I know that I'm going to be repeating myself about Anthony Broadwater; but, with due respect to anybody who is bothering you talk about this, most of you are getting the wrong message.
Yes, I've long been in favor of some substantial punishment for supposed victims of rape who do lie about the attack. We know for a fact that Wanetta Gibson lied about being raped by Brian Banks so that her mother and she could sue the school district for 150 million for creating an unsafe space and Banks spent six years in prison and ten on the sex offender registry. Wanetta Gibson was ordered to pay back the money and then some, which she'll likely never be able to do being that all the money is already gone. I don't know what the right penalty for that should be; but, it should be worse than what Jussie Smollett is facing.
The Broadwater case is different and this shouldn't be a reaction to #believewomen to this extent. This should be a moment for us to understand nuance and learn how to place blame in the right spot.
We have no reason to believe that Alice Sebold did anything wrong. Nobody should be saying that she should be subjected to jail time or massive lawsuits (still, tossing Broadwater a few bucks would be a good look).
The overwhelming number of alleged rape victims don't lie. Those who do lie are a subsection of people who make false allegations who just got it wrong, picked the wrong person out of the lineup (which Sebold didn't do), etc.
The lesson is that active denial that any victim is ever wrong about the assailant and any Lena Dunham rhetoric of "Women don't lie." will lead to more lives like Anthony Broadwater's being destroyed. At the same time, there is a level of doubt that becomes unhealthy; we should know that most people aren't like Wanetta Gibson and willing to destroy an innocent man's prospects in life in such a malicious way.
Really, it seems that there's a fundamental clash between people who prioritize assumptions as an evaluation of ethics over skepticism. Assuming that the accused is guilty at face value is just as dangerous and toxic as assuming that the accuser is lying at face value. Skepticism is the way to go.