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Did you read the article? I have a Master's Degree, and would say she's WAY more accomplished than I am! For starters: "Jones, now 45, became a published scholar of American history while behind bars, and presented her work by videoconference to historians’ conclaves and the Indiana General Assembly. With no internet access and a prison library that hewed toward romance novels, she led a team of inmates that pored through reams of photocopied documents from the Indiana State Archives to produce the Indiana Historical Society’s best research project last year. As prisoner No. 970554, Ms. Jones also wrote several dance compositions and historical plays, one of which is slated to open at an Indianapolis theater in December."
Considering her background (horrible abuse), age at the time of giving birth (16) and the murder (20), I believe she should NOT be punished eternally. She served half of her life thus far in prison, and has no doubt become a better person with something to offer society. I applaud her for this, and wish her success in the coming years. I also weep for her son, but I'm sure she does plenty of that too. Every day, I'd imagine.
Would you feel the same way if it had been a man who murdered his child?
I kind of get the sense that you are both a woman and a feminist, from what you posted.
Would you feel the same way if it had been a man who murdered his child?
Absolutely. Why would you assume otherwise? I meant what I said, and never specified woman vs man... I feel EVERYONE deserves a chance to better themselves, regardless of their genitalia. And when I mentioned wanting to work in a prison, I would actually prefer to work in a men's (or juvenile) prison. They seem to need more help, whereas women have lower recidivism and overall crime rates.
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I kind of get the sense that you are both a woman and a feminist, from what you posted.
Well, you're kind of wrong. I am a woman, and a feminist in the classical sense - meaning I believe in equality for women, which is really just being a reasonable human. But I'm certainly not what people refer to as "feminists" today, like the nutcases who want to change "history" to "herstory." You really couldn't be more wrong about that, but nice try.
Regardless of whether the sentence was long enough, the woman is not going back to prison at this point.
The question in my mind is, how is society benefiting from keeping her out of grad school?
Exactly. I don't think the point here is to argue her sentence, or even her crime... it's about what is good for both her AND society now, which would be to encourage her continued education. She has already accomplished a lot (educationally speaking), and is much less likely to become a repeat offender if given these opportunities. Isn't that supposed to be the point of our justice system? I know some folks get off on the punishment aspect, but the goal SHOULD be to rehabilitate, and then release them with some chance of contributing to society. Regardless of how heinous her crime was, she has served her time and should be permitted to move forward.
Seems many people here are debating with emotion, rather than logic. If you remove yourself from the emotional response to her crime (which was undoubtedly horrible), the logical answers to these questions are very different. Only a few of us on this thread seem to be capable of that, however.
She claimed it was non-consensual sex. I find that hard to believe. Many 14 year olds are out there having sex. Did it become non-consensual once she was pregnant? If she was literally forced to have sex, where's the police report? Doctor's visit? I don't buy it.
There's no such thing as consensual sex at 14... do you not agree with molestation/rape charges if an adult has sex with a 14 year-old?
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Many people never confess to crimes, but are found guilty. People also confess to crimes they didn't commit. Yes, I have no problem with her being in hell for an eternity because she MURDERED someone. Her horrible past doesn't give her a free pass in life. She could have gone and gotten professional help. Instead, she chose to murder her son and hide his body....a body that police have NEVER found.
I was abused by my parents throughout my childhood. Spent more time in family court than anyone should. That didn't give me a free pass to go out and do whatever the heck I wanted to do. I have NEVER murdered anyone. I never even thought about it!
She didn't get a pass, she served her given sentence and used that time to improve herself. And just because you responded a certain way to your abusive upbringing, that doesn't mean everyone has the same experience... every brain is wired differently, and you cannot know what was going on inside of hers. I'm not excusing her crime, btw, just saying it's impossible to understand unless you're her.
She didn't get a pass, she served her given sentence and used that time to improve herself. And just because you responded a certain way to your abusive upbringing, that doesn't mean everyone has the same experience... every brain is wired differently, and you cannot know what was going on inside of hers. I'm not excusing her crime, btw, just saying it's impossible to understand unless you're her.
What if it were your kid she killed? Would you be quite so forgiving and understanding? "She served her given sentence blah blah blah"
If you rob a bank, you can pay for your crime; you can redress the debt. But murder is permanent. You can't unring the bell, you can't turn back time, and you can't bring that boy back to life. This person committed a horrible act that is now a part of her forever.
I'm not saying, never forgive. But when someone makes excuses as this poster does ("every brain is wired differently") then they're making an egregious mistake. Most people don't kill children; that's where her brain is definitely wired differently because protecting children is a deep seated instinct.
A Ph.D. position is a prestigious job; it involves a stipend to teach courses and work on a dissertation. It is reserved for top scholars, people conducting advanced research, people who are supposedly the cream of the crop, the best of us, the future leaders and mentors of the next generation of students.
To grant this creature a Ph.D. is mind-boggling. I submit that she would never have been given the opportunity had she been white, or male. Never in a million years. Her big defender at Harvard is a black woman specializing in African-American studies, who was angry and bitter at being overruled. It's all about racism and identity politics.
There's no such thing as consensual sex at 14... do you not agree with molestation/rape charges if an adult has sex with a 14 year-old?
.
I'm wondering why it matters anyway. Children born from an act of rape should have the same legal protection as any other child. Someone who murders them shouldn't get a lighter sentence because the child was a product of rape.
There's no such thing as consensual sex at 14... do you not agree with molestation/rape charges if an adult has sex with a 14 year-old?
She didn't get a pass, she served her given sentence and used that time to improve herself. And just because you responded a certain way to your abusive upbringing, that doesn't mean everyone has the same experience... every brain is wired differently, and you cannot know what was going on inside of hers. I'm not excusing her crime, btw, just saying it's impossible to understand unless you're her.
What Michelle Jones did was very cold and calculated. She hid his body and would not tell anyone, to this day, where the body is hidden. It's likely that she dismembered his body and buried the parts in different places. She then went to a theater workshop with a friend. These are the actions and behavior of a psychopath. She is also a smart woman and knew that finding his body could lead to a longer prison sentence for her.
One thing I've noticed about feminists is that they consistently defend women who murder their children. They see women as being forced into motherhood by the "patriarchy". This is what turned me against the feminist movement.
A 20 year sentence is very light for murdering a child. She did get off easy. A man who murdered a child would have been given a life sentence or the death penalty. That is a factual statement.
Plenty of women have had abortions though, so its the same thing, they have killed their unborn baby, yet no one is going around calling for them to be jailed for life.
Think about it, if people can accept and tolerate a mother killing her unborn baby, why would it bother them if the mother choose to kill the baby after it was born? Its still HER choice...right?
Before you say that an unborn baby is not a real 'life', legally it very much is, a person that kills a pregnant woman CAN be charged with 2 counts of murder, if the fetus was not a real life, a murder charge could not be brought, plus, DNA testing of fetus can effect court proceedings, so in a courtroom, an unborn baby is very much a real life.
What happened to giving it up for adoption or would that be giving up the meal ticket ?
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Originally Posted by Spazkat9696
Are you serious? This child was 4!
This.
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Originally Posted by blisterpeanuts
What if it were your kid she killed? Would you be quite so forgiving and understanding? "She served her given sentence blah blah blah"
If you rob a bank, you can pay for your crime; you can redress the debt. But murder is permanent. You can't unring the bell, you can't turn back time, and you can't bring that boy back to life. This person committed a horrible act that is now a part of her forever.
I'm not saying, never forgive. But when someone makes excuses as this poster does ("every brain is wired differently") then they're making an egregious mistake. Most people don't kill children; that's where her brain is definitely wired differently because protecting children is a deep seated instinct.
A Ph.D. position is a prestigious job; it involves a stipend to teach courses and work on a dissertation. It is reserved for top scholars, people conducting advanced research, people who are supposedly the cream of the crop, the best of us, the future leaders and mentors of the next generation of students.
To grant this creature a Ph.D. is mind-boggling. I submit that she would never have been given the opportunity had she been white, or male. Never in a million years. Her big defender at Harvard is a black woman specializing in African-American studies, who was angry and bitter at being overruled. It's all about racism and identity politics.
All of this.
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Originally Posted by PriscillaVanilla
I'm wondering why it matters anyway. Children born from an act of rape should have the same legal protection as any other child. Someone who murders them shouldn't get a lighter sentence because the child was a product of rape.
Most profound statement in this thread, IMO.
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