I have a great idea

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How about f**k the domestic violence charge altogether and turn it into a slavery charge? It's time to stop thinking of it as mere abuse and start seeing it for what it really is. The sentences dudes get when it doesn't involve a weapon is a f*****g joke. It is truly BS that people get a slap on the wrist for entirely controlling someone else's life. No other crime takes control over the victim's life to the same extent. Most crimes are isolated incidents, but to have every part of your life under someone else's control and having to live with that day in and day out is slavery.

I propose 25 to life. Slavery shows the same disregard for human life as murder.

Slavery is a legally defined status. As such, domestic abuse is not slavery.

Seems a bit ummm crazy

For all intents and purposes it is slavery and should be legally considered as such. Every aspect of the victim's life is excessively and pervasively restricted.

25 to life? That would be a burden on the government, there is no way realistically it could work or would be a good idea

No, it is not slavery. As I have said, slavery is a legally defined satus. A consequence of this is that, by definition, there can be no penalty for holding someone in slavery.

I have no firm opinion on what you have said, but the association with slavery is false and unnecessary.

However there are laws against "false imprisonment" (holding someone in a building against thier will- akin to the kidnapping laws).

You would have to argue that domestic abuse is a form of false imprisonment. Not saying that that would be either successful nor even necessary. But that might make more legal sense.

The criminal law does not work on such a loose standard as, "for all intents and purposes." The rule of law in jurisdictions that are heir to the Common Law of England and Wales requires that that which is prohibited is clearly defined, and that the stated case be made out beyond a reasonable doubt. Forcible confinement, sexual assault, criminal harassment--these are all available charges when a prosecutor believes that the case can be proved to a judge or to a jury beyond a reaonable doubt.

The real trouble with domestic violence is that the victims of violence tolerate it for far too long. They put the interests of their marriage or their children ahead of their own bodily integrity--and that only serves to reinforce the unacceptable beheaviour of their assailant.

But who are we to second guess that person's decision? Is a woman wrong to forgive her husband once for striking her? Is she wrong for forgiving him twice? Is she wrong for forgiving him twelve times in the last month? Personally, my view is that she ought not to forgive him even once, but I am not that woman and I am not in a place to substitute my judgement for hers.

You guys don't get it.

I'm not saying that domestic violence constitutes slavery as it is defined and is therefore being unenforced. I'm saying the definition of slavery ought to be expanded to include domestic violence. I'm not stating facts, I'm stating opinions.

I'm aware that the law doesn't work on the basis of "for all intents and purposes". All "intents and purposes" is simply my rationale for why the definition of slavery should be expanded.

For the most part, the system is burdened by petty crap (which I won't get into in this thread) not serious crimes. Get those outta the way and the system has a lot more leeway to address domestic violence.

No, the definition of slavery ought not to be expanded, because at the moment, there is no definition of slavery in Western developped countries because there is no slavery. If slavery is a legal status, wherever it doesn't exist, this legal status is not defined, and cannot technically be expanded without being created.

Just use some other word. Something doesn't have to be slavery to be wrong.

I'm sure the African-American community would just embrace this with open arms.

Yes there is slavery, there is an underground sex slave trade (almost appears like I am being sarcastic, sadly I am not)

It is estimated by some that there are more slaves in the world now than in any other time in history

But that's not what you said in your original post. You simply suggested using a charge of "slavery" as a means of getting at the problem of domestic violence. You cannot blame the audience for failing to make the logical leaps that you have failed to put in words.



So why, then, redefine anything at all? Get the pretty crap out of the way, and actually start prosecuting domestic violence under the existing crimes that all carry sentences that would be more sufficient to the purpose.

One could say based on some variant of the definition of a slave, postulate this

"a person entirely under the domination of some influence or person."

Normally this definition is applied to the concept of something inanimate, like a drug or a diseases. But one could apply this to an actual person.

By this standard, Pattern Domestic violence (repeated Assault and Battery, Aggravated Assault, over a set period of time, with the design of creating a dependent personality in the person subjected to the abuse, by way of physical and mental conditioning) could be viewed as a form of "slavery" per se.

The issue with getting such a thing recognized by the current Jurisprudential system would be a few things. First youd have to find a judge sensible enough to rule on such a thing, based on a set of circumstances as stated above. Secondly, youd have to hope that any appeal made against it doesnt have some loophole or provisioning for in the Constitution (I havent looked, and not going to).

Based on all this, its POSSIBLE, that such a thing could be considered.

That said, hitting your spouse one time, in a drunken fit of rage, because you knocked back one too many bud lights one night, would not qualify. Thats still Assault and Battery in the First.

You are right and have just completely destroyed my position. I don't know how I didn't think of that, and I shall attempt to find a broader definition of slavery to include its illegal forms.

However, the fact that I was wrong does not mean that the accusation of slavery for domestic violence is justified.


There are more people that at any other time in history, so it doesn't mean anything.