Tuesday, 21 September 2010
-
Should Cheaters Get Criminally Prosecuted?
Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani is a 43 year-old Iranian mother of two who was convicted of adultery in 2006. She pled guilty to engaging in an "illicit relationship" with two men, both occurring after the death of her husband. The punishment? Death by stoning.Article 102 of the Iranian Penal Code states that women should be buried up to their breasts for the purpose of execution by stoning. And the stones must be just the right size, meaning not too large that the guilty party is killed by one or two strikes, but not too small that they are classified as non-stones (aka pebble-like). Whatever happened to "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her," spoken so eloquently by Jesus Christ in John 8:7?
An international campaign was launched by Ashtiani's two children in a desperate attempt to halt the sentence from being carried out. As of September 8, 2010, human rights activist groups have succeeded in suspending the stoning, but not in overturning the death sentence. This case is notorious for its many evidentiary discrepancies.
The he-said-she-said is as follows: the court claimed that she made a confession to committing the crime, she claims this confession was made under duress (in other words, forced against her will). In an attempt to calm the public outcry, Ashtiani was televised on August 12, 2010, showing her confessing to adultery and involvement in her husband's murder. Sounds legitimate? Her lawyer claims that she was tortured for two days prior to the interview.
Let's forget death by stoning for a second. That's just ancient, barbaric, and ludicrous. This woman was not even married at the time of engaging in said "cheating." Okay, let's just say she was married.
Cheating is immoral, especially within the institution of marriage, but does it belong in the criminal justice system? What do you think is the proper punishment for cheating?
RecommendRelated Posts
Post a Comment
- Back to datingish's Datingish Site!
- Note: your comment will appear in datingish's local time zone: GMT -05:00 (Eastern Standard - US, Canada)
About the Author
-
- From: serendipidish@xanga
- About Me: I don't believe in rules. Exceptions rule!
Stats: This Week All Time Posts: 0 27 Views: 0 73241 Comments: 0 948 View all posts by serendipidish@xanga
Comments (63)
Fuck no. How is this even a question?
Cheaters live in a fantasy world where everyone loves them and wants them. Just punishment would be reality smacking them in the face, and having them lose (at least temporarily) the people that loved them that were cheated on.
You could also call those things "consequences," but God knows they hurt enough to be like punishment. Criminal punishment for cheaters would put 40% of the population in jail.Well, at least it isn't chasing a chicken around the city. Still, adultery isn't anythng the government should have to deal with. Any overnment. It's bad enough our govenment gets to decide upon Gay Marriage.
stoning them to death is the easy way out and quite harsh. I'd suggest brand them with the scarlet letter tattoo on their forehead to humiliate them for life, but I think sly people will just find loopholes in the system and won't ever get married because the punishment will likely be applied to married people or they'll try to cover it up by wearing a stylish bandana around their forehead
so I don't think criminal prosecution will help in justice much. just like in the romantic soap opera movies, a swift bitchslap across the cheater's face is my personal method of adultery punishment
That event in Iran makes me sick.
But anyway, cheating, unlike murder or rape, only affects the victim emotionally, not physically. Therefore, the victim can only come into harm from the act of cheating by caring about the cheater and believing in that trust and bond between them that is ultimately broken and proven to be false. It makes the victim realize the truth about the person who they cared about and who "cared" for the victim, but the "crime" doesn't take away any of the victim's civil liberties, so no, its not a criminal offense. The only justice that can be served to the cheater is karma. And karma does it's job just fine :)
@P0RCELA1N_D0LL@xanga - Kind of like the Scarlet Letter..lol The letter A..
I think there are plenty of other things I would rather the government deal with than to address the cheaters of society.... I really don't want the goverment to waste it's time and making up a new law that would have to define what cheating is, what the levels of cheating are, and what the proper punishment is for the crime. It is too messy, and would only cause more complications. Let's have the goverment worry about other things... oh I don't know say the war, our economy, the healthcare program... just to name a few.
Cheaters get their own form of punishment in the long run. Karma is a bitch and will catch up to them.
Wait wait wait. What about the men? Don't they get punished for cheating?
I think stoning religious people is more appropriate. Christians, Muslims, Jews and whatever else. All a bunch of retards holding fantasy as reality.
@Babylons_Crowing@xanga - took the words right out of my mouth
@Coffee_Kaioken@xanga - It's a two-way street. The same penal code says that a man will be buried up to his waist for the purpose of being stoned.
@GagaMonster -
@adoptionoption@xanga - Well put, especially the part about karma. (Karma's a b*tch) but it doesn't seem to catch ya every time.
A criminal offense does not necessarily have to take away civil liberties, it can be a determination of justice based on a well-supported moral foundation. Adultery has been considered a serious offense in many cultures all over the world, including the US. Believe it or not, antiquated statutes are still on the books in some states, including Michigan, where the penalty is potential life imprisonment. (But it's rarely/never prosecuted today.)
I definitely agree that the government has much more pressing needs at this point and time. However, with divorce at an all-time high and cheating running a close first for reasons behind divorce, there might come a time where cheating might need to be "reigned in" a bit.
'Adultery' is already a well defined term in the legal system, thanks to divorce courts and family law. As for using our limited resources (especially police, efficiency, and time), this might call for a unique scenario where the charge is filed and the evidence is gathered from the one being 'offended.' The aggrieved spouse would have the burden to prove that their husband/wife cheated and file the evidence/report with the police, who would file a charge, and the charge would then be prosecuted in a centralized/as-efficient-as-possible venue. I would suggest a fine-like structure (like Maryland, whose current statute calls for a $10 fine). Hey, not wearing a seat-belt in NY calls for a $100 fine, so perhaps something like $250-$500 for 'bad marital behavior'?
And who knows, it might end up being a triple whammy. The government gets their cut ($), cheating will probably be deterred to some extent due to the stigma, and the cheating spouse gets their scarlet letter (a rap sheet for their cheating ways).
since when is cheating something that is the business of anyone outside the people involved?
Having the government legislate marital behavior is far too invasive for my liking. Short of prosecuting things such as spousal abuse/rape and domestic violence, the government has no business intruding into people's marital lives.
However since this would undoubtedly be low priority for both law enforcement and the court system, it's likely never going to be an issue since people are never going to stop robbing, raping, killing, and assaulting one another, so there will always be more pressing issues to deal with besides cheating.
I use to wish they would bring back the old ages where people were stoned to death just for cheating, stealing...etc...But with the way this world is now, everyone would be dead.
But anyway. I think cheaters already have a crucial punishment anyway, and karma is always out to get them.
Actually, someone in the military that cheats on their spouse can get in really big trouble. I don't remember what it was but I remember the guys talking about it.
So... I really would like to know how nobody seems to know that this is incredibly common place all over the world. This happens ALL the time and for less of a reason than the reason being used this time.
Here: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-the-crimewave-that-shames-the-world-2072201.html
Open your eyes people, she's far from being the only one.
I think cheaters should all be put on an island together.
Sometimes when I read something I also read the comments.
Then I think to myself "Wow.. did this person even read it or did they just read the title?"
Come on.
Well, that's the middle east for ya.
That kind of stuff happens all the time. I mean really, if it's a law then do you really believe this is the only person punished for violating it? Pfft.
im so glad im american. freedom to fuck ftw!
She was with these men after her husband died.....hello!!!! That is not cheating.
Your reference to Jesus is beautiful, but Iran is not a Christian country where this punishment would be given.
I might get some bad lash for this, but I don't care. The Muslim religion to me has no good sides(in the long run). There are some good people in the religion and there are a good group of Muslims and a bad group, but if you read the fine print-to be a true Muslim you basically have to be an extremist so FYI any country run by mostly muslims with probably have laws like stoning a woman to death. It's terrible.
While I do think cheating is wrong, I would never want to hurt someone for cheating on me.
@Nominatim@xanga - Wow, you are so close minded.
@Darla@lovelyish - military men and women (in America) can be kicked out and at the very least will be disciplined. Having a baby out of wedlock would also be punished.
Further, some states (such as Virginia) have laws on the books banning adultery, which people have gotten in trouble for, especially during separation terms before a final divorce.
@Darla@lovelyish - It is an action that under article 134 of the UCMJ (uniform code of military justice). The maximum punishment is a dishonorable dischare, forteiture of all pay and allowances and confinement for 1 year.
...sadness.. obviously I don't think anyone should be stoned to death, that's torture, not justice.. and of course the lady have done nothing wrong to deserve this since her husband already died.