Download the Politics Daily Toolbar
Our new toolbar integrates the latest news and analysis into your Web browser and installs in seconds. Download it now!

Politics DailyPolitics Daily

  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • COLUMNISTS
  • TOPICS
  • THE CAPITOLIST
  • WOMAN UP
  • DAILY FLOTUS
  • JUST IN
  • THE CRAM
  • CONTACT
  • Inside Politics Daily

    People Are Giving Craigslist a Bad Name

    Posted:
    06/13/09
    Filed Under:Woman Up
    In the latest twisted case, a husband is accused by police of setting up his wife's rape with someone he found on Craigslist. Did the man think he was being paid to participate in a crime? The facts of the case aren't yet clear, but police have arrested 39-year-old Rodney Liverman of Norwood, N.C., and charged him with – among other things -- first-degree rape.

    Get the new
    PD toolbar!
    The husband is already in jail. According to the Associated Press, authorities say he arranged to have Liverman attack his wife while he watched on May 31. It's already being called the "Craigslist rape."
    I think I've seen this plot on "Law & Order." We've already had the so-called "Craigslist Killer," accused of a Boston murder and other crimes. It is thought the accused found his victims on the Internet site.
    Google Craigslist and up pops a story about Florida authorities investigating a "Baby for Sale or Trade" ad that turned out to be a hoax. Craigslist sure is popular -- famous and notorious.
    But is it fair to blame the messenger for the message, or for the schemes cooked up by criminal minds? If there were no Craigslist, it's not as though the worst parts of human nature would disappear.
    We fear the perverts and the strangers lurking behind fake Internet names and carefully worded advertisements. We look at the fools caught in the child molester traps set up by cable television – the ordinary men bringing flowers and booze to their underage fantasies.
    It's true that Websites allow the darkest hearts to indulge with efficiency and from a distance. But it's too easy to place "Craigslist" labels on crimes that existed before anyone turned on a computer.




    Follow PoliticsDaily On Facebook and Twitter,
    and download the new Politics Daily toolbar!

    Mary C. Curtis

    Mary C. Curtis, an NPR contributor based in Charlotte, N.C., was previously a writer and editor for The New York Times and the Charlotte Observer... more

    Contact Mary C. Curtis

    subscribe to: RSS email: Mary C. Curtis

    Add your comments

    Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

    When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

    To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.

    Avoid hate speech, foul language or a disrespectful tone in your comments. Unwanted comments will be deleted at the discretion of the moderator.

    • Happening Right Now

       
    Woman Up on Facebook

    Other News