You are on a jury trial in which a man is accused of rape. The female victim tes

Question

You are on a jury trial in which a man is accused of rape. The female victim testifies that she had voluntarily consumed a large amount of alcohol prior to the attack. Nonetheless, she also testifies that she did not have consensual sex with the man in question, despite her inebriated state at the time. She claims that she was forcibly raped. In the jury deliberations, a number of fellow jury members have voiced their inclination to be lenient toward the accused, given the woman’s testimony. As a jury member, and based on what you have learned in this lesson, what would be your position?

Explanation / Answer

As per my understanding, I think taking in large amount of alcohol and forced sex or rape are two completely separate things. What makes someone assume that by consuming large amount of alcohol one is inviting someone for consensual sex ? Sex is consensual when it is agreed upon by 2 parties. Having forced sex (as i would like to call it) is independent of the fact whether someone is on alcohol or not. A "no" is always a "no". Basically, with high amount of alcohol one is never in the correct state of mind to take decisions or come to conclusion. Hence, it cannot be taken as a state of normalcy. In such cases, something which is not normal cannot be accepted to be the right state. For me, I cannot be lenient towards the accused because he has breached the state of normalcy.

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