Mistakes – To Make or Not To Make?

By: Stephanie Mak

The art of making mistakes is learning how to take corrective action for the future. Yet are some mistakes worth making at all? Even if the mistake frees you from more trauma yet puts your future into jeopardy?

These questions may be at the back of the mind for Pieper Lewis, who is currently 18 years-old yet was 15 years-old when she decided to take the life of her alleged rapist. According to an article from Rolling Stone, Lewis escaped from her abusive mother and had been trafficked by her rapist for sex and there had been several incidents of her rapist forcing her to abuse drugs and alcohol (Marks, 2022).

Pierper Lewis

It’s no wonder that Lewis chose this route to gain her right to freedom, her right to safety, and her right to her own body – just like what an American teenager should be able to expect. Even though the judge had given a deferred sentence on the condition of a successfully completed probation, Lewis chose to escape the women’s shelter where she is currently serving probation.

The sequencing of events that have rolled out after the murder of the rapist has certainly raised questions regarding how fair the American judicial system is.

One event was Lewis facing charges “as an adult with first-degree murder” (Marks, 2022). How is age 15 considered to be an adult these days?

Another event was “order[ing] [Lewis] to pay in restitution to [the rapist’s] family”, (Marks, 2022), which was an amount of $150,000. Shouldn’t that family pay back to Lewis instead for all the trauma and pain instilled into Lewis’ life? Why was the family not doing anything to stop this rapist from continually inflicting more fear?

The lack of an investigation on the sex trafficking business conducted by the rapist brings more concern on how well the judicial system works to protect the best interests of public safety, in particular the vulnerable folks. The fact that more light is illuminated on how the judge’s decision will affect the life of the now 18-year-old high school student sends a message that attention is always placed on the murderer, despite the murderer doing what had to be done to escape the sex trafficking lucrative business. In comparison, less light is shined on sex traffickers, who are the ones getting away from going behind the bars.  

While the events mentioned above have raised some eyebrows, one action done appropriately was the judge “encourage[ing] [Lewis] to tell her story to other young women in the community” Marks, 2022).

Reference

Marks, A. (2022, November 17). Teen Who Killed Her Alleged Rapist — and Ran — Could Now Face Jail.

Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/pieper-lewis-killed-rapist-sex-trafficking-victims-probation-1234630578/