CNNers Treat Steubenville Rapists More Sympathetically than Todd Akin?

When the guilty verdict was handed down in the Steubenville, Ohio rape trial, on Sunday, CNN's Candy Crowley and Poppy Harlow painted the convicted rapists in sympathetic tones. Harlow emoted: "I've never experienced anything like it, Candy. It was incredibly emotional -- incredibly difficult even for an outsider like me to watch what happened as these two young men that had such promising futures, star football players, very good students, literally watched as they believe their life fell apart."

Crowley pondered: "You know, Paul [Callan], a 16-year-old now just sobbing in court, regardless of what big football players they are, still sound like 16 year olds. The other one, 17. A 16-year-old victim. The thing is, when you listen to it and you realize that they could stay until they're 21, they are going to get credit for time served. What's the lasting effect, though, on two young men being found guilty in juvenile court of rape, essentially?"

The initial sympathetic verdict coverage given to actual rapists stood in stark contrast to the harsher treatment CNN gave to the admittedly ignorant and offensive comments about rape, made by GOP candidate Todd Akin, during the 2012 campaign.

CNN’s Soledad O'Brien and Piers Morgan both hit Akin on his lack of "sensitivity."

On the October 24 Starting Point, CNN's Soledad O'Brien slammed: "Our 'Get Real' this morning, I think it's a really interesting question about a lack of sensitivity toward a victim of rape. First it was the Missouri Senate candidate Republican Todd Akin who talked about legitimate rape."    

Crossposted at Newbusters.