Man Not Guilty in 'Dungeon' Rapes

[Kytro]

Man Not Guilty in 'Dungeon' Rapes

DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) - A jury has found a convicted sex offender accused of raping two teen girls in an underground bunker not guilty of kidnapping, sex crimes and assault with intent to kill.

Kenneth Glenn Hinson, 48, wiped his eyes and mouth and appeared to cry after the jury read its verdict, which followed about four hours of deliberations over two days.

Authorities had charged that Hinson snatched the then-17-year-old girls from their bedroom and dragged them one at a time to the underground room hidden beneath a tool shed, where he raped and bound them with duct tape. Prosecutors said Hinson expected the girls to die because the room had no air supply.

However, Hinson testified during the six-day trial that the girls had consensual sex with him. He said they made up the story so they would be able to take drugs from the underground room, which he used to store marijuana.

The two young women were not in the courtroom when Hinson was acquitted. Their mothers wept.

If convicted, Hinson had faced a mandatory life sentence without parole under the state's two-strikes law because he was convicted of raping a 12-year-old girl in 1991.

The underground room was about the length and width of a mid-sized car with a ceiling about 4 1/2 feet high. Hinson testified Sunday that he had built the room over two years.

I am interested in people's reaction to this - my feeling is that many people will not accept the verdict due to the previous conviction.

Does anyone think there should be a middle ground between guilty and not guilty? Along the lines, not enough evidence for guilty, but some form of monitoring based on past actions or is that going to far down the path of assumed guilt?

[7960]

Originally Posted by Kytro

Does anyone think there should be a middle ground between guilty and not guilty? Along the lines, not enough evidence for guilty, but some form of monitoring based on past actions or is that going to far down the path of assumed guilt?

So you want "guilty but we just can't prove it" ?

No...bad idea IMO. But I'm not sure why he's on the street after raping a 12 year old girl. I don't care that it was '91...I'd be more than happy with the death penalty for a 36 year old raping a 12 year old.

[kinggovernor]

he isn't in the clear yet(convicted felony with a weapons charge), but if the evidence wasn't strong enough you can't convict him

[imind]

i'd like to know what was so inconsistent in the claims made by the girls. on the surface, it seems like an easy verdict, even excluding his past conviction, as his version of events seems odd, to say the least.

Originally Posted by 7960

But I'm not sure why he's on the street after raping a 12 year old girl. I don't care that it was '91...I'd be more than happy with the death penalty for a 36 year old raping a 12 year old.

i'm not an advocate for the death penalty, but i question how he received such a short sentence.

[7960]

Originally Posted by imind

i'd like to know what was so inconsistent in the claims made by the girls. on the surface, it seems like an easy verdict, even excluding his past conviction, as his version of events seems odd, to say the least.

Apparently they change their stories from the original story and then changed them again compared to each others' story. It should have been a slam dunk so they REALLY must have messed up their stories to get people to believe the word of a convicted rapist over 2 girls found taped up in a hole in his yard.

i'm not an advocate for the death penalty, ....

I'm not usually either, but for raping a 12 year old I'd make an exception.

[Kytro]

Originally Posted by 7960

So you want "guilty but we just can't prove it" ?

No...bad idea IMO. But I'm not sure why he's on the street after raping a 12 year old girl. I don't care that it was '91...I'd be more than happy with the death penalty for a 36 year old raping a 12 year old.

I was wondering how people percieved things, personally I don't think it is a good idea either.

[Kytro]

Originally Posted by 7960

I'm not usually either, but for raping a 12 year old I'd make an exception.

I only make execptions where it makes sense to. The only reason for an execption here is that what he did makes people angry.

I suggest people like this can be used for experimentation. I don't mean something that is designed to cause pain and inflict a punishment. If the other option is to kill them, we might as well get something useful out of them instead.

[7960]

Originally Posted by Kytro

I only make execptions where it makes sense to. The only reason for an execption here is that what he did makes people angry.

Huh? The reason for an exception here is because he raped a 12 year old. I'm not angry; I think it's justice to take his life after he's done his best to take all normalcy from a 12 year old girl's life.

I suggest people like this can be used for experimentation. I don't mean something that is designed to cause pain and inflict a punishment. If the other option is to kill them, we might as well get something useful out of them instead.

I don't think we should experiment on them, I think we should completely get rid of them. If you forced me to be serious about this I'd actually say I don't support the death penalty even in that case where he raped a 12 year old. But I would have no problem putting them on some island somewhere and guarding them so they can't escape. Global warming has created a new island off the coast of Greenland...how about there?

[Kytro]

Originally Posted by 7960

Huh? The reason for an exception here is because he raped a 12 year old. I'm not angry; I think it's justice to take his life after he's done his best to take all normalcy from a 12 year old girl's life.

I dislike revenge, it's all emotion, not enough reason.

Originally Posted by 7960

I don't think we should experiment on them, I think we should completely get rid of them. If you forced me to be serious about this I'd actually say I don't support the death penalty even in that case where he raped a 12 year old. But I would have no problem putting them on some island somewhere and guarding them so they can't escape. Global warming has created a new island off the coast of Greenland...how about there?

The Australia solution eh? In any case I see no point in "getting rid" of people just to satisfy the part of the mind that craves it (people will even cause themseleves harm if they don't believe something is fair).

[7960]

Originally Posted by Kytro

I dislike revenge, it's all emotion, not enough reason.

There's plenty of reason behind it. Cold, calculated reason. And for the second time it's not revenge, it's justice.

The Australia solution eh?

More like the Azkaban solution. I think there should be someone or something there with them.

In any case I see no point in "getting rid" of people just to satisfy the part of the mind that craves it

What's the difference between what I'm saying and life without possibility of parole? Either way they're "gotten rid of" as far as society is concerned and we're better off for it.

[Kytro]

Originally Posted by 7960

There's plenty of reason behind it. Cold, calculated reason. And for the second time it's not revenge, it's justice.

It seems far more like revenge to me. Justice is all about things being corrected in a moral sense. Capital punishment does not, I believe do that. It is an archaic system which makes no attempt to correct behaviour, and ignore opportunities for people to learn.

Originally Posted by 7960

What's the difference between what I'm saying and life without possibility of parole? Either way they're "gotten rid of" as far as society is concerned and we're better off for it.

The thing is there is no evidence that is the case. Capital punishment has not been shown to increase the quality of life nations, nor is an effective deterrent.

Surely if something could be gained from tragic events it is far better than having people killed just so people feel vindicated that they "got what they deserved"

That is just my opinion though, I would hate to cut of my nose to spite my face

[7960]

Originally Posted by Kytro

It seems far more like revenge to me. Justice is all about things being corrected in a moral sense. Capital punishment does not, I believe do that. It is an archaic system which makes no attempt to correct behaviour, and ignore opportunities for people to learn.

And it seems far more like justice to me. You're completely ignoring the fact that the victim's life is forever changed because he raped her. She's going to suffer for her entire life. Her chances for depression and suicide more than doubled. But *he* may change! Let's worry about the asshole who raped a 12 year old rather than the person whose life he fucked up!!

The thing is there is no evidence that is the case. Capital punishment has not been shown to increase the quality of life nations, nor is an effective deterrent.

Surely if something could be gained from tragic events it is far better than having people killed just so people feel vindicated that they "got what they deserved"

That is just my opinion though, I would hate to cut of my nose to spite my face

I'm only against the death penalty because we can't be 100% sure something didn't go wrong and there's no way to undo it. If we could be 100% sure it was that guy who really did rape that 12 year old I'd have absolutely no problem with his death. But it would have to happen right then and there...none of this 20 years on death row shit.

Of course we're talking hypothetical because there's no way to be 100% sure. But IMO if the death penalty was enforced upon verdict it would be a deterrent.

[Kytro]

Originally Posted by 7960

And it seems far more like justice to me. You're completely ignoring the fact that the victim's life is forever changed because he raped her. She's going to suffer for her entire life. Her chances for depression and suicide more than doubled. But *he* may change! Let's worry about the asshole who raped a 12 year old rather than the person whose life he fucked up!!

I'm not ignoring it, it is something that needs to be dealt with via professionals, it just is not relevant to what we may learn about people who do these sort of things. Greater understanding of motivations and of mechanisms that drive them gives an opportunity to prevent more harm in the future.

I'm not of the opinion that causing harm back does anything to undo any harm caused. Therefore it is an exercise in futility.

Originally Posted by 7960

I'm only against the death penalty because we can't be 100% sure something didn't go wrong and there's no way to undo it. If we could be 100% sure it was that guy who really did rape that 12 year old I'd have absolutely no problem with his death. But it would have to happen right then and there...none of this 20 years on death row shit.

The 20 years on death row is actually far, far more of a punishment, but while I don't particularly care about the guy I find the attitude distasteful and a outdated, but then that may simply be cultural.

Originally Posted by 7960

Of course we're talking hypothetical because there's no way to be 100% sure. But IMO if the death penalty was enforced upon verdict it would be a deterrent.

An interesting proposition, though I think ultimately flawed. People who commit the sort crimes that would get them the death penalty are not the sort of people, in general, who think about getting caught or the consequences of their actions.

Even if they did I would be surprised if they thought "I'll only go to death row, so I could live another 10 years".

Sitting on death row, never being 100% sure when your time will come is going to be a hell of a lot scarier than a quick execution.

[Dumpy Dooby]

No, bad idea. Courts should be completely objective. If there isn't enough objective evidence (aka "hard evidence") to convict someone, then they should be considered innocent; hence, INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY.