Criminal Justice 280

Wednesday, November 4, 2009
criminal justice 280

After reading the article "7 years slave in a box!" It is shocking to learn what happen to this young women. She just wanted to see her friends one day and her world as she knew it was turned upside down. Ms. Stan was abducted for 7 years and was held as a sex slave to Cameron Hooker. Her mind was twisted around and forced to believe what she was told by Mr. Hooker. I believe the media portrayed her in a negative imagine. This case was just another story for the media to cover and for some reporter to look good. The media just about all the time tells us the negative side to every story, you hardly hear the media promoting a positive side. Everybody has there own opinion what they would do in certain situations, but every case is different the facts and circumstances which are presented change the rules and actions in which an individual may take and forced to believe. It is not possible in my opinion to list exactly what someone is to do in every situation presented before them. Yes, there is textbooks and manuals that give examples of what to do in certain situations but they cannot list everything. Ms. Stan was scared and in fear of her own life and her family's. So she did exactly what she was told by Mr. Hooker. The contact he had her sign is part of the evidence. The media does not understand this, they looked at it as a case that needed to be covered. They ask the obvious questions such as "why didn't Ms. Stan try to escape or seek help when she was allowed to visit her family?" Again Ms. Stan was not in the right set of mind, she was in fear of what might happen. In some instances the media does not have the proper training to effectively cover a case. They are ignorant in knowing this.


Zach Sneathen

I think that Hooker's crimes could well have received capital modifiers, except that Coker v. Georgia (1977) made unconstitutional the sentence of death for the rape of a woman. And Matt brings up a good point: killing Hooker would be the easy way out. He should live a long hard life in prison, wrought with contemplation and gang rape. We are in the Just Deserts Era.
I agree with Krystle that restorative justice probably isn't a good solution because there's no way for Colleen to ever fully recover. I don't know about the psychological part her recovery; she has, hopefully, received enough compassion and emotional aid from responsible parties. This would be no thanks to most of the media available pertaining to Colleen's story. Mass media has painted her as a fool for hitch hiking and as a greater fool for failing to escape when a seemingly open opportunity presented itself.
I cannot pass judgment on a person who knows firsthand the crass repugnance of humanity's most deplorable specimens. It seems to me that the Hentigs and the Amirs who ponder the ways of the violated and the beaten-down from the safety of their ivory towers understand little of the human condition, emotional or otherwise. (Raleh)

An address to a short article in The New York Times about the incident.

http://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/08/us/man-is-accused-of-enslaving-a-woman-for-sexual-torture.html


More people may have heard of this story about an eleven year old in June of 91 which has shown up in the past few months.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/28/AR2009082803849.html?wprss=rss_print/style

Harry Neilson

It's hard for most people to even understand what it's like to be imprisoned, tortured, and used as an object for one day. This woman, Colleen Stan, had to live in such conditions for 2555 days. He forced her to believe and trust him and it blows my mind that she would succumb to his demands and believe his lies that seem so unreal for anyone to take seriously, referring to "The Company". I've never been in such a situation so maybe she was willing to believe anything when in distress. It was inevitable that after so much time she was going to not resist her assailant out of necessity to survive. I'm glad the CJ system did not let Hooker off with the torment he caused her after she accepted her role as "K" and did as Hooker ordered without any complications. Yes she didn't fight back but it was only out of defense to keep him from doing more harmful things and to continue living.

What really struck me was that when she was allowed to return home to visit her family to tell them that she was "fine", she did not tell anyone what had happened to her while gone for so long. Yes Hooker threatened her by saying he had placed bombs around the house, but how could he know if she leaked any information to her family and they could have contacted authorities and left the house before any of the fake danger could of been acted out. Also, how could none of her family ask about what she had been up to for the long time that had gone by since she left. I find it hard to believe that they didn't ask her questions because they were afraid she wouldn't come back.

Also, thank you Vanessa for posting a copy of the contract Colleen had to sign. I was wondering what sort of things were written in it. Nice find.

Harry Neilson

Colleen Stan talks about being held captive for 7 years

 


Matt

This story was very disturbing. Colleen Stan went through hell for 7 years, I can't imagine how someone could do this to another person. Colleen Stan was brainwashed by Hooker to the max, she did not even try to escape when she had the chance and even when she was allowed to see her family, she didn't do anything. I agree with the people that  say Hooker should be put to death but the more I think about it, thats just an easy way for him to get out of it. Hooker should be locked up 24/7 with no freedom.

Matt

Trail Photo

Used during trail for demo.

(Vanessa)

Copy of Slavery Contract

Here is a copy of the contract

 that she had to sign.

The SLAVERY CONTRACT


This Indenture, made the ___ day of _________ in the Year of Our Lord _________________, between ___________ , hereinafter known as the Slave; AND _____________, hereinafter known as the Master; Testifies and Agrees:







That the aforementioned Slave, for and in humble appreciation of such care and attention as the Master may choose to afford her, hath given, granted, assigned, enfeoffed and conveyed, and by these presents doth give, grant, assign, enfeoff and convey unto her Master:



All of Slave's body, and each and every Part thereof without Reservation, and all of her Will as to all matters and things, and the entire Fulness of her Soul, together with every Privilege, Advantage and Appurtenance to the same belonging or in any wise appertaining thereto;



Also all the right, title, estate, interest, property, claims, ego and will of Slave in, of and to the same and in, of and to every portion and parcel thereof;



To have and to hold, the above-described Body and Soul, with all Appurtenances thereof, render unto her Master and any of his Assigns forever.



And the said Slave doth covenant, promise and agree:



1. She shall immediately, with full diligence and enthusiasm, comply with and submit her full being to any and all Directions and Desires of her Master or his Assigns which He or They may express by word, signal, action or any other means.



2. She shall at all times afford her Master absolute respect, and shall address him only as 'Sir' or 'Master', and shall station herself in a physical position subordinate to his whenever possible, and shall speak to or otherwise signal to Him only when granted His permission.



3. She shall constantly maintain her body parts in such circumstances as shall demonstrate and ensure that they are fully open to Him. She shall, if commanded by her Master, remain without clothing for as long as her Master or his Assigns desires. In addition and in particular she shall never cross her legs in His presence, and when wearing such clothing as her Master permits, shall wear no undergarments at any time, and shall cover no part of her body with apparel or material of any description except when the act of doing and the design of the item are expressly approved by Him.



4. She shall preserve her body parts for the exclusive use of Him and His Assigns, which use shall be the sole Source of her pleasures, and she shall engage in no self-gratification nor any physical contact with any other person.



And, further, Slave doth hereby irrevocably declare and acknowledge her everlasting unconditional dedication to serving her Master to His full and complete Satisfaction; And she freely admits that prior indulgence of her unrestrained desires by others may have permitted her to adopt inferior habits that may prove unsatisfactory to Master, from which imperfections she implores Master to free her by re-training with corporal punishment or physical restraint or any other means which He, in His wisdom, deems effective toward directing to her sole ambition and life-destiny of perfectly fulfilling His every desire of her.



In Witness Thereof, the Slave has hereunto appended her signature, and her Master has agreed to Seal these Presents by permanently affixing the symbolic Collar of Submission about her neck, at the date and time hereof.


Vanessa Little

This is a link to an interview of Colleen Stan after her abduction by Cameron Hooker. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fj3b0FlmYyo also this is a picture of Cameron Hooker at the time of his trial.  (Lauren Trenter)

Click Here to take survey

End of exercise survey

I have added a link to take a survey regarding this exercise. It is VERY short (6 questions) so please complete it. You can complete the survey anytime after this Wednesday, 11/11/09
http://Click Here to take survey

Some of Cameron Hooker's collection of restraints used on Colleen, as displayed in court. There were also handcuffs, gags and masks:

 
 

The notorious Torture Box locked many times over Colleen's head (an exhibit in the trial):
 
Tara W

Wow, this woman is truly a surviver. I mean for someone to be abducted, tortured, raped, and abused is a lot to endure especially at a young age. Ms. Stan went through this torture for 7 years. I believe that the media did portray her in a bad way, saying that she had plenty of chances to leave and get help. Although many people will say "Oh I would have done this and I would have fought back," none of us really know what we would do in a situation like that. A biggest part of why Ms. Stan did not leave when she was given the chance was FEAR. This man told her that he would kill her family if she even tried to escape. What would you do in a given situation, if you love your famliy and would do anything to protect them; do you think that you would escape to have your freedom and then have your family killed? My family means a lot to me and I would do anything to protect them. As, we have studied in previous chapters, after being a victim for so long you begin to form a relationship with your kidnapper whether it be good or bad. In the situation Ms. Stan was in she eventually began to form a relationship with Hooker, although it was not a good one,there was still one there. Hooker told her that she belonged to him through the company and if she did not obey him, he would send her off to a meaner master.  I know that she takes some of the blame for what she did, but it was not her fault I mean she was just going to see a friend on her birthday. It states that she had eery feelings about a couple of people who offered her a ride and she tunred them down. Maybe she thought that since this seemed like a happy loving family that it would be ok, but it just goes to show that you cannot trust anyone, no matter how nice them seem or how well you know them.
I think that Ms. Stan should recieve compensation for what she endured. I think that she should receive money to go through therapy. She was held captive for 7 years of her life and no one knows what she went through during that time period. I do not think that restorative justice would do any good because what is there to "restore?",  Ms. Stan lost 7 years of her life due to this sick creep and she will never be able to reagin any of those years back. I believe that Ms. Stan suffers from PTSs because who wouldn't? She was hed captive for 7 years and was told what she could and couldnt do by a man she barley knew.
I think that Hooker's wife should have said something before 7 years, but then again what is not say that he did not threaten her if she said something about it. I could not even begin to imagine what was going through this famliy's mind. Why would anyone want to do something like this or even be with a man who committed a crime as horrible as this. I understand about loving someone but that only goes so far after you do something stupid. I believe that this man should have been sentenced to the death penalty, but put through the torture that he put Ms. Stan through
Tara W.

Feedback

Great input from those of you that are contributing to the Blog. Laurens addition of digital media really added to the information already on the Blog which is kind of / part of the idea here. This venue is a place to learn a little more about the plight of the victim. In this case, we have a specific victim but if you have another victim in mind, you can discuss him or her as well. Just try to add to the dialog we have already begun. Keep up the good work.

Heidi

The media played a large role in the trial of Collen Stan's abduction and rape. They presented her as weak and at times stupid for not leaving her captor's control when she had the opportunity to do so. The work of Hans von Hentig pursued the thought that victims bore some responsibility for their own victimization when it occurs. I do not believe that anyone deserves to be treated as Ms. Stan  was. She was tortured, abducted, raped, and abused. There is no way that anyone is responsible for that other than the people who committed the crime! It doesn't matter that Hooker was sentenced to many years in prison, after what the media has put Ms. Stan through, she will always have severe emotional scars from this ordeal.  I think that this woman did what she had to in order to survive and what she did may not make sense to the public or the media, but in essence, nobody knows what they would do unless they were faced with the same problem.  (Lauren Trenter)

This is a picture of the book cover of the novel written by Collen Stan after her ordeal. Also the box she was kept in for 7 years at the foot of Hooker's bed.

(Lauren Trenter)

I feel the media played a major role in the 2nd victimization of Ms. Stan. They are portraying her actions as justification for being kidnapped and held captive. The victim may have used poor judgment, but in no way did she ask to be sexually abused and stuffed in a box for 7 years! Hans von Hentig raised the possibility that certain victims who suffered injury and personal losses might share some degree of responsibility with the lawbreakers... I feel the media ran with this theory. However, the evidence doesn’t lie and the wife of the perpetrator confirmed the true story. The media is pushing the victim to feel self blame. Guilt will only harbor negative emotions and delay the healing process. The victim lost 7 years of her life, which can never be regained. She endured mental anguish, physical abuse and loss of personal liberty & freedom. I feel the victim could benefit from a compensation program through paid therapy. The victim undoubtedly suffers from PTSD due to the abduction, rapes, brainwashing and long-term stay in captivity; Cognitive therapy technique known as cognitive restructuring maybe beneficial to the victim. Restorative justice isn’t applicable in this situation, because the victim will never be truly be made whole again. The fact that her capturer is behind bars for 104, may give her comfort that he won’t be able to do this again; however the fear and mental anguish will always remain. (Krystle)