal understanding of it), KBR/Boartz might have had an equally difficult time proving innocence.

But here's where it all breaks down for me: if she had 5 drinks in 1.5 hours at 120#, she was drunk beyond the ability to give consent. If she blacked out for whatever reason, she could not give consent. If she did not give consent, and the evidence presented suggests to me that she was not capable of giving it (drunk or drugged, it doesn't matter), then she was at the very least assaulted. But it can never be proved.

And this is rape culture. This is a similar story to the woman in NYC who definitely was not raped (:sarcasm:) by members of the NYPD because she was able to walk into her building with assistance.