Missoula - Jon Krakauer - 2015

 

As noted in other reviews, I love Krakauer. He writes with the amount of detail that I aspire to write with. 

I have a lot to say.

This book is not too long. It is typical Krakauer length. I plan to read under the banner of heaven next by Krakauer. I think the Krakauer’s book about Pat Tillman was better than this one. 

I truly believe this book should be required reading for any law student. For many parts of this book you are reading direct quotes/transcription from the trial/testimony. Actually it was too much at times which is why I think his other books are better. 

On the issue of parents loving their children: I did not say this yet but this book basically explores the legal process surrounding two rape cases in Missoula Montana and discusses how rape is adjudicated in general. In one case the man confesses the rape to the police. However, his parents consistently back him in court. Now I am not saying you should be burned at the stake for raping someone, however if my son did this I am probably going to tell him I still love you but you need to do the time for the crime you have committed. That is not me being mean, that is just me being real. 

On the issue of women: In some of the cases in the book the woman says ok let’s have sex and then says wait let’s not have sex but you can lie next to me on my bed and we will keep our clothes on and snuggle and kiss maybe. I fully support that no means no and that consent for sex can be withdrawn at anytime but I mean come on do you realize how hard this is for a 19 year old male? This is like making me the most delicious pizza ever and putting it in front of me and then when I am about to take a bite you say no actually you cant have any but you can sit here and smell it for a while if you want. The point is rape is wrong for sure 100%, but I can see how the situation can be difficult in cases such as the above (especially if both the male and female have been consuming alcohol).   

On the issue of alcohol: In almost all the cases described in this book alcohol was involved in some capacity. Alcohol is evil period. 

On the issue of “proven beyond a reasonable doubt”: This is quite interesting and something I did not know. In a criminal case the standard the jury has to go by is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. This is not the same as a preponderance of evidence which would mean like there is a 51% chance that the defendant is guilty. The key point here is that since the standard for conviction is so high and there are very frequently no witnesses, (because it is two people maybe or maybe not having consensual sex in a dark room) in a he said she said case it is very hard for the jury to reach the beyond a reasonable doubt standard and therefore the alleged rapist is often acquitted. 

Even as I read one of the real life cases in this book I was thinking to myself, if I am on the jury I would have to acquit because there was just not enough evidence. It was not that I did not believe the female, on the contrary I did. The problem was there was just not enough evidence for me as the reader to convict the defendant based on the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard. Actually I think this is a massive problem for rape victims, especially women because in many cases they probably were raped but since it is he said she said the jury is not able to convict the rapist. They may believe the prosecution but are just not able to meet the standard set by criminal courts in the US to convict, again “guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.” 

Furthermore, I am not sure of the solution to this problem. I would say this if you are a hot college age female: 1) do not drink too much at a party, 2) always stay in a group at a party, never go anywhere alone at the party, 3) carry a weapon or mace or something, 4) make friends with a big gay guy who can protect you. 

Last thing: I learned a lot about the state attorney’s office. Basically the police will get a rape complaint. They will investigate and send their report to the attorney’s office with a recommendation. The state attorney can decide to prosecute or not. However, you could have been legitimately raped and the police could tell the prosecutor hey we have a good case here and the prosecutor could be like meh I dont care or I dont think so or we are too busy with other things. If the prosecutor says that, you can essentially do nothing because you can hire your own lawyer but only the state is allowed to prosecute in criminal cases which rape is. To me this was really really crazy and something I had no idea about. The point I think the author makes really well is, well no wonder more women dont come forward about being raped. Because essentially the prosecutor could be like no thanks your case is not going hold up in court, I’m sorry. This is not to say the prosecutor is always wrong, but this could happen and this does happen (at least based on my reading of the text). Or the prosecutor could be like you have really good evidence ok cool well I dont trust the jury so we are going to do a plea deal where they plead guilty and in return I will lessen the sentence from 10 years to 5. Again as the victim you may be appalled, but really there is nothing you can do (ideally the prosecutor would listen to you and come up with a plan together).  

Ok legal students, I hope this helped you jajajajaj. I truly believe the case discussed in this book would make a really good movie. Ok have a great day. I truly believe rape is much more prevalent in US society than we realize. This is really sad and the way the justice system is set up is partly to blame (in fairness the justice system does not want anyone who is innocent to go to prison but in exchange this allows rapists to go free when they should not) and alcohol is also partly to blame. Also this book really really shows the importance of having a good lawyer in a criminal case. If you are facing charges pay for the very best lawyer. Why? Because a good lawyer can make the jury doubt and remember you only have to make the jury doubt a little bit for them to acquit you since the burden of proof is so high in a criminal proceeding. And if you lose, appeal because this book also shows that you can always appeal and if you lose the appeal, appeal the appeal because apparently you can do that too. You could be successful on the second or third or fourth appeal. This is also very crazy and stupid to me but apparently very true as shown in the text.