U.S. Legal system needs SERIOUS changes

**JadedQueen** · 07-15-2011 08:45 PM

This was in the local news the other day and it's appalling. But, with the way the laws are written there is absolutely nothing that can be done about it and this man gets to violate his victims once again.

Sex Offender Granted Unlimited Access to Child Pornography in Prison

The Washington State Supreme Court ruled that Marc Gilbert, who is on trial for kidnapping and raping boys and videotaping the encounters, must have unlimited access to the very child pornography that he's accused of making.

See, Gilbert is acting as his own lawyer in the trial, so as his defense attorney, he needs to be able to review all the evidence in the case. Since the evidence in this case is footage of him allegedly raping boys, then he gets to review that evidence to his heart's content. And since his access to this evidence will only go on for the duration of the trial, you can expect this thing to drag on for as long as Gilbert can make it. This is how justice gets served.

**jns** · 07-15-2011 10:39 PM

Originally Posted by JadedQueen

This is how justice gets served.

Or not. Unfortunately, in today's age, this does not surprise me.

**ItsASecret** · 07-16-2011 12:02 AM

This does not surprise me one bit and that right there is a sneaky yet clever criminal. I mean even if he gets convicted, which with video evidence he likely will be, he gets to watch and revel in his crimes of passion one last time before being locked up. What disturbed child offender wouldn't like to recount their actions? It is absolutely appalling but it is absolutely within his rights to act as his own lawyer, he is likely doing it solely to remember his crimes but nothing the justice system can do because technically speaking he is allowed to review the evidence. He is just going to be sitting there with a smirk on his face saying "boohoo nothing you can do" as he recounts every disturbing detail, and he is right, nothing the criminal system can do because people can act as their own legal advisors. However that smirk will be taken right off his face the second he enters the prison as the current inmates treat sexual offenders, especially child sexual offenders, as the bottom of the barrel dirt and scum. It is unlikely this man, if convicted, will be in one piece for long the second he steps into those jail doors.

**rcoreyus** · 07-17-2011 12:13 AM

His harm has already been done. The fact that he was watching the videos again for non-legal defence related purposes will I expect be brought in in his trial. It is of course possible he does have a valid reason for his legal defence to watch the videos: It is possible that he is not the person in the videos and he is looking for evidence that would support that. He hasn't been convicted of this crime yet and has every right to defend himself. We need to remember that "accused' and "convicted" are very different things.

When he is convicted he will spend his life in the living of the US prison system - as a convicted child molester he will be beaten and raped repeatedly. Whether our not you think that is justice is up to you.

**Hopeless Dork** · 07-17-2011 01:21 AM

He is RE VICTIMIZING those children by continuing to view those videos. He is TRAUMATIZING those kids parents by continuing to use those kids to fuel his sick fantasies. I've heard criminal profilers on tv talk about killers, rapists etc... and how one thing they all seem to love to do is to re-live their crimes. He video taped his offenses for that very reason, obviously. And now he gets to sit back and do it 'as part of his defense'. Seriously?!

If you were drunk at the time you committed a crime, if you 'defend yourself' in your case... should you be allowed to get drunk every day all day in jail so that you can get into the state of mind you were at the time of the offense... it would maybe give you clues and whatnot to what happened!! Gimme a break... just how far are they going to take that sort of thing.

**JadedQueen** · 07-17-2011 02:50 AM

I agree with you hopeless dork. He is just reliving his crimes and "getting off" to it and he will probably do everything in his power to make sure that this case is ongoing for as long as he possibly can so that he can continue to do this. It's appalling. I hope the suffering and torment that he caused his victims is repaid to him ten fold.

**Thomas Hepburn** · 07-17-2011 03:30 AM

It's just as bad over here. The "human rights" of offenders are considered more important than the victim's. I believe that when you commit a crime you should lose certain privileges and rights and not have complete access to everything that society has to offer. Child pornography should be banned everywhere anyway.

**WildChild** · 07-17-2011 11:13 AM

The lunatics have taken over the asylum. I am seriously considering joining the pastafarians. They seem to be one of the few groups that make any sense these days.

**Hopeless Dork** · 07-17-2011 03:00 PM

Originally Posted by WildChild

The lunatics have taken over the asylum.

Yes, that.

Its all manuevers and tactics and is not about justice anymore. Casey anthony's entire defense was based on the fact that she lied to police, her lawyer admitted in open court she lied to police. She was found guilty of lying to police. She's appealing that conviction. More time and money being wasted. Maybe its not the laywers that are the ones that deserve the sheisty title, people always think lawyers are dirty and up to no good... when truth is they are just utilizing the system we have in place that allows for those dirty - no good tactics.

Meanwhile people without money, people without media sensationalism get railroaded, the beautiful ppl, the popular ppl, the rich ppl... can wink and buy their way out of anything.

**rcoreyus** · 07-17-2011 05:27 PM

I need to be careful not to use exactly the same words I used in a similar discussion on a forum under my real identity, so this will be a little less elegant: I've noticed in this case, the Casey Anthony case, the Stauss Kahn case, and many others that people seem to have lost the distinction between accused and convicted. If the evidence against an accused person is so strong, then presumably a jury will convict them. If the jury doesn't convict, or the prosecution drops the case, it is likely due to some real problem with the case. (the cinematic version is the wonderful movie "12 angry men").

Once someone is convicted and imprisoned in the US system, they receive punishment sufficient for any crime I can imagine. In particular the treatment of convicted child molesters belongs in the nether regions of , not in a supposedly civilized country. Fear not, justice and much more will be served.

In this case if he really is just getting sexual satisfaction from re-watching his crimes (he isn't allowed to watch the tapes alone), then its the last enjoyment he will ever have in life. His victims can rest assured that nothing they could wish on him is worse than what will happen.

BTW: if people wonder I don't want to punish child molesters, that isn't the case. I'm fine with a clean execution. I'm fine with keeping them in an institution where they will never do harm again. I'm just not fine with long drawn out barbaric torture that is effectively sanctioned by the state.

Sorry for the outrage on my part - I knew someone who spent time in a maximum security prison in the US. Of the things they were willing to talk about, imagine being given the choice of being gang-raped yourself, or guarding the door while someone you knew was being gang-raped. (this wasn't a child molestor or anything, it was grand-theft, no violence involved - they were moved to maximum security after a fight in prison - the guards don't care who starts the fight).