“I can only believe that none of you gentleman ever developed any moral code….” Marx said. “And I have no confidence that if you are shipped off to the Department of Corrections you will find a moral compass there.” Judge Krista Marx
And with that, the judge sentenced the Dunbar Village rapists, Tommy Poindexter, Nathan Walker Jr. and Jakaris Taylor to life in prison. What stuck out to me in the aritcle however, was this passage about the reaction in the crowd to the victim’s impact statement:
But Prosecutor Aleathea McRoberts read a letter written by her to Marx that described her life since the assault, her lingering pain and her most private thoughts.
She wrote of her anxiety, anger, sadness, of her son wanting to take a knife to school, of being the only one he can talk to about it. And how she’s terrified to go out in public and terrified of men with tattoos and dreadlocks.
A group of young men seated with the defendants’ families chuckled as the letter was read.Palm Beach Post
WOW. Just WOW! Watch the chaos that broke out after the verdicts.
24 comments ↓
I overlooked this post…when I posted this same link.
I thought the state attorney expressed the sentiment well.
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“The community is surely safer for the fact that three perpetrators who committed these crimes of rape and torture will remain imprisoned for the rest of their lives,” McAuliffe wrote.
“In the larger context, however, it is a great tragedy that we, by necessity, are giving up on three young men.
“What is appropriate and just today is by no means reason for celebration. Simply, the age and backgrounds of these particular defendants provide no safe harbor for these specific crimes.”
this is a very sad day for these 3 young souls. As i sat here i weep for them only because they could of been one of my boys! but they chose,they knew the difference…. f… the bs that there parents say they did wrong because of drugs or alcohol.Thats no reasons not to know right from wrong…god gives you that gift and he even says so… i even knew it when i was 9…now im 41, with 2 boys that never, never, would even think of such a gruesome crime, ,,,and dont try to blame MY problem with alcohol for their actions epically at that age!!
We’ve watched all things personal undergo very public makeovers on reality TV—our noses, our houses, our cars and jobs and spouses. But something more fundamental may have quietly fallen victim to a makeover as well: our moral identities.
Moral identity is how you view and describe yourself in ethical terms—honest, caring, opposed to cheating, committed to doing the right thing, etc. But two business researchers say people with a strong sense of moral awareness can actually become the biggest failures in the face of moral challenges.
In a study reported by LiveScience.com and originally published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, the researchers asked a group of people if they considered themselves moral, and if they would cheat on a test.
The people who said they would never cheat described themselves as very moral—no surprise. But the people who said they would indeed cheat also described themselves as very moral. Huh?
The study deduced that when a person with a strong moral identity is faced with a moral decision, they choose their fate—for good or bad—and then pursue it until the extreme end, driven by their extreme moral identity.
In other words, they justify cheating as a means to a moral end, as in this example given by one of the researchers: “If I cheat, then I’ll get into get into graduate school. And if I get into graduate school, then I can become a doctor. And think about all the people I’m going to help when I’m a doctor.”
Is doing the wrong thing—but claiming it’s for the right reasons—ever really right?
“In the larger context, however, it is a great tragedy that we, by necessity, are giving up on three young men. ”
They gave on themselves when they decided to commit such heinous acts. I feel absolutely no pity.
ditto, i feel no pity at all. may they enjoy the ‘jailbird’ experience to the max. meanwhile, I pray that the victims will find peace one day. what was done to them was evil. i hope they’re being given therapy. what was done to them was just plain evil
Lets hope the Mario Frierson won’t end up like his brother.
well, I’m sad for all concerned; like someone said, nowhere here is there any real cause for celebration. But after the commotion in the court after the sentence was pronounced, I’d say everyone there should keep an eye on the sisters and brothers of those convicted.
I’m with Trish. Nothing about their upbringing or lack there of made them commit this unspeakable act against this woman and her son. All of this love and support now pouring out for these menaces to society should have been in place a long time ago. Maybe they would not have grown up to be degenerates. Admittedly, good parents can still have kids who grow up to be criminals, a lack of quality parental supervision almost guarantees it. No sympathy and no parole.
Please remove the “the” in my comment.
My thoughts and condolences go out to the two victims. I cannot imagine the trauma and the impact of that trauma.
This is so awful, words escape me.
I think someone definitely needs to be monitoring every male “friend” of the convicted that appeared in court. And the younger brother. I watched that video and I don’t know if he can be trusted quite frankly. They all seem far too angry the guilty faced consequences and removed from the wrongdoing.
I believe justice was served. They’ll have the rest of their lives to think about the repercussions of their actions.
I hope the victims get the emotional thearpy for years to come.
I agree with the rest, that brother needs a watchful eye; as well as, the parents using drug abuse for an excuse to their child bad behavior, will not be the last time they try that tactic.
I was in the courtroom and it was very very sad. These kids never had a chance in life. However, through my tears for them I had to remind myself of the victims. They should be put away for life. There is no other way.
They were left on their own to become monsters. The devil got a hold of them.
Justice has been served. I’m glad the judge recognized the “pleasure” they took in the crime. That is the mark of a demon. Seriously, lots of kids grow up with drug addicted parents, without love, and they don’t commit heinous crimes such as this. Or they commit crimes to survive, not to hurt other people. These are not just some “neighborhood boys who got into trouble” ie stealing cars. They are sick and evil and their family and friends are too. I don’t believe in capital punishment but I believe they are incorrigible and should therefore be extinguished from the earth.
‘the devil got a hold of them’, wt*, the devil must have a hold on you, why in this world would anyone cry for those monsters. the crimes they commited against the victims were crimes against humanity!!! good riddance to them all. can you imagine the emotional/mental torture the victims will have to live through for the rest of their lives and you have tears for the victim!! to be raped, then forced into a sexual act with your own son and then doused with bleach and someone has tears for the guilty party…..wow
i’m sorry if i’m being very abrasive, but that’s ridiculous
It was a very sad day day for those young boys. No doubt they did commit a very henious and unthinkable act against that mother and her son. My heart goes out to them. However I don’t think those young boys should have received life in prison, they didn’t kill anyone. They should be punished for wha they did but not given life in prison. It’s so easy for people to judge other. What if it were their family members that was given life in prison? How would they feel, im sure they would want God to have mercy on them. So many people have done things just as worse but wasn’t given a life sentence. We’re so quick to judge others. I pray for the young mother, her son, the three young boys and for all the families. God be with all of them.
@MD
You stated that you were in the courtroom. One of the articles I read indicated that people in the room actually laughed as they read a letter from the victim describing the pain she and her son continue to suffer as a result of this assault. Did you witness this?
MD,
Has the devil gotten hold of you? STOP BLAMING SATAN! He had nothing to do with the fact that 3 little bastard committed a dapital crime in FL deserving of LIFE!
What I fear most is that the two cases being heard by the SCOTUS are from FL and I think one from Dunbar Village (unrelated to the gang rape and toture case). The fact that people laughed at the reading of the vitim’s letter (some were probably part of the 10 suspects) demonstartes that these worthless Pieces of S*&% ARE A DANGER TO US ALL.
They got what they deserved.
Quote: “demonstartes that these worthless Pieces of S*&% ARE A DANGER TO US ALL.”
No doubt about that…
Let’s not blame any outside entities or deities for this. Save for the drugs and alcohol, I had a rough family upbringing and I haven’t gone out and committed any heinous crimes. It’s called SELF-responsibility.
And laughing during the reading of the victims’ letter? Disgusting.
Have fun in prison.
What a shame.
Just shared this on a couple social networking sites. ZERO sympathy from me.
No, Jenny, they didn’t kill anyone. They just scarred them for life. Did you miss the part of the letter where the mother said her son wanted to bring a knife to school? How she’s now afraid of random people on the street? She’s talking genuine fear here.
Those monsters got what they deserved.