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Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town (2015)

by Jon Krakauer

Other authors: See the other authors section.

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
1,4447412,613 (4.05)131
Education. Sociology. Women's Studies. Nonfiction. HTML:

From bestselling author Jon Krakauer, a stark, powerful, meticulously reported narrative about a series of sexual assaults at the University of Montana ­â?? stories that illuminate the human drama behind the national plague of campus rape
 
Missoula, Montana, is a typical college town, with a highly regarded state university, bucolic surroundings, a lively social scene, and an excellent football team â?? the Grizzlies â?? with a rabid fan base.
 
The Department of Justice investigated 350 sexual assaults reported to the Missoula police between January 2008 and May 2012. Few of these assaults were properly handled by either the university or local authorities. In this, Missoula is also typical.
 
A DOJ report released in December of 2014 estimates 110,000 women between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four are raped each year. Krakauerâ??s devastating narrative of what happened in Missoula makes clear why rape is so prevalent on American campuses, and why rape victims are so reluctant to report assault.
 
Acquaintance rape is a crime like no other. Unlike burglary or embezzlement or any other felony, the victim often comes under more suspicion than the alleged perpetrator. This is especially true if the victim is sexually active; if she had been drinking prior to the assault â?? and if the man she accuses plays on a popular sports team. The vanishingly small but highly publicized incidents of false accusations are often used to dismiss her claims in the press. If the case goes to trial, the womanâ??s entire personal life becomes fair game for defense attorneys.
 
This brutal reality goes a long way towards explaining why acquaintance rape is the most underreported crime in America. In addition to physical trauma, its victims often suffer devastating psychological damage that leads to feelings of shame, emotional paralysis and stigmatization. PTSD rates for rape victims are estimated to be 50%, higher than soldiers returning from war.
 
In Missoula, Krakauer chronicles the searing experiences of several women in Missoula â?? the nights when they were raped; their fear and self-doubt in the aftermath; the way they were treated by the police, prosecutors, defense attorneys; the public vilification and private anguish; their bravery in pushing forward and what it cost them.
 
Some of them went to the police. Some declined to go to the police, or to press charges, but sought redress from the university, which has its own, non-criminal judicial process when a student is accused of rape. In two cases the police agreed to press charges and the district attorney agreed to prosecute. One case led to a conviction; one to an acquittal. Those women courageous enough to press charges or to speak publicly about their experiences were attacked in the media, on Grizzly football fan sites, and/or to their faces. The university expelled three of the accused rapists, but one was reinstated by state officials in a secret proceeding. One district attorney testified for an alleged rapist at his university hearing. She later left the prosecutorâ??s office and successfully defended the Grizzliesâ?? star quarterback in his rape trial. The horror of being raped, in each womanâ??s case, was magnified by the mechanics of the justice system and the reaction of the community.
 
Krakauerâ??s dispassionate, carefully documented account of what these women endured cuts through the abstract ideological debate about campus rape. College-age women are not raped because they are promiscuous, or drunk, or send mi
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» See also 131 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 74 (next | show all)
This is the 2nd time I've started this one and not been able to finish. I got about halfway through this time. It's very well written and thorough, and based on what I read, I'd recommend it to anyone with a higher tolerance for disturbing content than I have.
  mportley | May 10, 2023 |
I am a huge fan of Krakauer's writing style, and he doesn't disappoint in this dissection and analysis of a series of rape cases that took place in Missoula and that were affiliated with University of Montana students. Krakauer introduces us to three rape victims and follows their cases through the legal system on one hand while referencing the college disciplinary actions to a lesser extent. Missoula was not picked at random. The Dept. of Justice investigated the university, the police, and the prosecutor's office based on evidence that victims were not being treated properly in rape cases.
Krakauer clearly is coming at this piece of investigative journalism through a biased lens, however I think he provides plenty of factual information. There really is enough information for readers to draw their own conclusions. The book shines a light on an increasingly publicized problem, but unfortunately just because a light it shined upon a problem doesn't necessarily mean there are clear solutions.

Our justice system errs on the side of "innocent until proven guilty", and oftentimes the standard of proof required is hard to obtain in acquaintance rape cases. That has unfortunately led to colleges trying to institute disciplinary sanctions with lower standards of proof - - and this leads to another whole set of problems with due process and equity for the accused.

I've been reading about this topic endlessly (with one student in college and one on the way) on a website called College Confidential. It is impossible to read about these cases and not have opinions. Opinions range from "victims should be believed unquestioningly and and rapists thrown in jail regardless of evidence" to "due process is of the utmost importance to the point where no one can be convicted or kicked out of their college". And every variant in between. No one ever changes their mind. This book didn't really change mine either, but what it did do was illuminate the difficulties of prosecuting these cases legally if the prosecutor does not perceive the case to be a winner. That one element did seem wrong to me. I believe that if a victim is willing to move ahead with a case, they should get their day in court.

All in all, this book is a very engaging read about a very tough subject. One with no clear answers. Even the statistics are terribly muddy. I think some people will finish the book and feel furious at the justice system while others will come away with the thought that the role of alcohol is undeniable in these cases and that in truth, it may be the underlying cause that needs to be addressed a whole lot better than we are addressing it. I am afraid few, if anyone, will feel satisfied, but the more discussion that takes place, the more awareness is generated. That can only be for the better. ( )
  Anita_Pomerantz | Mar 23, 2023 |
This is a gut-wrenching (literally) book about rape culture and the criminal justice system. I found it hard to read the descriptions of the rapes of young women by people they had known well, but also difficult to read about the way rape victims were treated by the police and the prosecutors. This book will haunt me for some time. ( )
  nmele | Mar 20, 2023 |
This is SO incredibly well written and had such a brilliant narrative thread throughout and kept my attention through the bus ride to and from Philadelphia which says a lot because my attention span is lackluster at best.

It's heartbreaking and not, emotionally, an easy read, obviously. ( )
  whakaora | Mar 5, 2023 |
This is another title that I will be refraining from giving a starred rating for how much I 'liked' it, simple because this book is so much more than a rating. It was emotionally hard to read but I think it's a very important read for everyone.
  rkleslje | Jan 8, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 74 (next | show all)
"Nevertheless, by grappling so rigorously with this issue and with the myriad ways women are traumatized and retraumatized by seeking justice through the institutions that claim to serve us, Krakauer's investigation will succeed in altering the conversation around sexual violence in ways women's experience alone has not."
 
"As he has done so brilliantly in his other books — “Into Thin Air” and “Under the Banner of Heaven” among them — he sets the story firmly in the context of social history. "
added by bookfitz | editBoston Globe, William McKeen (Apr 20, 2015)
 
The last part of “Missoula” is devoted to Mr. Johnson’s trial, with extensive you-are-there courtroom time. It says a lot about the rest of the book — which is as crowded and painful as it is eye-opening, though it would have benefited from more of Mr. Krakauer’s thoughts and presence — that the trial is its most gripping section. For that, the author can thank Kirsten Pabst, who first appears as a Missoula County prosecutor whom the author portrays as blatantly sympathetic to the hunks accused of rape and showing no interest in their accusers. Partway through the book, she quits that job, goes into private practice and becomes one of Mr. Johnson’s defense lawyers.
added by ozzer | editNew York Times, Janet Maslin (Apr 19, 2015)
 

» Add other authors (2 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Jon Krakauerprimary authorall editionscalculated
Brick, ScottNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Carella, MariaDesignersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Fontana, JohnCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Kenter, Nelsonsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Marno, MozhanNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Pezzani, SebaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
Rape is unique. No other violent crime is so fraught with controversy, so enmeshed in dispute and in the politics of gender and sexuality... And within the domain of rape, the most highly charged area of debate concerns the issue of false allegations. For centuries, it has been asserted and assumed that women "cry rape," that a large proportion of rape allegations are maliciously concocted for purposes of revenge or other motives. —David Lisak, Lori Gardinier, Sarah C. Nicksa, and Ashley M. Cote, "False Allegations of Sexual Assault", Violence Against Women, December 2010
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For Linda
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Office Solutions & Services, a Missoula office-products company, didn't have its 2011 Christmas party until January 6, 2012.
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Education. Sociology. Women's Studies. Nonfiction. HTML:

From bestselling author Jon Krakauer, a stark, powerful, meticulously reported narrative about a series of sexual assaults at the University of Montana ­â?? stories that illuminate the human drama behind the national plague of campus rape
 
Missoula, Montana, is a typical college town, with a highly regarded state university, bucolic surroundings, a lively social scene, and an excellent football team â?? the Grizzlies â?? with a rabid fan base.
 
The Department of Justice investigated 350 sexual assaults reported to the Missoula police between January 2008 and May 2012. Few of these assaults were properly handled by either the university or local authorities. In this, Missoula is also typical.
 
A DOJ report released in December of 2014 estimates 110,000 women between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four are raped each year. Krakauerâ??s devastating narrative of what happened in Missoula makes clear why rape is so prevalent on American campuses, and why rape victims are so reluctant to report assault.
 
Acquaintance rape is a crime like no other. Unlike burglary or embezzlement or any other felony, the victim often comes under more suspicion than the alleged perpetrator. This is especially true if the victim is sexually active; if she had been drinking prior to the assault â?? and if the man she accuses plays on a popular sports team. The vanishingly small but highly publicized incidents of false accusations are often used to dismiss her claims in the press. If the case goes to trial, the womanâ??s entire personal life becomes fair game for defense attorneys.
 
This brutal reality goes a long way towards explaining why acquaintance rape is the most underreported crime in America. In addition to physical trauma, its victims often suffer devastating psychological damage that leads to feelings of shame, emotional paralysis and stigmatization. PTSD rates for rape victims are estimated to be 50%, higher than soldiers returning from war.
 
In Missoula, Krakauer chronicles the searing experiences of several women in Missoula â?? the nights when they were raped; their fear and self-doubt in the aftermath; the way they were treated by the police, prosecutors, defense attorneys; the public vilification and private anguish; their bravery in pushing forward and what it cost them.
 
Some of them went to the police. Some declined to go to the police, or to press charges, but sought redress from the university, which has its own, non-criminal judicial process when a student is accused of rape. In two cases the police agreed to press charges and the district attorney agreed to prosecute. One case led to a conviction; one to an acquittal. Those women courageous enough to press charges or to speak publicly about their experiences were attacked in the media, on Grizzly football fan sites, and/or to their faces. The university expelled three of the accused rapists, but one was reinstated by state officials in a secret proceeding. One district attorney testified for an alleged rapist at his university hearing. She later left the prosecutorâ??s office and successfully defended the Grizzliesâ?? star quarterback in his rape trial. The horror of being raped, in each womanâ??s case, was magnified by the mechanics of the justice system and the reaction of the community.
 
Krakauerâ??s dispassionate, carefully documented account of what these women endured cuts through the abstract ideological debate about campus rape. College-age women are not raped because they are promiscuous, or drunk, or send mi

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