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| Detective Galbraith and Sgt. Hendershot from the article (see more pictures in the link below) |
Link to the on-line article (with photos): https://www.propublica.org/article/false-rape-accusations-an-unbelievable-story
Answer TWO
of the following:
Q1: According
to the article, what made it so difficult (and take so long) to catch O’Leary?
What “break” did they eventually catch, and how common do you think it is to
catch such breaks in similar crimes?
Q2: The
authors write that “Investigators…should not assume that a true victim will be
hysterical rather than calm, able to show clear signs of physical injury, and
certain of every detail. Some victims confuse fine points of ever recant. Nor
should police get lost in stereotypes” (216). Based on the article, why did
Marie act so unconventionally and often recant or alter her original statement?
In other words, why did she “look guilty” even though she was completely
innocent?
Q3:
According to FBI estimates, only “5 percent of rape cases [are] unfounded or
baseless”(220). However, from 2008 to 2012, the Lynnwood police department “determined
that ten of forty-seven rapes reported to Lynnwood police were unfounded—21.3
percent. That’s five times the national average of 4.3 percent for agencies
covering similar-sized populations during that same period” (239). What do you
think accounts for this? Was it lack of resources? Misinformation or ignorance
about race? Or stereotypes about teenagers or women victims?
Q4: Why do
the authors take the unusual approach of switching the point of view on page
233 to O’Leary’s perspective? Since this is fiction, based on what they assume
he thought (and what he told police) why include it in a piece of journalism?
How does this affect the story and your own emotional response to it? What do
you think they wanted it to do to the
reader?
1) It was so difficult to catch O'Leary because he cleaned up the crime scenes so well and he had a brother who looked exactly like him. The police were able to get a search warrant and they found the mark on his leg the size of an egg that one of his victims had found. With someone this meticulous, he is going to be good at what he does, but everybody eventually makes mistakes. I would think that it would be pretty common to catch a break similar to this in other rape cases.
ReplyDelete4)People wonder, "How could someone do this to another person?" The author probably included this piece of fiction in this article because he wanted to try to answer that question. People such as O'Leary need help. They have faulty wiring or have been abused in one way or another. It has changed their way of thinking to that which would compel them to hurt other people in the most gruesome ways. Also, I think the author wanted to show the ways in which O'Leary was incredibly thorough in what he did, especially to these women, and to show his mindset while he was doing it.
Ashley Robertson
1 it was so difficult for the police to catch O'leary due to him being so dang good at leaving no evidence behind. he was able to clean up the scenes very well and was always completely covered. the police caught him due to him getting sloppy when a girl spotted a mark on his leg. I believe it wouldn't be too common to find a break in cases similar to this one due to many going unsolved.
ReplyDelete2. marie acted so unconventionally due to her not being that type of person. she acted weird but seemed calm and collected, although she changed her story. The fact that an investigative journal avalible to all police stated that not all victims act the same and that not all victims are steriotypical. the reason that she seemed guilty was due to her acting wierd, and that she changed her story.
Danielle Cantrell
ReplyDeleteQ1: Most cases of rape are of those assaulted by a boyfriend, an old flame, or someone they had met at a club.In that way, rape cases were unlike most other crimes. The credibility of the victim was often on trial as much as the guilt of the accused. And on the long, fraught trail between crime and conviction, the first triers of fact were the cops. An investigating officer had to figure out if the victim was telling the truth. Those investigations often boiled down to an issue of consent. A woman had called police late in the evening to report a suspicious pickup truck parked on the street with a man inside. One freeze frame showed that her white Mazda had a broken passenger side mirror. So, too, did O’Leary’s truck. Both vehicles had ball hitches on the back. Both had smudges on the back in the same place, maybe a bumper sticker that had been torn off. Most cases would be hard to solve without the appropriate amount of evidence.
Q2: Those who have been through a particular type of trauma before tend to retreat into themselves and try to get rid of the emotions causing them trouble. To some who is trying to get answers they would look as if they where lying, but in fact they are trying not to relive the experience. In their mind they begin to question themselves as well. asking themselves if it really happened to them.
Q2: The people that judged the case ended up labeling her as a faker. She changed her story multiple times and didn’t show the signs of a typical rape victim. She didn’t seem “phased” that she was assaulted and just didn’t seem upset. For example, she was wanting her old bedsheets back (the ones that she was assaulted in) and was upset when she couldn’t find the same kinda of sheets. Sadly, people assumed that she was faking.
ReplyDeleteQ3: I believe the Lynnwood police department is just ignorant of these rape cases. Police departments focus a lot on statistics, but Lynnwood police department knew those statistics and have treated rape cases as “unfounded”. I think they were wrong to assume she was faking at the beginning. They police department from 2008-2012 reported that 21.3% of rape cases are unfounded. National average is around 5%. That leaves a wide margin of error. This evidence is astounding and one can assume the department is flawed.
Noah Parsons
Armstrong & Miller, “An Unbelievable Case of Rape” (p.203-240)
ReplyDeleteQ2: Trauma does unbelievable things to a person. It changes basic emotions to distress or distrait. After an incident that Marie went through, something that many people are most times to embarrassed and torn apart to even tell anyone about, it’s very hard to collect yourself and talk about something like that. And for Marie, trauma made her react in a way that goes against the stereotype that people associate with rape victims. There’s a very thin line on “how a rape victim should act”. There’s truly no way of knowing for sure without facts and evidence. I feel that because of the past of her life and how the officers treated it, her simple reaction to this traumatic event led to even worse treatment and ridicule.
Q3: I feel that “small town politics” plays a lot into those numbers. Lack of resources honestly probably plays little to none of a role in those decisions. It all ends up being more of abuse of power. The officers chose to dismiss the victims claims and chose an easier way to end it. They then felt the need to attack her to set an “example” to end all future “false claims” as a way to make their jobs easier.
Japheth Tyler Cardwell
Jordan Bussey
ReplyDeleteq2 Everyone thought she was a liar due to the fact that she wasn't dramatic, she didn't throw huge pity party. She tried to get on with her life. Different characteristics explained this, but were recognized as odd such as trying to get the same sheets as before.
q3 I think that Lynnwood PD didn't want to go into a wild goose chase for a story that had obvious holes as well as her own parents going against their daughter. But for these other cases, it could have been the fact that they were defiant and thought "This cant happen to us, not our town" and that could lead to a less thorough investigation.