Vanderbilt Rape Case

This article discusses the trial and conviction of two former Vanderbilt football players. According to CNN the two former college football players have each been convicted of four counts of aggravated rape, one count of aggravated rape and two counts of aggravated sexual battery. One of their charges aggravated rape comes with a minimum sentence of fifteen years. Corey Lamont Batey and Brandon Robert Vandenburg both twenty-one years old are the two men that have been sentenced in connection with this brutal crime that happened in 2013. There is evidence of the crime being commented, a video, but both men have argued that they were extremely drunk that night and therefore they were not responsible for their actions.

The two defendants have already faced the punishment at Vanderbilt as they have been kicked off the football team and they have been expelled from the school. Although the school has served it’s form of punishment the court system has yet to finalize what their punishments will be. They are one step closer to deciding on the punishment of the two defendants after three hours of jury deliberation they have finished the part of conviction. Now it is time for the part of sentencing which will take place on March 6, 2015.

This case seems to be the perfect example of individual responsibility which is part of the five elements that create the political culture of America. In the United States it is believed that a person is responsible for their actions and must be held accountable. In this case it is proven that although the college students might have been drunk they were still responsible for the crimes they committed. They are responsible for what they do to their bodies and alcohol and intoxication can not be used as an excuse for poor decision making. Their actions no matter what state they were in are their responsibility and the crime they committed that night will follow the legal procedure. In this case they have been charged with what the jury saw was fit from the evidence that was shown and also by their action in the video of the incident.    

I was attracted to this article because there has recently been an increase in crimes on college campuses around the country. As a high school student preparing for college I have become interested in the statistics and articles of the happenings in schools and how crimes are handled by the school officials and in court. Reading this article, I felt that the two defendants were trying to make an excuse for their awful actions. Truly I believe that what they have been charged with is fair and just for the evidence presented and the crime committed. It is sad to know that all these crimes from the Florida A&M University band hazing death to the Vanderbilt rape case are happening in colleges across the United States. But it is also satisfying to know that college officials are working constantly to decrease the numbers of college crimes in this country and are taking the correct disciplinary actions when crimes like this occur on their campuses.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/27/us/vanderbilt-rape-case/index.html