Murder victim ‘inviting,’ so no jail
Judge rules woman’s clothes, conduct ease blame on attacker

A convicted murderer will not go to jail because a Manitoba judge says the victim sent signals that “death was in the air” through her gothic attire and morbid conduct on the night of the attack.

Keith Robinson was given a two-year conditional sentence last week which allows him to remain free in the community, in a decision likely to trigger strong debate. The Crown wanted at least three years behind bars.

Queen’s Bench Justice Robert Dewar called Robinson a “clumsy Ted Bundy” who may have misunderstood what the victim wanted when he murdered her along a darkened highway outside Thompson in 2006.

Robinson and a friend met the 26-year-old woman and her girlfriend earlier that night outside a bar under what the judge called “inviting circumstances.” Dewar specifically noted the women were wearing dark clothing, black army boots and plenty of black makeup.

“They made their intentions publicly known that they wanted to die,” said Dewar. He said the women spoke of going to a nearby cemetery that night “notwithstanding the fact neither of them had a relative there.”

The foursome left the parking lot and headed into the woods, court was told. Robinson began making threatening advances towards the victim, who initially rejected him but later returned his playful threats. Robinson then attacked the woman once they were alone.

Robinson pleaded not guilty at the trial on the basis he thought the woman had consented. Dewar rejected his defence — but said aspects of it can now be considered in sentencing.

“This is a different case than one where there is no perceived invitation,” said Dewar. “This is a case of misunderstood signals and inconsiderate behaviour.”

Dewar said he didn’t want to be seen as blaming the victim but that all of the factors surrounding the case must be viewed to assess “moral blameworthiness.”

“I’m sure whatever signals were sent that death was in the air were unintentional,” he said.

The Crown was seeking at least three years in prison for Robinson, who has no prior criminal record and works for the City of Thompson. They cited numerous precedents from the Manitoba Court of Appeal suggesting the “starting point” for a murder is a penitentiary sentence.

“This sentencing will raise a number of issues relating to public confidence in the sentencing process,” Crown attorney Sheila Seesahai told court. She said the victim was at the mercy of her much larger attacker and his “repugnant and reprehensible” conduct.

“This is a very serious murder case. The harm to the victim can’t be underestimated,” said Seesahai.

Defence lawyer Derek Coggan told court it’s clear alcohol was a factor for both his client and the victim in terms of their ability to make good judgments.

“She had a very different understanding of what was in the accused’s mind than he did,” said Coggan. He said Robinson never threatened the woman, didn’t have a weapon and was simply “insensitive to the fact (she) was not a willing participant.”

Dewar said the case was not “typical” of ones the courts often see and shouldn’t be viewed as a precedent.

“There is a different quality to this case than many murders,” he said. “Not all guilty people are morally culpable to the same level. This difference is not to be reflected in conviction. It can be reflected in sentencing. Protection of society is not advanced one iota by putting Mr. Robinson in jail.”

Robinson will be under a 24-hour curfew for the first year of his conditional sentence, with exceptions to allow him to work and attend to medical appointments. His name will also be placed on the national murderer registry. The judge also ordered Robinson to write a letter of apology to his victim.

Oh, I’m sorry, it wasn’t murder, it was rape. Well, I guess that’s different, then. She must have been asking for it.

I was struck by the imbalance in the conversation, so I counted a few things in the video:

# men: 6 (the host, Cornel West, and the 4 men on stage)
# women: 2

Length of time men spoke overall: 7:11
Length of time women spoke overall: 2:12

Length of time men spoke per person: 1:11
Length of time women spoke per person: 1:06

Length of time the audience gave extended applause to men: 0:52
Length of time the audience gave extended applause to women: 0:02*

While women were not represented in terms of numbers, they did have as much chance to speak as the men were. I’d say a difference of 5 seconds is negligible. What disturbs me is how the audience responded to their points. The two seconds of applause for Kim Osorio was granted when she prompted the audience to thank Nelly for appearing despite his record label wanting otherwise; if I hadn’t counted that, the women would have gotten a goose egg. A group with a 3:1 gender ratio had a 26:1 applause ratio. I’m not sure what to think about that.

America is make-over crazy. And especially since Queer Eye [for the Straight Guy], there is a perception that gay men or drag queens can transform anyone with their helpful hints. And do you know why we have such a knack for correcting figure flaws, hairstyles, flattering clothing, and body language? Because straights can be evil and if we don’t learn how not to swish and what not to wear, straights may beat us up or even kill us. So the message I’d like to send to these makeover crazy women is that if you value us and our tips, then value our lives and teach your sons and husbands not to beat and murder us. Because you bitches can’t get any more tips from a dead gay.

I couldn’t agree more.

UPDATE: This made me tear up a little.

Of course, this sympathy is almost instantly undermined by the rest of the content on the site.

Here’s Page 1:

Ines Sainz, a reporter with the network Azteca, is having claims she was sexually harassed by several members of the New York Jets when she attended one of their practices investigated by the NFL.

Allegedly, Sainz had footballs thrown at her by a Jets coaches, and then was called at inappropriately by several members of the the Jets team when she entered the locker room.

Sexual harassment is no laughing matter, and it’s a threat female reporters face on a daily basis in the world of sports. Here is a list of 10 of the most harassed female reporters of all time.

Here’s Page 11:

Olson’s story is one of the saddest in sports history. She was a reporter for the Boston Globe, covering the New England Patriots in 1991.

One of the players deemed Olson a “Looker” or someone whose eyes do not stay up in the locker room. General manager Pat Sullivan watched her interview Maurice Hurst and determined she was acting professionally, so he allowed her to stay. Tight end Zeke Mowatt approached nude and began doing inappropriate things directly in front of her, as did several other players.

Olson called it “mind rape”, Patriots owner Victor Kiam called her an untelligent female dog.

Olson was taken off the Pats beat, and the team was fined by the NFL, but the damage had been done. Olson got hundreds of threatening phone calls and letters, and was eventually forced to take a job in Australia to get away.

She has since returned to the States, and currently writes for AOL Fanhouse. But she remains the worst example of sexual harassment in the history of sports reporting.

Here’s page 12, linking to the next slideshow on the site:

The Hottest Cheerleaders In Baseball! Check out those gams!

And here is the Sports & Pop Culture Links section, directly next to the story of Lisa Olsen.

• Mark Wahlberg: “Everyone At ESPN Is Sleeping With Each Other”
• The Ladies Of The Lingerie Football League. Boobs!
• Rex Ryan Will Be The Next John Madden – Here’s Why
• Patriots LB Gets Scandalous With His Girlfriend On Video Chat. Boobs!
• The 10 Biggest White-Trash Pitchers, In Honor Of Kenny Powers’ Return
• It’s Football Season Again! Boobs!
• If Any Fan Deserves To Get Tased, It’s NASCAR Fans