Justice, Social Media And The Rape Case In Steubenville

Social media, outrage, justice and the Steubenville rape case.

This weekend, guilty verdicts in the Stuebenville rape case. The little Ohio river town that has become a national symbol of all that can go wrong on a bad night of booze and teens and social media.

Two star hometown athletes who may have felt untouchable. A drunken girl who was touched too much.

Raped, says the court. And a jungle of texts and Instagram photos – social media - that first callously recorded a nightmare night, then angrily rallied for criminal charges.

This hour, On Point: found guilty in Stuebenville.
-Tom Ashbrook

Rachel Dissell, reporter covering juvenile justice for the Plain Dealer in Cleveland. (@racheldissell)

Juliet Macur, sports reporter for the New York Times. She and her colleague Nate Schweber wrote a December 2012 piece in the New York Times which brought national attention to the Steubenville case. (@julietmacur)

Mary Anne Franks, professor of law at the University of Miami.

Associated Press "Two Ohio high school football players have been found guilty of raping a drunken 16-year-old girl in a case that roiled a small city and stirred reaction from activists online. The trial of two Ohio high school football players accused of raping a 16-year-old girl resumed on Saturday. NBC's Ron Allen reports. Judge Thomas Lipps ruled Sunday in juvenile court that Steubenville High School students Trent Mays and Ma'Lik Richmond are guilty of attacking the girl after an alcohol-fueled party last August."

The Plain Dealer "Two witnesses in  the Steubenville rape trial today  testified at the Jefferson County Justice Center about what they remember from the night of Aug. 11 and early morning of Aug. 12. Two Steubenville High School Big Red football players, one 16 and another who just turned 17, are charged with raping a 16-year-old girl who lives across the river in West Virginia."

USA Today "One text message the prosecution introduced Thursday read was attributed to the alleged victim: 'I wasn't being a slut. They were taking advantage of me.' Prosecutors said the girl was texting a friend who authorities say saw what happened, the AP reports."