I have a hard time finding fault in this girl, and her punishment just adds salt to the wound:
An Iowa teenage sex trafficking victim who stabbed her rapist to death was sentenced by a judge on Tuesday to five years of closely supervised probation and must pay $150,000 restitution to her abuser's family.
Pieper Lewis, 17, stabbed her abuser, 37-year-old Zachary Brooks, more than 30 times in June 2020. She was initially charged with first-degree murder.
Last year, Lewis pleaded to involuntary manslaughter and willful injury, both of which were punishable by up to 10 years in prison. However, Polk County District Judge David Porter deferred those prison sentences on Tuesday, meaning Lewis could serve 20 years if she violates her probation.
Porter said he ordered Lewis to pay restitution to Brooks' family because the court was "presented with no other option." He explained that the restitution is mandatory under Iowa law...
Iowa is not among the dozens of states with a safe harbor law that gives trafficking victims some level of criminal immunity.
Update, 9/15/22: This somewhat restores my faith in humanity:
A fundraiser to help an Iowa teen pay $150,000 in restitution to the family of an alleged rapist she killed has collected more than double its goal.
The GoFundMe account for 17-year-old Pieper Lewis has raised more than $378,833 from over 10,000 donors as of Thursday afternoon – after the court-ordered payment sparked national outrage.
From what I've read, the money after the young woman's restitution is paid, will be used both to give her a good start in life (college or business) and to help others in her same situation.
ReplyDeleteShe may not be a saint, but no one deserves what happened to her. I hope she is able to turn her life around.
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