Tuesday, September 1, 2009

This is Why...

The crimes of Phillip Garrido are absolutely horriffic, and I have a feeling that we ain't seen nothing yet.

In case you haven't been in tune to what this "person" has been up to, Phillip Garrido is a convicted sex offender who abducted and brutally raped Katie Hall in the seventies. He raped Hall while he was married to Christine Murphy, who said that when Garrido was convicted, she was finally able to leave that marriage. Murphy says that Garrido abused her throughout their relationship...in fact Garrido dug a safety pin through her face when she once tried to escape.

Even though he was incarcerated and sentenced to fifty years for his crimes, Garrido was released after only eleven. For what...good behavior? Of course - there are no women or children to rape in jail!

The details of what Garrido did next are spotty. But we do know one thing for sure...he kidnapped Jaycee Dugard, who was only eleven years old, while she was on her way to school. He and his wife Nancy kept Jaycee in squalor in a tented, junk-filled complex behind their home. This area was mostly hidden from view. He raped Jaycee repeatedly which resulted in her bearing two daughters, now ages 15 and 11. These children were also kept hidden within the complex all of these years.

Until last Wednesday. Perhaps Garrido was starting to fall apart or feel remorse, because he took Nancy, Jaycee (who Garrido called Alissa), and her two daughters to the police station for his parole meeting. At some point during the meeting, Jaycee spoke up, telling police her true identity.

Garrido may have committed some other crimes between the time of his early release from prison for the Hall rape and when he abducted Jaycee Duggard. There are reports of missing women and bone fragments and things being uncovered right now, all from areas where Garrido worked or had access to.

Obviously, Garrido is... what is the term? Evil personified? Not human? Dangerous? A monster?

That may be true. But what can we say of our legal system? Concerned neighbors called the police. They did! They're all over the news, saying they called, they reported seeing young girls in this private yard, that Garrido was a freak, they reported the tents, complained and what happened?

Nothing.

The police have gone on record apologizing, saying that they now realize that they could have done something more to end this situation years ago if they'd followed through on these reports.

But my question is this - WHY was Garrido out of jail in the first place? He beat and raped Katie Hall in a storage shed and she is certain that he was going to kill her. He brutally assaulted his first wife. It was on the books. He admitted in testimony to having "strong urges to rape." He was IN JAIL, which is where pieces of garbage like Garrido should be forever and ever, Amen! Why was he freed?

And more, what message do we send to women and children when predators get a smack on the hand - a few years in jail - and then are free to go out and continue being pervs? I just said this to a co-worker who I respect, who nonchanlantly replied, "Well, some time in jail is better than nothing." NO! Even my colleague, an educated woman with a good head on her shoulders, has been brainwashed!

Because really, isn't society saying, "We don't care. It's just your body. You've been raped...big deal. Get over it. It's just sex. It happens. What? You can still walk. You're not dead. What are you crying about?"

This is why women don't tell when rape or assault happens. IF you get someone to listen to you, you still face the humiliation associated with the process of reporting and prosecuting. IF you're lucky enough to get a conviction, the person who harmed you isn't going to serve any real sentence.

A real sentence for sex offenders is life in prison, because a prison is exactly what these raping pedofile pervert pieces of crap have built for every single victim they carefully select. Years of counseling, of coping, of being messed up inside and of never, never, never getting to feel completely normal ever again.

Shasta Groening, Shawn Hornbeck, Elisabeth Fritzl, Elizabeth Smart and Natascha Kampusch have all suffered at the hands of men who others identified years before as "just not right." In fact, many of the perpetrators were convicted for previous crimes before abducting and assaulting these children. So what will it take to get real laws passed that protect the innocent? When will we start sending the message to people that just because you're not physically strong enough, you can still be safe and protected?

I can't wait until Garrido is convicted and put away for good - this is high profile enough that finally, justice will be served. But more, I can't wait for Jaycee and her daughters to get as close to normal as they possibly can. It's going to take some time. It's going to take a lot of time...

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