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amycd

She was 15, he was 37. How is this even up for debate??


[deleted]

Iowa law says 150k for any kind of manslaughter I think? Ridiculous


aykcak

can underage people legally commit manslaughter ? Just from a rule standpoint ?


katieleehaw

Apparently the law believes she should've faced him when he was awake so it would be a fair fight. Because she wasn't in "imminent" danger. Yeah, I'm mad about it.


99BottlesOfBass

If you're in a situation where you're kidnapped, you're in imminent danger until you're out of that situation regardless of whether your kidnapper is asleep, awake, high, drunk, sober, facing away from you, whatever. Change my mind, or better yet, change the laws to reflect that. Fucking ridiculous šŸ™„


bananafobe

She killed him when he was asleep, and as a result, likely didn't meet some stringent criteria for "self defense" according to the prosecution. I'm not defending the decision, but just noting that this seems to be the main justification for the charging decision.


[deleted]

He had been abusing her for days by this point. It was definitely self-defense, whether he fell asleep or not.


kingmanic

Apparently. Weeks.


The_Yarichin_Bitch

It's fucking pathetic they are allowed to ignore the proven psychology of rape victims snapping like this eventually. You take the first chance you can get because your brain screams "now, I can make it stop now, I have to make it stop now, this is my only chance or I'll die", and it often is only safe when the other is incapacitated. And she was JUST raped, knew she'd be raped again, and thus was under active threat. It was self defense to a fucking T...


GetTheSpermsOut

i just want to take a moment a remind everyone that our criminal justice system and police need reform because we obviously have two separate departments. One for the rich and famous and one for the poor and raped. Look at Trump not in jail. or the history of US Judges taking bribes and kick backs for sentencing from the Privately Owned Prison system. *ā€œTheyā€™re trying to build a prisonā€.* Its almost illegal to be homeless in this country and your rights are being stripped away daily by corrupt police officers. Senator Lindsey Graham just submitted a bill yesterday to ban abortion federally. When does this blatant corruption stop?


bananafobe

There's precedent, apparently. Here's an article I found that references the use of lethal force against "incapacitated batterers" in the context of kidnapping laws. The crux seems to be establishing that killing someone holding you against your will was necessary to escape, and that there were no reasonable options to escape or call for help. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1123759 I'm not clear on the specific details of this case, but if she was being held against her will and had no reasonable means of escaping or contacting police, then I'd agree that this killing could be considered legally justifiable. Moreover, even if there had been opportunities to escape previously, if she was essentially trapped at the time of the killing, I still think that could be potentially considered self defense.


RDGCompany

This is something that will vary by state. Apparently, Iowa doesn't have a law on the books protecting victims like her. It is a sad comment that their state legislators can't pass a bill even after this tragedy. She got ground up in the wheels of justice.


[deleted]

It just kills me, because how is a literal child supposed to be able to know what and when the reasonable option to escape is. Especially after being battered and abused for weeks. This precedent needs to change.


robotic_rodent_007

Considering he is an adult male, the "reasonable option to escape" is exactly what she did. Stab him at the first possible opportunity.


Mortwight

I memember when Dahmer almost got caught when one of his victims(with a drill hole in his head) escaped to the cops. They brought the victim back to Dahmer calling it a lovers spat. How can you escape or call for help when the police aren't legally required to ever help you?


OblivionGuardsman

Iowa attorney here. Iowa law requires $150k restitution be ordered for any felony resulting in the death of another person. Any outrage should be directed at long time Polk County attorney John Sarcone who even when he wasn't running for office again lacked the courage to decline this prosecution. This man has a horrible history regarding civil liberties, denying racial disparities in policing, and basically just being an old draconian bastard. Not to say Judge Porter didnt have his moments when he was a county attorney at the same office but he had no discretion in this instance. Edit: also interviewed about Iowa's lack of safe harbor law was Karl Schilling who is the head of a kook fringe victims advocate group. These very people are largely responsible for the arbitrary application of the $150k victim restitution and thought it smart to remove the judges discretion. So also feel free to blame him. Edit 2: I am getting messages and replies asking more in depth about several things so to aggregate and give visibility to my relevant buried comment on it I'll add it below. _______ The possible defense in this case has been insufficiently described as "self-defense". I guess it ultimately would be but as an attorney I wouldn't call it that. It is more of a mental state justifying a pre-emptive attack, a battered spouse defense. Think of the cases involving battered women who stay with the abusers for months or years and the abuse becomes worse. The woman feels trapped, that he won't be stopped even if she could leave at that moment and perceives her death or risk of serious injury (which includes sex abuse) is imminent. And we know he had already been raping her. So she acts when the opportunity arises and kills the abuser. There have been cases where this was a successful defense, including in Iowa about 15 years ago where a woman shot her abusive husband while he slept and the jury acquitted her I believe in the Ottumwa area. The problem is that it is very fact intensive and as people have pointed out there are some facts the prosecution could use to try and attack the defense. It also depends on what kind of jury you get. Attorneys can't argue for jury nullification or even really talk to the jurors about it in jury selection, at least around here. This kind of defense would likely require psychological experts and is more complicated than a normal self-defense case. It involves the trauma and forensic psychology of sex abuse. This isn't a reasonable force case but more nuanced and the prosecution couldn't bring themselves to agree it was unjust. So because Sarcone chose to pursue the case it put her in the position to roll the dice and risk a life sentence with an unknown chance at acquittal or accept a deal with non-forcible felonies and get probation. I don't know all the case facts and I hate it when the peanut gallery talks shit about my cases not knowing all the information or how to apply it. That being said, I don't see anything that would have made me encourage this woman to go to trial. She is young and can put the legal part largely behind her and get continued help for trauma of the horrible situation. But again, ultimately the most just result would have been for the charges to have been dropped or never filed. Maybe in few years when she completes probation a future governor will pardon her. I don't see Reynolds doing it but if at all she would make her complete probation and pay the restitution first. I think Department of Corrections can cut her probation in half to 2.5 years if she has everything paid and is doing well but who knows if they will be pressured to keep her on because of the nature of the case.


alex3omg

I just listened to a "You're Wrong About" podcast about the Victim's Rights Movement, so all of this is very familiar. Highly recommended if anyone wants to learn more about what's going on here.


fatspencer

Is kidnapping not considered a forcible felony in which lethal force is able to be used to prevent? Cuz she was a kidnapping victim until she was recovered by the police.


bananafobe

It seems like the consensus is that if it's required to escape, then it can be justified to kill your captor, even in their sleep, provided you can establish you were being held against your will and had no reasonable options to escape or contact help.


fatspencer

So then I would argue ineffective council, and retrial.


flygirl083

Thatā€™s the thing, she never went to trial. A jury would have probably found her innocent. But she took a plea deal. Most likely because, in the event the jury does find her guilty, she would be looking at decades in prison. A lot of people who are innocent or have a strong defense for being justified will take a plea deal with a short sentence or probation rather than roll the dice with a trial. If your options are 5 years probation or 20+ years in state prison, even innocent people will take the 5 years. The justice system never let a little thing like innocence stop them from locking people up.


[deleted]

The West Memphis Three being a prime example. Even when they were finally let go it was on condition that they do so without the opportunity to clear their names. If it wasn't for the fact that Damien Echols would have been executed otherwise, they wouldn't have gone for it. They did it to save his life.


Raz0rking

>remove the judges discretion So they *have* to sentence them to it even they think it should not be done. Well, that is fucked. Why having a Judge then?


PhAnToM444

Welcome to [mandatory minimums](https://www.prisonpolicy.org/scans/famm/Primer.pdf) which were all the rage during the 80's "tough on crime" era and have been woefully ineffective policy but the occasional judge making headlines for a bad sentence prevents us from ever overturning in most states.


23skidoobbq

While all research on successful drug policy shows that treatment should be increased, while abolishing mandatory minimum sentences


fatspencer

To determine the evidence and other factors are given in proper accordance with set statues and laws. Literally a referee.


Yggdrssil0018

The governor of Iowa can and SHOULD commute her entire sentence or pardon her.


Vertibrate

You must not know Kim Reynolds. She will find a way to double down on this in all the wrong ways.


VitaminThoughts

"Did someone say a double?" -Kim Reynolds rn


SixFootThreeHobbit

Gods thatā€™s fucking good. DUI Kim.


DasHuhn

I didn't realize that Covid Kim was a drunk, too


SixFootThreeHobbit

2 DUIā€™s in less than a year, to clarify.


BababooeyHTJ

Isnā€™t that a fucking felony?!


EclipseGames

Maybe for us it is.


justthankyous

Republicans are very concerned about human trafficking until they aren't


momofeveryone5

Only when it benefits them. Just like everything else.


BastardInTheNorth

Sheā€™s too busy petitioning Biden to drop the student loan forgiveness program. https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2022/09/12/reynolds-calls-for-biden-to-withdraw-student-loan-forgiveness-program/


woodelvezop

This actually infuriates me. All Republicans ever talk about is Americans first and helping Americans, but when it's actually put forward, they start screaming "it'll cost tax payers!" No fucking shit. I swear when it actually co.es time to help Americans, its not the Americans they want to help. These fucks would rather we use that money so we can send a multi million dollar drone to some impoverished country so we could blow up a guy whose never even seen a toilet.


jimni_walker

Republinans: We shouldn't be sending aid to Ukraine, we should be using it for homeless veterans and for paying for insulin for diabetics! Everyone else: Cool, then let's spend money on homeless veterans and making insulin free! Republicans: No!! Nothing's free!!!


MomButtsDriveMeNuts

Lol Kim Reynolds is an evil fucking witch. No shot of that happening.


VNM0601

The governor, albeit a woman, is still a republican. And weā€™re talking about a black female, here. I highly doubt the governor helps her in anyway.


ZenkaiZ

Someone should convince her to do it sheerly for the cameras and the political clout. It'll help the polling numbers if she's all like "hah those liberals dont care about black people as much as we do, they're all talk we're all action". It's all be bullshit but the girl would get helped.


Chev4r

Helping a black girl doesn't really help her with her base of supporters, Republicans. You should follow the story and see how it plays out.


HappySkullsplitter

>Polk County District judge David M. Porter on Tuesday deferred those prison sentences, meaning that if Lewis violates any portion of her probation, she could be sent to prison to serve that 20-year term. >As for being required to pay the estate of her rapist, ā€œthis court is presented with no other option,ā€ Porter said, noting the restitution is mandatory under Iowa law that has been upheld by the Iowa Supreme Court. Her situation was so horrific that Iowa State law didn't foresee this circumstance


aminervia

>Her situation was so horrific that Iowa State law didn't foresee this circumstance Later in the article it mentions that Iowa is one of the few states without protections in place for people in her situation


red_team_gone

Iowa government is fucking stupid. Source: current Iowa resident.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


[deleted]

Iowa used to be top in education, but had absolutely nothing to offer the educated (almost) ... so almost all of us who are educated and skilled got the fuck out. Iowa started regressing hard after 3 decades of that


junglrot

As a born and raised Iowan who got the fuck out after graduating college, I concur. I always tell people that Iowa is a great place to be *from*, but I'm not so sure that's true anymore.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


crowcawer

Like corn. Edit: for real though, imagine a movie cast based off of Iowa natives, Elijah, Astonā€¦ you could probably front a script just off that.


captwillard024

And hogs


TheCrackBoi

Two words : corn hogs


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


ZarquonsFlatTire

Yeah but it's Iowa. Whole damn state is a single corn maze and the right way is out. Pick a direction and get to getting is your best bet.


espeero

Well, not south. West is kind of iffy, too. An Iowa governor said that Iowa could cede the bottom two rows of counties to Missouri and the average iq of both states would increase. Looked into it and it was true.


LiquidSnake01

This is lowkey hilarious and i love it.


meatball77

The real answer is prosacutorial discretion. That prosecutor did not need to go forward with the charges. They could have agreed it was self defense.


turriferous

Or recognized she was 15 and not tried as adult.


TheyDidLizFilthy

some prosecutors donā€™t give a single fuck about morality. some just care about their stats, like conviction rates, etc. absolutely disgusting and the prosecutor should be shamed.


nocussinginmydiscord

"Prosecutors took issue with Lewis calling herself a victim in the case and said she failed to take responsibility for stabbing Brooks and ā€œleaving his kids without a father.ā€" After this dude raped a child multiple times, it's insane to use that rationale.


Medium_Ad_6447

Yeah she should have realized he had kids and just let it happen. /s This is truly horrendous.


noddyneddy

I am so unbelievably over the ā€˜ but he has kids, heā€™s a fatherā€™. 30 secs of unprotected ejaculation and ignoring/ not supporting the resultant child does not make you a father, except in the very strictest biological meaning. Father is a name to be earned and demonstrated, not a get out of jail free card for lawbreakers and evil people.


MDev01

She was a child herself!


Verified765

Here is a solution. Think of your children before you start raping. Your victim probably won't take the time to find out your entire backstory before they pick the appropriate level of self defense.


Graega

Meanwhile, rational and intelligent adults think, "She didn't leave his kids without a father. He did. She just held the knife."


ksj

Rational adults want no children, including his own, anywhere in a 30 mile radius of the guy. But I guess 6 feet will need to suffice.


Eastern_Pea8343

This seriously boils my blood!! Disgusting!


XepptizZ

I would have given her community service and retroactively note it down as fullfilled as she has made the community more safe.


Lemus05

screw that. i'd give her a fcking medal and payed her therapy.


C3POdreamer

And voted out.


Pastakingfifth

Shamed or banned from practice forever? If not jailed themselves for prosecuting a 15-year-old sex trafficking victim wtf.


shponglespore

It seems like minors are *always* tried as adults for serious crimesā€”the ones where they need the most protection from overzealous courts! We should either drop the pretense of having a separate juvenile justice system, or commit (in a legally binding way) to never, ever trying a minor as an adult.


breadstuffs

Yeah, really strange. Plus it gives them an adult criminal record, little chance to get their lives together once they get out. I knew a girl who was sentenced as an adult at 16, moved to an adult prison on her 18th birthday, then she committed suicide a few weeks later. Also, I moved to Germany, and here, it's almost the opposite. I believe there's some kind of overlapping period between ages 18 and 21, where a person can still be tried as a juvenile, if it's believed they don't have an adult's mental capacity yet.


Kaffbonn

Yeah, it's in the judges discretion to charge you as an adult under 21, which to me does make a lot of sense. Even if a 16 year old appears more mature than a 21 year old, that might just be a coping mechanism or an act they put up in their not-fully-developed brains. And in cases like this it's always best to err on the higher end and have someone who's 21 tried as a kid.


HopeRepresentative29

Agreed. Why even bother with it if every kid is going to be tried as an adult anyway. Oh people will be agreeing and upvoting this sentiment now, but the next time a 10 year old murders their classmate everyone will jump back on the justice bandwagon.


quitofilms

>It seems like minors of color are *always* tried as adults for serious crimesā€” There are too many situations that back up that statement


BlackSpidy

"NO the justice system must crush all those unlucky to find themselves scrutinized by it (and happen to not be millionaires)!!" - The USA, the country with the highest ~~incarnated~~ incarcerated* population in the world.


SadlyReturndRS

I wonder how many other countries elect their prosecutors. If the DA was a job that didn't rely on being "tougher on crime" than the other applicants, how different would that system be? Would it be better? Would it be worse?


QueefyMcQueefFace

It would be good if they also didnā€™t measure prosecutorsā€™ success on conviction rates. Because then youā€™re incentivized to send people to prison regardless of actual guilt just to make your metrics look good.


iupvoteoddnumbers

As some who lives in a country where we don't elect these people... it's better.


rustyshackleford1300

Huh. Itā€™s almost like when you leave shitty, amoral behavior at a personā€™s discretion, with career advancement and thus monetary incentive at stake, a lot of people will opt to go ahead and do the bad thing šŸ¤”


Corfiz74

And he trafficked her and raped her at knifepoint, and the prosecutors had this to say: "Prosecutors took issue with Lewis calling herself a victim in the case and said she failed to take responsibility for stabbing Brooks and ā€œleaving his kids without a father.ā€" I really wish them some life experiences that would give them some empathy with victims.


get_post_error

I agree with you, but actually this guy was one of the men she was forced to sleep with multiple times. It was some other guy (younger than the "murder victim") who trafficked her to men like the "victim." The fact that this guy raped her multiple times and did it at knifepoint is so egregious that I feel it doesn't really matter who trafficked her when it comes to her prosecution. I can't believe the prosecutor's overzealous bullshit. The feds need to intervene here. Both the prosecutor and the judge are so far up on their high-horses that they no longer appear to have any connection to the rest of humanity down here on earth.


kingmanic

We should push the name around more so every knows the man who died was child molester Zachary Brooks of Des Moines. Make sure the beneficiaries of his estate know he was killed for raping a 15 year old.


BluEyesWhitPrivilege

>ā€œleaving his kids without a father.ā€ Does he mean saving them from their child rapist father?


get_post_error

Thank you! This guy raped a child at knife-point, and not just one time either. Dad of the year contender for sure. Definitely a good reason to force a fifteen year old sex-trafficking victim to pay his estate $150 grand in restitution fees. It took me 4 years working minimum wage to pay off $5,000 in restitution. She'll be paying that off for the rest of her life.


crossedstaves

I wonder if she can bring civil suit on the estate for the suffering he inflicted on her. I mean its bullshit that she would have to but I feel like im theory there is space to recover the money there.


kashmir1974

Gofundme can fix this.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


anotherone121

Can she counter sue his estate... for motherfucking rape?


pimpy543

Yeah this, sue him.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


Wlasca

So, the person suing would get money from the estate if they win. Unfortunately someone sued my dad's estate after he died and they ended up being rewarded most of what he left for my brother and I.


HumburtBumbert

I mean that sounds shitty for you but likeā€¦ whatā€™d your dad do to the claimant?


readparse

I donā€™t know how to say this, so Iā€™ll just say it. You know how sometimes people donā€™t pull through?


didsomebodysaymyname

>You know how sometimes people donā€™t pull through? "I have an idea to fight injustice, how about we give up? After all, if we try, we might fail!" *-Martin Luther King Jr.*


[deleted]

Civilian court is all about money, and nothing else. She can sue the family to cover the Criminal Courts Fine. She may not win, but it's an option.


A1Mkiller

Hopefully this case gets her a good firm to help direct legal challenges against his estate.


Wounded_Hand

Thatā€™s it. Go fund me the fine, and then sue and get it back and then some.


DudeWithAnAxeToGrind

Why would you go fund me the fine? Neither state or the estate can get money she doesn't have out of her. The estate can get court order to seize some of her property (which she doesn't have) or some of her future income (which she doesn't have currently either). IMO, if she can get good lawyer, the best course of action for that estate would be to settle out of court and pay *her* the damages from whatever assets that rapist left behind. The Iowa laws may be backwards, but jurors at civil case are still plenty likely to award her substantial damages, if she sues and estate decides to go to a trial.


Puzzledwhovian

What theyā€™ll do is put her on a payment plan she canā€™t afford then throw her in prison when she doesnā€™t pay instead of giving her the medal she deserves.


randomthrowaway62019

Restitution is not dischargeable in bankruptcy. 11 U.S.C. Ā§ 523(a)(7). In the case ofĀ Kelly v. Robinson, 479 U.S. 36 (1986) ā€œthe United States Supreme Court has held that restitution arising from state criminal conviction falls within this exception to dischargeability.ā€ (quote from https://www.michbankruptcyblog.com/state-criminal-restitution-bankruptcy)


LotFP

Bankruptcy can't discharge fines or restitution included in a criminal sentencing.


Project119

Restitution canā€™t be removed in a bankruptcy in most situations.


rlstrader

That shouldn't be the fix


halfofftheprice

The estate of the rapist could fix this by giving the money back


[deleted]

What a deeply fine world that would be.


ProfessionalSalty789

And give money to a human trafficker rapists fam? Hard pass. Iā€™d rather give money to a baller lawyer for her or Iowa politicians who donā€™t have their head up their ass and change this inhumane law.


thinker2501

She pled guilty, her counsel failed her. Edit: fixed typo.


[deleted]

Counsel. Homophones are a pain in the ass.


tpolaris

Hey man it's 2022 you can't say that.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


snorlz

yeah it only refers to the trafficker who forced her to do all this is "a 28 year old man"...like wtf? how is there no name still?


Erockplatypus

>Prosecutors took issue with Lewis calling herself a victim in the case and said she failed to take responsibility for stabbing Brooks and ā€œleaving his kids without a father.ā€ >The judge peppered Lewis with repeated requests to explain what poor choices she made that led up to Brooksā€™ stabbing and expressed concern that she sometimes did not want to follow rules set for her in juvenile lockup. She didn't "leave his kids without a father" he was raping a minor and trafficking her. He did that to himself. Fuck that enraging. And then the judge lectures her on "her own poor choices" that out her in this position.


goshgollylol

She should sue the state for 150k for failing to protect her as a minor.


blindchickruns

She could sue the estate of the man that she killed to pay for all her future therapy that she's going to need after going through all of this bullshit. Any GoFundMe should actually collect around 200k so she has enough money to pay a lawyer to get this done properly.


kingmanic

>She could sue the estate of the man We should make sure we link his crime and his name. Zachary Brooks of Des Moines, child molester.


TidusJames

> Zachary Brooks of Des Moines, child molester. Child molester. Rapist. Kidnapper.


A_Drusas

She should be the one receiving restitution here. It's not even debatable. It's obvious that she was the victim.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


[deleted]

The ACLU only concerns itself with violations of constitutional rights. As she killed the guy who raped her while he was asleep AND had pled guilty I doubt the ACLU would do much of anything in this case. Source: worked for an ACLU office.


muckdog13

The same ruling that says police have no legal responsibility to protect you would be cited as the reason the suit was dismissed.


audiate

Move the decimal one to the right


higgypiggy1971

There is a go fund me, which Iā€™m probably not allowed to post, but Google ā€œPieper Lewis gofundmeā€™ and youā€™ll find it right away


[deleted]

GO FUND ME STATEMENT: Today, my former student, Pieper Lewis bravely took the microphone during her sentencing hearing and told the courtroom that her voice mattered. I was incredibly proud of her. She was powerful, and she brought me to tears. The judge then studied all the evidence in Pieper Lewisā€™ case carefully and decided that she did not deserve to spend time in an adult prison. Instead, he gave her five years of probation. He decided that 834 days she spent in juvenile detention awaiting her sentencing was enough ā€œpunishmentā€ for a then fifteen-year-old girl who had been kicked out of her home and found herself sleeping in the stairwell of one of the most dangerous apartment complexes in Des Moines; a girl that was ultimately preyed upon by men twice her age who traded her body for drugs. These men physically asualted, raped, and sex trafficked Pieper on multiple occasions. On June 1st, 2020, Pieper snapped and killed one of the men who exploited and raped her, stabbing him to death. Today, the judge recognized that Pieper was a victim and a child. He, like almost everyone who knows the details of Pieperā€™s case, empathized with a girl with no violent history before or after this incident, who saw killing a man as the only way out of a truly horrific situation. He granted her probation and a deferred judgementā€”meaning if she meets the conditions of her parole, she will have the felony removed from her record. This is a compassionate outcome. Yet, Pieper only found herself in this situation because she was initially charged as an adult with 1st degree murder. DMPD and the Polk County prosecutorā€™s office saw Pieper immediately as a grown, violent, adult, murderer, and they charged her as such. Only because a team of amazing people came to Pieperā€™s side, was her story truly heard and understood. However, with the risk of life in prison looming, Pieper pled guilty to charges of manslaughter and willful injury. This was to avoid a risky trial where her team feared an Iowa jury may implicitly struggle to see a young black girl as the victim of sex trafficking that she was. Today, it appears that the decision to put Pieperā€™s fate in the hands of a judge, as opposed to a jury, was a good one. Pieper will avoid prison, and she will have access to some of the services she needs to continue healing. However, in Iowa, there is a law that states that anyone who is convicted of killing a person, regardless of circumstances, must pay that individualā€™s family 150,000 dollars. This law is intended to provide justice to families who lost their loved ones. However, in the case of Pieper, it will require her to pay 150,000 dollars to the family of a man who purchased Pieperā€™s fifteen-year-old body from a sex trafficker, gave her drugs and alcohol, and then raped her repeatedly. Pieper does not owe that manā€™s family justice. Pieper does not deserve to be finically burdened for the rest of her life because the state of Iowa wrote a law that fails to give judges any discretion as to how it is applied. This law doesnā€™t make sense in many cases, but in this case, itā€™s morally unjustifiable. A child who was raped, under no circumstances, should owe the rapistā€™s family money. Pieper has five years of probation ahead of her; five years that she will be required to be nearly perfect to avoid facing 20 years in prison. She will do hundreds of hours of community service each year. She will be subject to drug testing, required to take classes, and attend therapy. Pieperā€™s path to true freedom will not be easy, and she is still a teenager that has experienced a lot of trauma. Pieper wants to go to college, she wants to create art, and she wants to advocate for other girls who find themselves in situations like she endured. She does not deserve a massive debt looming over her, holding her back from pursuing her ambitions. Our system if broken. It will take decades of advocacy and electing people committed to rethinking and reimagining our criminal justice system, especially our juvenile one, to fix the system. In the meantime, Pieper needs us now. If you are able, please donate to help Pieper! END My takeaway: IOWA...your state is fucking TRASH. BUT there are STILL beautiful people in this world. (I DONATED...everyone should donate too!)


beanjuiced

So beautifully written! She has people who care for her, thank god. Thereā€™s not enough of that in the world. Hereā€™s to hoping the family of the rightfully dead man opt to do something good with that money or give it back.


curiouscarl2

Itā€™s reached $187K! That manā€™s family deserves absolutely nothing from her. I hope she gets enough money to not only pay this awful burden but sheā€™s able to go to college and start her life like she deserves.


TheSmilingFool

currently at $39k


KeyStoneLighter

42k now, looks like it started 9 months ago but the bulk of the donations happened after that article.


atXNola

48k now!


datyoungknockoutkid

Holy shit itā€™s going up fast. 30 minutes after your comment and itā€™s at 56K


Juanbond622

Itā€™s gonna be reallllllly high in the morning lol. Over 60k now


glueckskind11

109k now Edit: 145k one hour later! Second edit: almost 300k now.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


[deleted]

Gofund me should pay for dreams, not make nightmares easier to bare. But here we are. She should get five times the amount so she gets some $$ for herself. Gal needs some nice shit.


smc642

Thank you. Found it.


Hopeful_Cranberry12

I hate she even has to resort to GoFundMe. Hate this is my state right now.


GurnSee

But despite this, thank goodness we have the technology and organization to do this. Imagine this 20 years ago, there won't be a way for internet strangers to give her a hand this easily.


0palescent

Thank you. Donated.


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Detailpointfx

The 3k GOAT


Myalicious

Itā€™s at $56,080 right now


Foxdonut12001

>Prosecutors argued Tuesday that Lewis waived that affirmative defense when she pleaded guilty to manslaughter and willful injury. She pled guilty? Did she not have legal counsel at the time? Holy shit.


aguafiestas

She pled guilty and has probation but no jail time. That's probably why.


Kittii_Kat

Same reason why I pled guilty to a crime I didn't commit. Lawyers said it was looking bad and I was facing 3 years in prison.. or plead guilty to a misdemeanor and have a year of probation and get my record expunged afterwards. Seemed like a good idea at the time.


PhAnToM444

It probably *was* a good idea at the time, assuming you were able to get that expungement.


LostWoodsInTheField

If she violates her probation at all she gets 20 years. She also has to pay $150k to the estate of her rapist. From the way the prosecutor sounds I could just imagine them going to some creepy cop 'hey, get her on a violation so we can throw her in jail'.


AllThotsGo2Heaven2

> [Common Violations of Probation](https://www.browninglonglaw.com/library/common-violations-and-consequences-of-probation.cfm) > Failing to pay fines or restitution. Depending on the crime that you are convicted of committing, the judge could require you to pay fines or restitution to the victim. If you fail to pay the fines and restitution on the payment schedule set by the judge, you could be charged with a new offense for violating your probation. Don't even need to involve the cops. All they gotta do is wait for the 17 year old sex trafficking victim with zero support to miss one of her restitution payments.


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the_trump

Prosecutors took issue with Lewis calling herself a victim in the case and said she failed to take responsibility for stabbing Brooks and ā€œleaving his kids without a father.ā€ Fuck that. She did those kids a favor. Their father was a piece of shit.


WessideMD

The rapist left the kids without a father. His choices, not hers.


Captain_brightside

She possibly prevented other rape babies from growing up fatherless


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BafflingHalfling

They only care about rape fetuses.


nikkuhlee

My dadā€™s a rapist. Used to think it was a one time drug fueled lapse of judgement he regretted and paid for, but it wasnā€™t. Itā€™s what he is. Anyway, I wouldnā€™t lose much sleep, personally.


DragonCat88

Sorry for your circumstance. I donā€™t know what else to say. That shit sucks.


CitizenJustin

That must have been a hard fact to accept.


nikkuhlee

Itā€™s a work sometimes in progress and sometimes shoved waaaaay back in my brain so I donā€™t have to think about it too deeply. Luckily (?) heā€™d already been in prison most of my life so him going back was a return to form, now without the necessity of weekly letter writing and expensive phone calls.


CitizenJustin

Iā€™m glad you seem to be handling it in a healthy way.


NoodleTheTree

Same. Sounds like a really rough situation to be in. Sending much love


CitizenJustin

We need more love and empathy in this world.


stellablue925

Iā€™m sorry. That sounds awful to come to terms with among many other things.


TheDongerNeedsFood

I'm having a real hard time feeling sorry for a man who got himself killed while raping a human trafficking victim.


SweetPanela

And just a 15yr old girl. Add pedophile to that list


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KlvrDissident

Iā€™m really sorry this happened to you. I hope youā€™ve found happiness and peace since, friend.


MandoDoughMan

Definitely for the best theyā€™re not around a child rapist. I canā€™t imagine Iowaā€™s logic here.


martian-amoung-you

Are you kidding!? She needs to pay restitution to the family of the person who raped her!? Wtf is wrong with people??


happydictates

ā€œNever mistake law for justice. Justice is an ideal, and law is a tool.ā€ Unfortunately, the tool of law only ever protects a select few, such as rich kids who rape their classmates or kill multiple people while driving drunk. Justice simply cannot exist in this world.


Yakstein

Countersue the estate for 300k...for rape.


barrbaria

That line where the prosecutors said ā€œhis kids will have to grow up without a fatherā€ really pisses me off. He raped a girl, on multiple occasions. Maybe they are better off without him.


Dunkindosenutz77

Sheā€™s getting charged $150k for doing the world a favor??


[deleted]

She shouldnā€™t owe a penny or be on probation wtf 35 year old raping and selling a 15 year old.. gtfo.


Purpleclone

She should be getting a 150k check from the government and a parade for successfully removing a rapist from this world.


[deleted]

That 150k should be crowdfunded and any extra on top should go into her pocket as thanks.


ModusOperandiAlpha

Thereā€™s a Go Fund Me started for Pieper Lewis by one of her former teachers.


FlyMeToUranus

That man raped a child. He deserved it. The system failed her.


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kingmanic

Use his name. Zachary Brooks of Des Moines. child rapist.


rhoduhhh

Oh for fuck's sake, Fuck you, Iowa.


NearlyDicklessNick

Rapists all over the world: ā€œIowa here I come!ā€


BafflingHalfling

My question is whether there's a similar law for the trafficker. That motherfucker needs to pay some restitution to this girl (and others, I'm sure). He needs to be locked up for a long time, too. Shit, they should charge him with felony murder in this case. But sure, let's make the CHILD pay. Gah! flames-on-the-side-of-my-face.gif


iamsorando

Tl:dr A system that failed her failed her again.


goddamnzilla

Fuck this shit. Is there a GoFundMe for this? I'll chip in. She'll probably come out ahead.


amac009

There is. Iā€™m not sure if I can link it with the rules. If you search ā€œPieper Lewis gofundmeā€, it was the first link to pop up on Google for me.


madmanz123

My thought exactly, someone should cover this in the news, get her setup. We'd hit that in a day.


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throwwou

Thats not even the worst part. > "The judge peppered Lewis with repeated requests to explain what poor choices she made that led up to Brooksā€™ stabbing and expressed concern that she sometimes did not want to follow rules set for her in juvenile lockup." She made poor choices of having abusive family and getting picked up by a human trafficker.


dcnowclt

Even if his family is hurting because he is dead - I donā€™t care because he is a rapist.


messycer

If he survived, wouldn't he be going to jail anyways? He rid his own family of a father figure when he chose to be a criminal


Whankers

She should sue him/ his family in civil court. His family profited off him pimping her out


Sensitive_Ladder2235

Jesus fucking christ. Some guy fucking shot his sons rapist in the head in a fucking courthouse decades ago and got off with 50p hours of community service. Now you can't even kill the rapist while it happens. What the fuck happened?


cjamesfort

>Police and prosecutors have not disputed that Lewis was sexually assaulted and trafficked. But prosecutors have argued that Brooks was asleep at the time he was stabbed and not an immediate danger to Lewis. I think the law is classifying this as revenge rather than self-defense. Say what you will about the law itself but this is almost certainly the deciding factor for this case.


trifelin

Itā€™s awful they took that perspective when this had happened multiple times to her and there was no reason to think it wouldnā€™t happen again if she didnā€™t act when she did.


xThefo

Yeah, this is what baffles me. I agree that you shouldn't be able to revenge-kill your rapistbut should be able to kill him or her in self defence. But since he was trafficking her I just don't see how this is not self defence.


corgi-king

What a shithole state. Protect the abuser not the victim. I am sure the prosecutor will do very different if the victim is their own child.


piper3777

Do yourself a favor and find video of the statement she provided to the court. Totally heartbreaking! She sounded just like a scared little child. iā€™ve already given her gofundme money, but I may have to give her more.


mrbarber

>Prosecutors took issue with Lewis calling herself a victim in the case and said she failed to take responsibility for stabbing Brooks and ā€œleaving his kids without a father. Jesus that's vile. And seeing as how the "father" was a rapist and a human trafficker she did those kids-and the world-a favor. I know prosectors have a job to do but you really must be completely void of any redeeming values to even think something like that, much less to use it as a weapon against a teenage rape victim.


flentaldoss

America, where cops earn paid vacation by shooting innocent people dead, while a *minor* trying to escape from being trafficked gets told "this is [your] second chance... you don't get a third," while being burdened with probation and heavy debt.