title:  Rape Deemed Legal In Oklahoma Because You Can’t Substitute Force With Intoxication Under The Law
text: The definition of rape came under fire in Oklahoma Wednesday when a the state s high court ruled that a girl who had accused a boy of sexually assaulting her was too drunk to be a reliable witness and dismissed the charges against the boy she says raped her while she was either too intoxicated or unconscious. She was 14 at the time of the assault and he was 17.The boy claims that the girl, who was four times past the legal limit to drive, engaged in a consensual oral act with him. The Court of Criminal Appeals agreed with him, stating that  force can t be substituted with intoxication under the [forced sodomy] law.  Prosecutors are furious, because the boy gets a walk, and while the court also said,  We will not, in order to justify prosecution of a person for an offense, enlarge a statute beyond the fair meaning of its language,  it stated it in an  unpublished opinion,  meaning the case can t be cited as precedent.That means that nothing has changed. The court has given its opinion on what some poor drunk teenage girl forever changed because a poor decision led to a boy who is legally an adult in many states raped her and got away with it. By saying it isn t precedent means they certainly don t want to close the door on the fact that people are raped, just not for this girl, who they obviously believe could have possibly been responsible for such a thing at 14-years-old. They don t make good decisions when they re stone cold sober, nevermind when you ply them with booze.From what s available, the boy, who had a friend with him, gave the girl a ride home because she was so drunk. He dropped his friend off first, who would testify that the girl was drifting in and out of consciousness, and somewhere between there and the girl s house his DNA ended up all over her and she has no memory of the encounter. The court said they wouldn t create a crime to prosecute one offender because the forcible sodomy law says you have to use force, not alcohol or by that logic, date rape drugs, to incapacitate and force yourself on your victim.Interpreting law is what a high court does. Does somebody really have to tell these idiots that rape is about control, not sex? Maybe they saw this one kid as some believable victim of a circumstance beyond his control, but what they ve done is fostered a rapist and given plenty of other young abusers -in-training a new something to think about. Until Oklahoma either changes the law or replaces the imbeciles on its high court who interpret it, it s a breeding ground for predatory behavior.Featured image from okhouse.gov