I have not written about the "D.C. Madam" case for a few reasons. Like, while resources are spent tracking down adults having consensual sex, one of my young coworkers in DC was mugged at gunpoint.But mostly it was because of my belief that women are treated much more harshly than the men involved in these cases. I mean really, most of the guys get a not so subtle wink and nod of approval from their friends, while the women face jail time.
Deborah Jeane Paltry spent time in jail, and was facing additional prison time for her role in a prostitution ring. My complaint has always been if prostitution is illegal, why isn't David Vitter facing jail time?
Wonkette expresses some of my sentiments:
For the great crime of hooking up willing ladies with horny politicians, "D.C. Madam" Deborah Jeane Paltry was facing four to six years in prison, and today she was found dead in a shed behind her mother's house in Florida. The men who paid for hookers through her service, such as Republican Senator David Vitter, have paid no price for their crimes, and they remain in power as the very people who make up the laws. Anyway, good-bye, Deborah Jeane. [...][Washington Post]
UPDATE: Madams Fall While Their Johns Prosper
D.C. Madam's Suicide Shows Great Discrepancy Between Men and Women When It Comes to How Prostitution Is Punished
7 comments:
Ah, the gender double standard: guys are studs, women are sluts-- the patriarchy's enduring rule. I often wonder whether there is any other solution besides a complete feminist takeover, world-wide.
Palfrey's suicide struck me as a selfish act.
In every case of suicide I know of, and that includes my family, the other family members suffer the most.
Do you think she killed herself to protest the unfairness of law enforcement as it regards prostitution?
Maybe because she just couldn't face several years in prison?
One news report I heard said that if the sentencing on multiple charges was done so time for each was served consecutively rather than concurrently she was looking at 50+ years, basically a life sentence.
Definitely agree that if law enforcement is going to prosecute madams and prostitutes, they need to go after the johns, too.
Accrding to every published report, Palfrey was facing 4 to 6 years in jail. Hardly a life sentence under harsh circumstances.
She'd probably go to a women's prison, like Danbury Penitentiary in Danbury, CT. Obviously not summer camp, but I've actually met the warden. It's known as a decent place.
She killed herself and left her mother to live with terrible feelings. Selfish. Selfish of Palfrey.
Anonymous - who knows how many years she would have faced. It could have been 4-6 or it could have been 55. It would all depend on the judge.
Clearly she had been in prison before, and it was not something she wanted to face again.
Your comments seem a little harsh to me.
The primary reason I posted this was to demonstrate -- yet again -- the discrepancy between how women and men are treated by society.
The men involved in this have paid no price at all. They remain in powerful positions in government and business, and are going about their lives as usual. Deborah Jeane was facing prison time, and is now dead. Where is the justice?
BAC
BAC:
Justice? There would be no business for Deborah Jeane Paltry but for the Vitters of the world, who still sit in Congress.
It is inequities like this that makes justice a joke under Republican rule.
And it is also convenient for her other patrons that her list may now be buried with her.
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