Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town

by Jon Krakauer Narrated by Mozhan Marnò, Scott Brick

Overview

From bestselling author Jon Krakauer, a stark, powerful, meticulously reported narrative about a series of sexual assaults at the University of Montana ­- 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 - the Grizzlies - 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. Krakauer'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 - 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 woman'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 - 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 prosecutor's office and successfully defended the Grizzlies' star quarterback in his rape trial. The horror of being raped, in each woman's case, was magnified by the mechanics of the justice system and the reaction of the community.

Krakauer'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 mixed signals, or feel guilty about casual sex, or seek attention. They are the victims of a terrible crime and deserving of compassion from society and fairness from a justice system that is clearly broken. 

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

★ 04/27/2015
Sexual-assault victims are routinely met with indifference and incomprehension, according to this impassioned study of campus rape. Journalist Krakauer (Into Thin Air) follows a rash of rapes at the University of Montana in Missoula from 2010 to 2012, events that sparked a furor and a Justice Department investigation; Krakauer sticks with two cases in particular through agonizing courtroom dramas, spotlighting the two obstacles to justice. The first is haphazard investigation, made worse by the callousness and suspicion about the motives of women making rape allegations on the part of the university administration, the Missoula Police, and the county attorney's office. (The county's chief sexual-assault attorney quit and joined the defense in a high-profile rape case against the University's star quarterback.) The second is the counterintuitive behavior of traumatized victims, which often undermines their claims. (The quarterback's accuser failed to call for help from her nearby roommate, then sent an innocuous text message with a smiley icon and drove her alleged assailant home after the attack.) Krakauer's evocative reporting, honed to a fine edge of anger, vividly conveys the ordeal of victims and their ongoing psychological dislocations. The result is a hard-hitting true-crime exposé that looks underneath the he-said-she-said to get at the sexist assumptions that help cover up and enable these crimes. (Apr.)

From the Publisher

Excellent. . . . Krakauer doesn’t just tell the story of these crimes. As he has done so brilliantly in his other books . . . he sets the story firmly in the context of social history.” —The Boston Globe

“An important, difficult and timely subject. . . . Meticulously reported, fascinating and deeply disturbing.” —USA Today

“Jon Krakauer began his career as an author of taut, finely reported outdoor adventures; seven books later, he emerges as the conscience of a nation.” —The Christian Science Monitor

“Missoula will be a touchstone of any future correction to the rape culture we live in.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune

“Compelling. . . . Meticulous. . . . Krakauer is a writer committed above all else to asking difficult questions. . . . [A] timely and important book.” —Los Angeles Times

“Compelling. . . . Clear and dispassionate, offering level-headed, in-depth reportage.” —Chicago Tribune 

“A narrative nonfiction page-turner. . . . Krakauer skillfully strengthens his sources’ recollections without taking away their agency.” —Buzzfeed

“A devastating exposé of colleges and local law enforcement. . . . A substantive deep dive into the morass of campus sex crimes, where the victim is too often treated like the accused.” —Entertainment Weekly

“A good and needed thing. . . . Powerful. . . . Krakauer has done a great service by taking on this subject.” —Newsweek

“Krakauer exposes the cavalier attitude of police, prosecutors and football fans toward victims of acquaintance rape in the Montana town full of fanatics for the University of Montana football team.” —The Denver Post

“A clear and undeniable picture of a broken system. . . . Krakauer’s straightforward writing resists sensationalism. . . . This is a book we all needed.” —Missoula Independent

“A harrowing read. . . . Missoula stands as both a reminder of the forces arrayed against women raising their voices, and of the tremendous power of the telling of their stories.” —The Toronto Star

“Krakauer’s evocative reporting, honed to a fine edge of anger, vividly conveys the ordeal of victims and their ongoing psychological dislocations. . . . A hard-hitting true-crime exposé that looks underneath the he-said-she-said to get at the sexist assumptions that help cover up and enable these crimes.” —Publishers Weekly (starred)

“Riveting. . . . A raw and difficult but necessary read.” —Kirkus Reviews

Library Journal

06/01/2015
The subject of campus rape has undergone scrutiny lately with press coverage focusing on sensational cases of false reporting as in the Duke University lacrosse scandal and the discredited Rolling Stone story about events related to the University of Virginia. Yet as noted here, unreported crimes appear to be a more common problem. Applying an impressive array of interviews, legal and newspaper files, and government and scientific papers, veteran author Krakauer (Under the Banner of Heaven; Into the Wild) meticulously details several recent cases in the college town of Missoula, MT. The author proposes to explain why at least 80 percent of such offenses are not reported and to explore their devastating repercussions. The book is organized around the dynamics of each case, from brutal act to offender disposition, in the context of the athlete-centered nature of Missoula and a complex interplay among local law enforcement, university personnel, and the Department of Justice. Krakauer debunks myths about rape and passionately argues for reform in attitudes and the procedures employed in such incidents. Essentially a case study, this book also raises universal issues about a serious social problem. VERDICT An engrossing journalistic account with graphic details that should appeal to true crime enthusiasts and victim advocates but may shock general readers.—Antoinette Brinkman, formerly with Southwest Indiana Mental Health Ctr. Lib., Evansville

MAY 2015 - AudioFile

Krakauer delves into the case files of several high-profile rape cases in the college town of Missoula, Montana, between 2008 and 2012. Though one might anticipate that a male narrator would deliver Krakauer’s powerful stories, Mozhan Marnò proves a great choice. Her commanding tone and cadence keep the flow between paragraphs. Where the text suggests it, she imbues hints of emotion without being heavy-handed. She also provides vocal characterizations that are in line with Krakauer’s portrayals. Her most powerful delivery comes in women’s firsthand accounts of their sexual assaults. Scott Brick book-ends Marnò’s narration with an introduction and author’s note, though it would have been better to keep Marnò or have Krakauer do them himself. L.E. 2016 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2015-04-21
The bestselling journalist dives into the acquaintance rape scandal that enveloped the University of Montana and members of its football team, coupled with the inability (or refusal?) of local prosecutors to convict accused rapists. In May 2012, Jezebel posted an article, "My Weekend in America's So-Called ‘Rape Capital,' " referring to Missoula, Montana, though both the writer of that article and Krakauer (Three Cups of Deceit: How Greg Mortenson, Humanitarian Hero, Lost His Way, 2011, etc.) note that the rate of reported rapes in Missoula was commensurate with the rates in other college towns. Given the fanatic devotion for the Grizzlies, the university's football team, and the fact that its players were accused of both gang and one-on-one rapes, Krakauer finds in Missoula the perfect storm of scandal. (In fact, some locals like to believe that football players don't need to rape anyone because they can have sex with whomever they'd like.) The author homes in on the stories of several victims: one whose assailant was convicted, one whose wasn't, and another whose crime was punished by expulsion from the university—though he was never found legally guilty (one revealing thread of Krakauer's investigations is the appalling ineptitude of university administrators when confronted with accusations of rape among their students). The author focuses on the plight of a brave undergrad who, after considerable trepidation, decided to go public with her accusation against star player Beau Donaldson. Krakauer has done considerable research into acquaintance rape, and his recounting of trials, both legal and university proceedings, is riveting. His focus on quoting from testimony means that it is harder for readers to understand the motivations of someone like Kirsten Pabst, a former prosecutor who became a lawyer for an accused football player; an interview with her could have been useful. A raw and difficult but necessary read.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940172048791
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	04/21/2015
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	752,474

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Chapter One
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Copyright © 2015 Jon Krakauer.
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