Can’t or Won’t
Posted by Anna on June 28, 2007
Without seeing the judge’s full remarks, I can’t say for certain that her words have not been twisted in this article, but it certainly appears that way. Her actual words, quoted towards the end of the article are:
I am satisfied there is a significant risk that you [a convicted rapist] would, if given an opportunity to commit a relevant offence, fail to exercise control of your sexual instinct.
However, at the start of the article, the newspaper reports:
A New Zealand-born actor has been jailed indefinitely for raping three Adelaide women, with a judge finding he cannot control his sexual urges.
There is a large amount of difference between someone who does not do something and someone who cannot do something.
Is it too much to ask for that the media stops making rapists out to be prisoners of their own desires, with no free will of their own?
