Friday, March 30, 2007

File This Under "It's About Fracking Time!"

As reported on MSNBC, a woman in Texas is being charged with manslaughter after her husband shot her lover. The reason he shot her lover is that she falsely claimed the man was raping her. The husband was forced to face a grand jury, but the grand jury did the right thing by refusing to charge him. After all, the reason he shot his wife's lover is that he believed - based on her assertion - that she was being raped. A perfectly reasonable reaction for anyone who cares to protect those he loves. But she lied, presumably knowing that her husband would act to protect her.

If only more women who lie in similar situations were to face the same consequences, there'd be a lot fewer innocent men in prison. It probably wouldn't even take that many women facing the consequences of their lies - just enough to make it clear that lying in a situation where the consequences of the lie put an innocent person at risk of prison or death will not be tolerated.

Of course, any prosecutor who did require someone to face the consequences of her lies would probably be persecuted as "anti-woman", when all he really is, is anti-perjury.