FINALLY HOLDING Accusers Accountable. Alabama Bill Aims To Punish False Accusations Of Rape.
In the age of #MeToo, we’re supposed to believe all women when they make accusations of a sexual nature, but as I have shown time and time and time again, that is simply not true. Even when an accusation is proven to be false, via text or video evidence, the false accuser faces little to no consequences. Certainly far fewer consequences than the person falsely accused faces. Alabama State Rep. E. Richard “Dickie” Drake (R-Leeds) is trying to change that. Earlier this month, Drake introduced AL HB544, a bill that would punish false accusations of sexual crime. Drake’s bill would make it a Class C felony to “willfully, knowingly, and with malicious intent,” make “a false report of rape in the first degree, sodomy in the first degree, or sexual torture.” The allegations would need to be proven false in order for the accuser to be punished. Drake introduced the bill after his friend’s ex-wife falsely accused him of child sexual abuse. “If they make an accusation, they better make sure it’s true and make them think twice before they make a false accusation.”
Despite the media’s false reporting, Drake’s bill is not about keeping victims from coming forward. “I want victims to come forward with sexual allegations,” he said. “I’m just trying to stop the false accusations that ruin lives.” AL.com repeated the misleading statistic that just 2% to 10% of accusations are false. As I have written several times previously, this statistic only applies to accusations that are proven false. Since it is difficult to prove a negative, this is a rare occurrence. The remaining 90% to 98% are not “true,” however. In fact, just 3% to 5% go to trial and result in a guilty finding, so using the same logic used to claim few accusations are false, one could claim on 3% to 5% are true. Everything in between is questionable. There are reports that are “baseless” or wrongly reported and those that lack evidence for an arrest. There are reports that don’t result in a trial (dismissed or pleaded) and those that go to trial but are found not guilty.
Drake said that his bill would not punish accusers just because the accused was found “not guilty.” A person would only be charged if their accusation was proven false and made “willingly, knowingly, and with malicious intent.” “It’s going to be hard to prove that, and I know that, but I know there are cases that were proven untrue.” As examples, he listed The Scottsboro Boys (he is from Alabama, after all), the Duke Lacrosse rape hoax, and Brian Banks.
dailywire– Ashe Schow
