Austrian Man Accused of Unspeakable Crimes

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

I cannot believe that this monster is only facing a maximum of 15 years in prison. I am not at all familiar with the Austrian justice system, but I would think he's probably facing charges of kidnapping, false imprisonment, rape, battery, etc. My guess is the most serious charge is rape and the Austrians have screwy system where the sentences for each count run concurrent to one another, meaning that the convict only serves time for the most egregious offense (which, in this case, is rape). In any case, it stinks.

I'm not particularly fond of justice systems that emphasize rehabilitation. It would be nice if we could send criminals to some school and transform them into law-abiding citizens. But, the simple fact is rehabilitation rarely works. For centuries the U.S. justice system tried to rehab criminals, employing methods ranging from isolating, silencing and beating convicts to having criminals talk things through with counselors. Nothing has worked and, quite frankly, I doubt that any system is capable of taking the worst of the worst and turning them into decent people. Does anyone realistically think that a man who repeatedly rapes a child can be reformed?

[FRPLG]

Originally Posted by Sheriff Gonna Getcha

Does anyone realistically think that a man who repeatedly rapes a child can be reformed?

I'd say no. I also think it is pretty tough to change people at a character level and thats what a lot of crime boils down to.

I'll ask this. Why would we want to? Seriously. Let's say we can work some miracle and turn a piece of crap like this guy into some benevolent vessel of peace and love. Does ANYONE want that? Do we want a guy like this, inspite of his heinous unspeakable crimes, walking around due to some miraculous rehabilitation? I don't. I couldn't care less if he is rehabed or not. He still did the crime. He still took away his daughter's life for 24 years and subjected her and the children to gross human atrocity. Becoming a better person doesn't pay her or society back for his crimes.

[JoeRedskin]

Originally Posted by Sheriff Gonna Getcha

I cannot believe that this monster is only facing a maximum of 15 years in prison. I am not at all familiar with the Austrian justice system, but I would think he's probably facing charges of kidnapping, false imprisonment, rape, battery, etc. My guess is the most serious charge is rape and the Austrians have screwy system where the sentences for each count run concurrent to one another, meaning that the convict only serves time for the most egregious offense (which, in this case, is rape). In any case, it stinks.

I'm not particularly fond of justice systems that emphasize rehabilitation. It would be nice if we could send criminals to some school and transform them into law-abiding citizens. But, the simple fact is rehabilitation rarely works. For centuries the U.S. justice system tried to rehab criminals, employing methods ranging from isolating, silencing and beating convicts to having criminals talk things through with counselors. Nothing has worked and, quite frankly, I doubt that any system is capable of taking the worst of the worst and turning them into decent people. Does anyone realistically think that a man who repeatedly rapes a child can be reformed?

Excellent post.

From what I have read, most European systems have concurrent sentencing. They also do not bring additional counts for the related crimes.

[riggins44]

I second the Texas Justice System for this guy. What really amazes me is that his wife had no clue! How do you not know there is a basement or cellar under your house.