About the two young, convicted rapists in Steubenville . . . . .

[mythology]

15. When I was 17

I realized that I couldn't allow my biological dad to remain in my life because his constant verbal and emotional abuse was destroying me inside.

When I was 16 I was on a school trip in a foreign country. One of the girls on the trip got utterly drunk and passed out in what turned out to be my room. Apparently in her drunken stupor she got confused. Neither me or the other person who was actually supposed to be sleeping in the room with me did anything other than put her under the covers with her clothes on. We didn't rape her, we didn't take pictures of her, we didn't do anything like that. Granted I was a little annoyed that I wound up sleeping on the floor, but it didn't cross my mind that I should commit a violent felony simply because she wasn't capable enough to say no.

Unless there was some sort of compelling evidence that these kids were incapable of understanding right from wrong, then I've got no problem with them having to register as sex offenders. Especially given that one of these poor excuses for a human being lamented that they shouldn't have taken pictures, not that they shouldn't have committed the act, I don't see a lot of remorse.

Now if it were a case of an 18 year old sleeping with his/her 17 year old partner (or whatever the legal age difference is in Ohio), then I'd say that the label either shouldn't be applied or should be able to be removed.