I think you could probably use some background information as well in order to give your case weight, rather than just using other people's opinions.
-- TxCat, moderator HoS
Laws Regarding Rape
Sentencing for rape is complicated because of the manner in which it an be classified by law. According to the article, rape can be classified as a sexual offense, offense against a person, assault, battery, assault AND battery, indecent assault, sexual battery, or indecent assault AND sexual battery. Each of these carries different penalties and is dependent upon the circumstances of the situation which vary from state to state and country to country as well as the definition.
Rape, in short, only has one definition in common across the board: it is a type of sexual assault initiated by one or more persons without the victim's consent. In some cases, informed consent also comes into play, as with statutory rape and with cases in which the victim was drugged, drunk, or mentally or emotionally incapable of informed consent. Consent under duress may also be considered a rape. In order for a rape charge to be prosecuted there HAS to be physical evidence of sexual penetration.
That article, by the way, also briefly talks about the rape laws outside the US in several other countries. There's also a good section with further links on the length of prison sentences for rape and other punishments used.
The Legal Definitions of Rape and Penalties in the US
A hard read but worth the information. This addresses the federal level of such penalties.
Criminal Penalties for Rape
This article comes at it from the opposite direction, arguing that the states are being too aggressive with their rape laws and that it doesn't leave the defendant enough opportunity or room to defend him or herself.
Rape Laws
Worth reading because one section specifically addresses the special problem of rape within correctional institutions.
Rape Statutes
Lists statutory rape statutes by state. Note the wide variation in definition and content as well as classification. In some places it's a misdemeanor and in others it's a felony. By the way, my state (Florida) is worth looking at because it does indeed have some of the toughest mandates against any sort of rape regardless of classification.
Summary of State Rape Laws
This document provides a summary of all types of rape and its penalties for the US. It's in a quick reference chart with easily understood notes underneath it and links to further information.
Are you for higher penalties yourself? Why/why not?
The situation is too complex for a simple answer. There is, after all, a reason why the crime can be divided into so many classifications under law and has so many specialized circumstances which may change penalties. I guess I would say I'm for more uniform punishment of the crime. As I mentioned above, some states classify it as a misdemeanor (which means lesser penalties and that the perpetrator is unlikely to serve much jail time). I would like to see that classification disallowed from the act of rape since it is a forceful act on someone who does not wish it. I would also like to see the special penalties aimed at child rapists removed; they tend to be higher than for 'regular' rapes and to me, a crime is a crime. It still amounts to forced sex with someone who either didn't want it or couldn't refuse or felt coerced to do so. Differentiation between victims reinforces the idea that because the women and men who get raped are adults, they did something to provoke the attack. I'm in favor of stronger penalties across the board with additional time added for other circumstances (such as whether or not the victim suffered lasting damage during the assault, whether or not that damage will substantially limit their future choices in life, whether or not the victim was able to consent, etc).
I would also like to see a concentrated effort made to do psychological evaluations on the rapists and to treat them. Rape isn't about sex and so castration and aversion therapy are not likely to work. Rape is about the need for control and the need to control. The control of the situation becomes the substitute for sexual fulfillment. (You can look at John Douglas' "The Evil that Men Do" and "Mind Hunter" as well as "The Anatomy of Motive" to confirm that. It's also in most police procedurals or you can ask your local rape support group or community services officer). The law enforcement community is conflicted about whether or not such treatment would work, but I feel it has to be tried. If you can find the reason for the need to control --- and the people who commit such crimes were often once victims themselves --- you can theoretically teach the person other, healthier avenues for expression of that need and also help them work through the tragedies which produced that need in the first place.
Finally, I would like to see more effort toward protecting these people while they serve their sentences. As a rule, the prison population doesn't much care for rapists and it's particularly problematic if the rape victim was under age or otherwise incapable of giving consent (as with the elderly or a mentally retarded victim). These people either suffer rape themselves, sometimes at the hands of the law enforcement who are supposed to be protecting them, or meet with accidents. Otherwise, they are generally harassed and injured. This only perpetuates the cycle. I believe in dealing with ANY criminal humanely because a lack of humane treatment is often at the root of the problem.
At minimum, the offender should serve at least a year and be made to give community service. If the offender is paid for work while in prison, restitution should be made to the victim and any medical expenses also paid. This should also be a condition of release: once the offender has a job, he or she needs to pay those legal and medical expenses even if it's only a few dollars at a time. It's the effort which counts.
On a final note: time served is time served. I DO NOT support sexual offender registers. Once someone has served his or her time for the crime, he or she should be allowed to reintegrate into society quietly and do his or her best to lead a normal life. "Sex offenses" cover a wide range of things with some proportionately severe penalties. You can be marked as a sex offender if, for instance, you're caught peeing by the side of a deserted highway. I have one friend who was marked as a sex offender because of a streaking prank pulled at the homecoming game...in 1989. If there are conditions regarding where they should and should not live or work, that should be in the release papers and on there as a condition of release not on some register and visible to just any citizen.
What does the law say where you live?
Florida has some of the toughest mandates in the US regarding rape. Look up "Jessica's Law" and you can see the background on how this came to be. Florida classifies rape as sexual battery and then breaks it into penalties according to circumstances:
Capital felony if person over 18 sexually batters person under 12 (penalty is death, there is "no means no" clause)
Life Felony if under 18 offender batters victim under 12 (sentence is for life in prison and that does not, as with other crimes, mean the person is finished when 21; they serve the sentence and continue serving in an adult facility; there is no "no means no" clause)
Life felony if batterer uses deadly weapon on person over 12 (sentence is same as above, but there is a 'no means no' clause)
1s t degree felony when victim is helpless to resist; threat of violence reasonably believed; mental
incapacitation w/o consent; victim is mentally defective or physically incapacitated; or offender is officer of law (30 year prison sentence, 'no means no' clause applies)
2n d degree felony: victim is over 12 and force unlikely to cause serious injury; 1s t degree felony for multiple perpetrators (15 years, "no means no" applies)
3rd degree felony when persons of authority (familial or custodial) solicit act (5 years, "no means no" does not apply)
These are CUMULATIVE, meaning a person can be charged with more than one type of classification and that the sentences handed down are served one on top of the other. For instance, a parent who rapes his fifteen year old daughter who is otherwise uninjured would receive, at minimum, 20 years. If that parent were a police officer, he or she would receive 50 years. At minimum, in most cases, the perpetrator is going to be sentenced to at least 15 years the way our law works.
Have you ever been raped yourself?
I will not decline the question. I am, in fact, a rape survivor. My ex-husband enjoyed non-consensual sex and at the time Colorado, where I was living, had no spousal protection. The acts he subjected me to were so depraved that I have permanent scars and can no longer have intercourse normally (it's physical, not emotional; I came to terms with the emotional aspect long ago).
Should he be found I tell you this truly he won't have to worry about the law just about seeing god and answering for all his misdeeds sooner then later. My Mother supposedly put out a contract on his life. 
nuff depressing stuff but in short yes penalize them, and for another thing stop acting like everyone who calls rape is a liar and a whore who is villified and not worth sympathy cause she certainly earned it. Not even an actual whore truth earns it.
