CNN grieves that guilty verdict ruined ‘promising’ lives of Steubenville rapists

[proud2BlibKansan]

CNN broke the news on Sunday of a guilty verdict in a rape case in Steubenville, Ohio by lamenting that the “promising” lives of the rapists had been ruined, but spent very little time focusing on how the 16-year-old victim would have to live with what was done to her.

Judge Thomas Lipps announced on Sunday that Trent Mays, 17, and Ma’lik Richmond, 16, would be given a maximum sentence after being found guilty of raping a 16-year-old girl while she was unconscious. Richmond could be released from a juvenile rehabilitation facility by the age of 21 and Mays could be incarcerated until the age of 24.

CNN’s Candy Crowley began her breaking news report by showing Lipps handing down the sentence and telling CNN reporter Poppy Harlow that she “cannot imagine” how emotional the sentencing must have been.

Harlow explained that it had been “incredibly difficult” to watch “as these two young men — who had such promising futures, star football players, very good students — literally watched as they believed their life fell apart.”

more . . . http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/03/17/cnn-grieves-that-guilty-verdict-ruined-promising-lives-of-steubenville-rapists/

[PDJane]

1. Is anyone thinking of the promising young woman? The one who was drugged and abused?

And yeah, it's hard to watch promise get cut short, but these young men have good backgrounds, money, and are without the shame that's been heaped on the young woman for being drugged, abused, and left to find her own way through this.

I'm working on empathy, but it's really difficult to find for these privileged young men.

[BlueJazz]

7. Every once in a while, I allow myself to have zero empathy for someone and actually...

...turn from my natural, kind, forgiving, sweet self into a person who is disgusted, angry and unforgiving.
This is one of those times.

[LiberalFighter]

2. I guess Poppy Harlow puts the character of boys abusing girls over victims.

Looks like she is getting heat for her reporting.

[Sadiedog]

8. Do you have a link? I`m just curious I`d like to add my two cents to her too.

I could not even find the story when I went to the CNN web site.

[progressoid]

13. There is a video posted at the rawstory link.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/03/17/cnn-grieves-that-guilty-verdict-ruined-promising-lives-of-steubenville-rapists/

[KurtNYC]

18. Thanks for that link. She just keeps saying "being found guilty" -- not 'being rapists'

It is almost as if she is implying that they didn't do it, or that their problem is not the result of drunkness and gang rape but of some judge sort of randomly sentencing them to a year in juvie.

CNN's audience is dominated by old white men and this clip really shows how much they skew their perspective to their core audience.

[proud2BlibKansan]

21. There's a video at the link in the OP

[niyad]

3. the reported cnn coverage is beyond despicable. it seems another phone call is in order in the

morning.

[defacto7]

4. Their lives did fall apart.

Those who taught them how to be sociopaths started their demise at an early age and that is when their lives were destroyed. I hope all the perpetrators of their education in the art of sexist, anti-social, bigoted, arrogant and sociopathic behaviour get an even worse fate. They got off easy.

Will this teach other kids/guardians the difference between civilized and uncivilized behaviour? Time will tell.

Will this help others to learn compassion for all living beings? That's a whole different problem.

[lpbk2713]

5. They reduced it to a frat prank.

Sounds like they got their TP's from Limbaugh.

[UnrepentantLiberal]

6. Yes they did.

They'd be kicking back drinking beer and laughing their asses off right now if they had been convicted of a lesser offence and received probation.

[cecilfirefox]

9. I saw this on CNN when it all went to down, and I kinda shared that thought-

it did seem to portray the rapists in a light that didn't seem entirely 'bad'. At the same time, not entirely good- if you watched CNN throughout that day it became kinda apparent the anchors were running with a 'parent kids better' tirade throughout the day. However, we have to realize that their ability to show footage of the young woman is nixed- they have video of the men, not of the girl because her identity is protected. I think your observation is correct, but that it probably wasn't intended to be like that.

<_^

[geek tragedy]

10. Barf. Screw them, screw everyone who watched them, screw everyone

who defended them, screw everyone who said that this was her fault or that she was just "crying rape."

[davidpdx]

11. CNN International was suppose to break into the coverage for this

As they were showing a different program. I'm actually glad they didn't. Listening to the whole thing online without commentary was much better.

[progressoid]

12. I'd like to say I'm shocked.

But, sadly I'm not.

[ButterflyBlood]

14. Um no, I'd say the rape they chose to commit did that

Pretty disgusting reporting there.

[freshwest]

15. CNN = FNN. Don't watch those liars.

[quaker bill]

16. It is always a shame when kids go to jail

even poor black ones with bad grades....

That said, phrases like "such promising futures" are sickening because they are so selectively used. A kid who rapes never had a "promising future" even if he was white, a football star, and had good grades.

[sibelian]

17. I'm unsympathetic.

It isn't particularly difficult not to rape unconscious people.

[OnionPatch]

19. Promising lives?

I get so sick of hearing that every high school football player who's any good at all has a "promising future." It's BS. Very, very few high school sports talents actually go on to fame and fortune. And if this act of theirs ruined their imaginary promising future, too freakin' bad. What they did was sick and evil and they deserve to experience strong repercussions because of it.

[DanTex]

20. Unreal.

So these two guys dragged around and raped an unconsciously drunk girl, and then took a picture of her to brag to their friends. And for all that, they get a one-year sentence. And somehow the rapists are the victims here?

This girl might well end up struggling with this her whole life. These guys spend a year in juvenile detention.

So they have to register as a sex offenders? Boo-hoo. Should have thought of that before, umm, raping somebody.

You know, as a liberal, I'm often sympathetic to the plight of prisoners. I'm against the death penalty, I'm against long prison sentences for non-violent crimes, I think that conditions in prisons are horrendous and should be improved.

But two guys who get a one-year sentence for rape should consider themselves lucky.