CRIME WATCH : A Wife, Too, Can Say No

Ramiro Espinosa wanted to have sex with his wife but she rejected him and locked herself in a room. Espinosa thought she didn’t have a right to say no. He opened the door with a butter knife, slapped her and ripped her clothes while trying to force himself on her. Still she resisted.

Maybe she simply did not want to have sex, which was certainly her right. Maybe she was thinking that she did not want a child in addition to the 10 she already had. We do not know.

Here’s what we do know: He was wrong, no matter his rationalizations. When he was brought to trial, the husband insisted he had religious and constitutional rights to have sex with his wife whenever he pleased. The judge thought differently and sentenced him to one year in jail and three years on probation.

Chances are Espinosa will not be imprisoned the full time. Still, he should be behind bars long enough to come to understand that no matter what beliefs, pretexts or legal justifications one might come up with, a wife cannot rightly be forced to have sex with her husband.

Of course Espinosa is not the only man in the world who has this kind of idea about marriage. Too many share his twisted notion, and act accordingly.

Some readers may think that Espinosa was singled out. After all, other men abuse their wives and escape jail. That is unfortunately true. But it does not change the central message that abusive husbands should get from this case: If you try to force your wife into unwanted sex you may serve time in jail.