There are six things that the LORD strongly dislikes, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

—Proverbs 6:16–19

The Romans executes people who swore false oaths or made false accusations. But, they killed people for counterfeiting and adultery, too. How often the state punished someone for making false claims against another is unknown. But, life did not always count for much in the classical period. Commodus used to kill midgets in the arena just for entertainment so Rome is not a great guide to these things.

Similarly, the Muslims give 40 lashes for false witness, but they also stone homosexuals and whip adulterers. The Mohammedan is not wrong about everything, but they lack a sense of proportion in their punishments.

Bearing false witness has a long spiritual history in the West, of course, but not a long legal history. The crime of perjury was created in the 16th or 17th century in England. I would image it is the same in the rest of Europe. The rise of independent courts and impartial juries brought with it witness testimony as a formal part of a trial.

We need to rethink how we handle cases where the alleged victim clearly lied or made false accusations. This is a good example. This is ESPN so they leave out the part about video exonerating the accused, but the comments take up the slack. This football player was falsely accused of rape and has lost his career as a consequence.

Former San Francisco 49ers defensive end Ray McDonald confirmed to ESPN’s Josina Anderson on Monday that he plans to sue the woman accusing him of rape.

“I feel like what I am doing is the right thing because I know that I am not this bad person that people are making me out to be,” McDonald told ESPN on Monday. “I’ve been fired from my job. I know some teams don’t even want to talk to me because of this past accusation. All I am trying to do is clear my name and move on with my life.”

McDonald has been investigated by local law authorities on suspicion of sexual assault. He has not been charged with any crime.

The San Jose Mercury News earlier reported that McDonald’s lawyer, Steve M. DeFilippis, would file a lawsuit on Monday morning. McDonald has been trying to catch on with an NFL team since he was released by the 49ers in December for “a pattern of poor decision-making.”

“In the eyes of the NFL teams, the unresolved threat of charges being filed against him, even though factually unfounded, continues to present a roadblock to this remarkable athlete being able to move forward in his career,” DeFilippis said in a release. “This lawsuit is intended to vindicate him … and return his good name.”

According to court documents that were written by San Jose police investigators to obtain a search warrant for McDonald’s home, the accuser told authorities she fell and hit her head on the ground near the pool and has no memory of the sexual encounter that occurred in McDonald’s San Jose house, which police say occurred Dec. 14, a few hours after the 49ers returned from a 17-7 loss to the Seahawks in Seattle.

The woman stayed with McDonald at his home the next day and drank vodka with McDonald, according to the papers. That’s when McDonald conceded that a sexual encounter occurred, according to the court documents.

Suing this woman will do nothing. Maybe the player gets a statement from her that says he is not a rapist. Otherwise, nothing will happen to her. What should happen is she should spend ten years in the penitentiary. Sometimes, the best you can be is a warning to others and that’s what we have here. She should spend time in the can as a warning to other women who think this is a good idea.