Judy Finnigan

[Deskdiary]

When I saw the headlines this morning I had a sharp intake of breath - surely a woman wouldn't 'excuse' rape?

However, having now seen a transcript, what she actually said was (lifted from the BBC website);

"If he does go back, he will have to brave an awful lot of comments," said Finnigan during her debut appearance on the lunchtime programme.

"But, having said that, he has served his time, he's served two years.

"The rape - and I am not, please, by any means minimising any kind of rape - but the rape was not violent, he didn't cause any bodily harm to the person.

"It was unpleasant, in a hotel room I believe, and she [the victim] had far too much to drink.

"That is reprehensible but he has been convicted and he has served his time."

Ultimately she's right, isn't she?

As unpleasant as this man is, he has served his time, and therefore shouldn't he be allowed to continue to pursure his chosen career?

[jno]

andy - belatedly, sorry, by "you" I didn't mean you personally, just anybody. (I suppose I should have said "one", at the risk of sounding like the queen.)

I don't seen any problem in principle about working for one's old employers, though, unless perhaps they were his victim's parents. Aside from such personal concerns, if he's paid the price he's paid the price; the justice system has dealt with him on behalf of society, and society should accept that it's over. The worst-case alternative is individuals trying to impose their own additional punishment; and that's vigilante law.

[naomi24]

agchristie, //I am not going to go over old ground as Andy has repeatedly striven to explain with a huge degree of patience.//

I don’t know the rights and wrongs of this case, and I doubt very much that anyone else does either, but a huge degree of patience? Sorry, ag. It’s not often I take issue with what you say, but really! How patronising.

[agchristie]

jno, there are several logistical problems of Evans returning to his old club.

Firstly, 140,000 people dont want him anywhere near. Secondly, his inclusion in the team could be very unsettling in front of much reduced crowds in protest and lower revenue. Reputation of the club is another.

[agchristie]

Naomi, agree, I should have worded that better. Apologies.

I suspect, like Andy, that my frustrations on this thread boiled over.

[naomi24]

Thank you. Accepted.

[Slapshot]

Who really gives a *** about a football club and what it thinks when we're talking about a rape .... come up with all reasoning and rhetoric you like; rape is rape, it may be a mistake, something that got out of hand, violent and aggravated but it's still rape and it's abhorrent. Rape is something that has a profound effect on the lives of those raped and the people around them and ANYBODY who tries to justify it needs to take a *** good look at themselves

Finnegan is an a$$.

[Svejk]

Most of this thread was a majority saying there were different 'degrees' of rape and Andy(patiently) telling us there weren't. This, latterly, has been twisted into 'us' supporting Ched Evans and blaming the girl. Nobody said anything like that. Exactly the same thing happened on the DLT thread. Raise any concern and it's twisted into one being in favour of groping women.

[naomi24]

Svejk, exactly.

Slapshot, Finnigan didn't say it was right - no one in their right mind thinks that rape is right - she simply said that whilst she is not minimising rape, he has served his sentence.

[agchristie]

I didn't agree with Andy much on the DLT thread but I have to concur with him on this, underscored by Slappy's response a short time ago.

[lcg]

and i will say again......i would rather have woken up from a night out not knowing what had happened (which is the accepted version of events from the jury), than being pursued across a tract of open land by my rapist, beaten the f*** out of and remember every, painful, mortifying, terrifying and embarrassing thing that happened in that 30 minutes. that's all (and i am not soliciting apologies or sympathy - it happened a long time ago and i am fine with that - apart from the usual *** that rape comes with). as a victim (and that is a word i loathe to use) i am saying there ARE differing severities, as there are in killing people. some people mean to do it, some people less so, and others find themselves there unwittingly. is that clear enough for some people who have never been in that position?

[Slapshot]

I read it differently Naomi when I watched what I took was almost an excuse but we all interpret these things differently so I can respect your view.

This topic is very close to me right now a good friends life has been devastated by it...

[Svejk]

personally I'd take the opinion of the 2 women who have been raped over Andy's or Slapshots.

[sandyRoe]

Is this the footballer who maintains that he was wrongly convicted? How can he be eligible for parole if he isn't accepting what he's done and showing remorse?

[agchristie]

Yes, Sandy. Sentenced to five years in 2012 and upheld by the Court of Appeal.

[pixie373]

Thank god for men like Andy and slappy.

[naomi24]

Rape is an emotive subject, and because of that the fundamental question, ‘he has served his time, should be he allowed to get on with his life?’ has been lost in this thread.

[agchristie]

It's a question of which club will be bold enough to make a move for him as his goalscoring prowess is undeniable. That said, he should be able to get back to football on release.

Perhaps a discussion for another day is whether the likes of Pistorius should be allowed back to the track (depending on any jail term) or drugs cheats cases, match-fixers etc!

[Slapshot]

Okay Naomi, I'll bite, has the individual in question shown any remorse for his actions or is he still bleating on about his innocence, if no remorse then he should still be finishing the FIVE year sentence he had. Why has he been paroled if there is no remorse no reticence for his actions. Rape is simple, it has a lifelong effect on the victim, rapists should have a life long effect in there lives too, maybe we should castrate the *** that would be a bit of a deterrent, don't you think!!

Those who understand what remorse is have to live with it, idiots like half these *** footballists think its part of their job, they have no respect for anything other than their paypacket.

The real message in this thread has been lost because we are too concerned about what some pointless cranky "daytime TV celeb" had to say and of course which *** football team is going to take him back. He's another overpaid clown with an ego as big as his paypacket.... I have ZERO sympathy for him or anyone like him.

Rape is rape, however you try to wrap it up

[naomi24]

Slapshot, Not quite sure what you’re biting. I’ve simply reiterated the point of the original question.

[Slapshot]

Naomi... you asked /‘he has served his time, should be he allowed to get on with his life?’/
I answered.........
has the individual in question shown any remorse for his actions or is he still bleating on about his innocence, if no remorse then he should still be finishing the FIVE year sentence he had. Why has he been paroled if there is no remorse no reticence for his actions?

A bit of rhetorical question sorry.