I have been following on-line the story/case in Austria about a man who imprisoned his 18 year old daughter in a dungeon underneath his and his wife's home, repeatedly raped her and fathered her seven children, one of whom died underground and none of whom saw the outside of the dungeon until 11 months ago. The daughter is now 42. (For more info on this case you can go to http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29733949/)
The man is facing a variety of charges that could put him in jail for the rest of his life. As I read this article and as I have thought about this case over the past few days, I had the thought that not only would it be appropriate for this man, who is in his 70's, to spend the rest of his life in prison, but also it would be appropriate if he was raped while incarcerated.
One of the definitions of justice is "the administering of deserved punishment or reward." Keeping this definition in mind, can anyone really argue that if this guy was raped in prison he wouldn't deserve it? Would that not be a perfect definition of having the punishment fit the crime? To those who argue that prison should be geared towards rehabilitation rather than punishment (and I find myself in that camp quite often), I would say that what better way to show this man what a horrible thing he has done than to have him experience something similar. Would that not be a means of inspiring empathy for the plight of his victim?
My thoughts on this are still not fully formed, and I realize that essentially encouraging the rape of a prisoner is problematic for all sorts of reason, but I have had a very strong reaction to this case and felt like putting a few of my thoughts down. Feel free to comment, critique, etc.
Be well.
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