Monday, May 29: According to a liberal journalist, Duke’s women’s lacrosse team was “ignorant and insensitive” for supporting the lacrosse men. This post is closed, so feel free to comment here.
Thursday, May 25: Tom Bevan responds to this article (which conveniently fails to mention black men’s complicity in perpetuating negative stereotypes about black women. Take the plank out of your own eye…):
“Facts can be inconvenient things, and based on the data available the facts are that the vast majority of rapes and/or sexual assaults are not interracial. According to statistics from the Department of Justice [PDF], the estimated number of rape and sexual assault cases in 2003 involving a white offender and a black victim was 0.0%. Over the course of the last eight years [PDF] white-on-black rape/sexual assault cases averaged 6.9%, while black-on-white rape/sexual assault cases over the same period were slightly higher at 10.8%.
“Clearly, this doesn’t rule out the possibility that three white college students gang raped an African-American woman back in March, as alleged. But it does add some perspective to Lynne Duke’s article in the Post. The particulars of this case are bad enough without dredging up and promoting ancient, racially divisive ghosts - especially if it turns out the rape charge is a lie.”
*** Scroll down for updates ***
Shameless self-promotion: I found links in my referrers log to a BBC blog post called Blogs We’re Reading: “And for the conservative cause in the US, La Shawn Barber is more original than most, and prolific.”
Hey, I try.
Note: I’ve done a lot of blogging about this case. See the Duke Rape Case category (ten posts spanning two pages). If you don’t see the NEXT PAGE link at the bottom of the page, follow this link to page 2. It would be helpful for you and less irritating for me if first-time visitors read some of those previous entries.
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As expected, the defense is releasing information contained in Mike Nifong’s document dump last week. Click over to the FOX News story.
I’m just going to say this straight with no equivocation: The stripper who claimed she was raped by three white Duke lacrosse players lied. She had sex that day alright, but not with the three indicted white Duke lacrosse players. How do I know? Call it a hunch…based on mounting and overwhelming evidence that pokes humvee-size holes in her story and contradicts her claim to a stupefyingly obvious degree. No toxicology report yet, but if one exists, I bet I could guess the contents with amazing accuracy.
Perhaps I shouldn’t blog such things since we “haven’t heard all the evidence,” you say? 
But that’s it, people. According to FOX, Nifong says he’s turned over everything he has.
I’m working on something and will have more to say about this in the next couple of days. Stay tuned. In the meantime, this nugget from “defense sources” is very…how shall I put it…interesting:
Defense sources also say the accuser admitted to having had sexual intercourse with at least three men around the time of the alleged attack. According to those sources, when investigators questioned her after DNA tests on the semen found inside her body did not match any of the Duke players, the accuser gave police the name of her boyfriend and two men who drove her to her dancing engagements.
No comment. Yet.
Addendum: Blow ‘em away, Stuart! (Via The Johnsville News)
Jonna Spilbor is worth reading, too. Betsy and I are on the same page. Other bloggers: JustOneMinute…
Update (5/24): Mary Katharine Ham:
I have heard it said that what America needs to win the war on Islamofascism is moral clarity—a strong belief that our ideology and theirs are not comparable; that there is a good and an evil and we are on the good side; that Western civilization, for all its faults, is a damn sight better than that which seeks to destroy it.
Taheri-azar and the Duke lacrosse players were all technically innocent until proven guilty. In one case, public officials, the press, and the local community did their best to deny the accused that particular courtesy of American justice. Tellingly, it was not the case of the murderous thug who confessed to attempting to kill his classmates, in a fashion reminiscent of Mohammad Atta, just for being non-Muslims—and then detailed his plans and motivations in letters to a local paper.
Moral clarity is what we need. It was in short supply in a pair of college towns this spring.
(Emphasis added)
Our college liaison Allison Kasic complains about the Mainstream Media blackout on the news bombshell released yesterday indicating that the stripper/alleged victim in the Duke lacrosse rape case told police investigators that she’d had three sexual partners on the night of the alleged assault–and they weren’t Duke lacrosse players…
Also: “The Duke Law of Inverse Prosecution Proportion”
What do these broad social essays [on negative stereotypes about black women] have to do with the particulars of the Duke lacrosse scandal?
…
Using this bogus Duke lacrosse case to make broad social commentary is like wetting your pants in public to show your support for the incontinent. It might feel good to do it, but you are still standing in a puddle of urine.
Funnies from Joe’s Dartblog:
Defense’s discovery request has been answered with an amazing 1,300 pages of documents. (No doubt including such things as Duke’s soda machine instruction manuals and the mayor’s recipe for chicken con queso.)
In other words, everything but that which would support his case…
Duke lacrosse women show their support.
Update II: Get this. This is the first paragraph of an e-mail sent by someone claiming to be a Ph.D. and Duke graduate who clicked over from this article:
I had the misfortune of reading your blog regarding the rape investigation at Duke. I have included my name because I feel so strongly about this and don’t want to lumped in with someone who speaks their mind in anonymity. As a black woman, I am embarrassed by you and your obvious pandering for approval to whatever right-wing crowd from which you require admiration. I am a graduate of Duke (’98) and a proud moderate democrat, so we can get my political stance out of the way. I am also a scientist and so I believe it is of the utmost importance to focus on facts and not opinions or personal agendas when addressing matters such as this.
Suprisingly, the rest of the e-mail wasn’t too bad, although it contained a straw man or two. The “moderate democrat” couldn’t resist the personal jabs. I’m dying to respond in depth, but I sent a test reply just to determine if the e-mail address was valid. It was fake. Based on where she claimed to work, I found a real e-mail address.
I’m waiting for verification before I respond or reveal her name. As a preliminary matter, however, let me just note the irony of this “scientist” calling me a right-wing panderer but purports to focus on “facts” and not “personal agendas” and is embarrassed by a black woman who has an opinion different from the mainstream.
Later…The person verified her identity, but I won’t reveal her name or where she works, as I was inclined to do a few minutes ago. Suffice it to say she’s a professor at a southern university whose e-mail reads similar to ones I’ve received from other disgruntled black liberals. Original ideas are rare; attempts to refute my arguments or make persuasive ones of their own are rarer still. Whether the senders are high school drop outs, plumbers, mechanics, engineers, lawyers or doctors, the e-mails are all the same.
Despite this mountain of evidence, I’m sure the ‘victim’ card will still be played. Thank you for keeping on top of this story, LaShawn.
Comment by Eric Brown — 05.23.06 @ 3:28 pm
Nifong has to know what’s in the 1300 pp.; and that being so, why has he continued with the case?
And he’s done a great deal of damage to the image of the DA and law enforcement in general. The players talked freely with law enforcement for hours without an attorney present, and later helped in the collection of evidence from the house. (Being innocent, they thought they had nothing to fear.)
For this, they got indicted. (An attorney would have had them clam up, demand a warrant, and told them to empty their wastebasket).
Comment by Seahawk — 05.23.06 @ 4:01 pm
Obviously, Nifong never bothered to read it. Otherwise he wouldn’t have said the attackers used condoms when the accuser told the SANE nurse they didn’t. He shouldn’t have alluded to having a tox screen with evidence of a date rape drug when no tox screen was performed. He wouldn’t have demanded that a rape took place that night at the party had he known she had five previous “engagements” over the weekend and admitted to sleeping with her “boyfriend” and two drivers as well in the previous 48 hours or so. He wouldn’t have been so vehement in his prosecution had he known that she admitted to the physicians and nurses that she had been raped, yet denied it to the police!
Comment by SLee — 05.23.06 @ 4:06 pm
Indeed, SLee. As the truth continues to trickle out about what Nifong knew or had reason to know, I will be the loudest detractor calling for professional discipline.
Comment by La Shawn — 05.23.06 @ 4:10 pm
Truly,
It is remarkable, that knowing what he must know, Mr Nifong continues to move forward with this case.
The woman’s story is so patently absurd as to be laughable.
I just learned today that she originally told police she had NOT been raped. Then she had. That she had been raped by 20 men, then 3. She even said that the other stripper was in the bathroom with her when she was raped, then she wasn’t. The men used condoms and then when there was no DNA or spermicide residue, they used a broomstick.
No (conclusive) DNA evidence. No clear physical “signs of rape” as had been previously reported. An accuser with a clear record of lying, substance abuse and criminal activity.
An arrested and intimidated defense witness. A refusal to submit lie detector tests and a refusal to view exculpatory evidence. An obvious political motive and an inconceivable delay of the trial date.
Can’t a judge just step forward and say “enough is enough! Case dismissed!”
Comment by Bill Mitchell — 05.23.06 @ 4:13 pm
Something no one is talking about…
I assume the GRAND JURY saw this same evidence, full of contradictions and lies - yet they STILL returned 3 indictments?
Did Nifong actually present his real evidence to them or did he just present his spin?
There is an old saying. It goes like this:
“The devil always overplays his hand…”
There must be someone out there that Mr Nifong has confided to in a weak moment that this entire case is a completely trumped up political power grab. As the **** starts to hit the fan on this one, will there be a deep throat that comes forward to spill the beans and we see Mr Nifong in court defending himself?
Comment by Bill Mitchell — 05.23.06 @ 4:20 pm
Nope - The grand jury didn’t see all the evidence. Nifong alleged a crime took place, put a few prosecution witnesses on the stand, and there you go. Unlike a trial, the grand jury process is not adversarial.
Comment by La Shawn — 05.23.06 @ 4:22 pm
La Shawn,
Can a judge look at the evidence so far, say “this is ridiculous!” and dismiss the charges?
Does this thing HAVE to go to trial unless Nifong drops the charges?
If you were the accuser, wouldn’t you be scared to death of committing perjury under oath given your previous criminal past? They say she is a nervous wreck and has ulcers, maybe this is why?
Comment by Bill Mitchell — 05.23.06 @ 4:32 pm
At the pre-trial hearing(s), the defense will argue for dismissal of the case. I strongly suspect it will be dismissed. Unless the judge is as thick as Nifong, there’s no way, based on what the prosecution has now, that this cheap carnival of a case will go to trial.
The problem is the toll the whole thing has taken on the town, the school, the lacrosse players, including the unindicted ones, the stripper’s family, the students’ families, actual rape victims, and “victims” of the class and racial warfare. A dismissal won’t erase the damage.
Comment by La Shawn — 05.23.06 @ 4:37 pm
Without getting too graphic, having traces of three different people in you = Gross. I heard though that this wasn’t just an entertainment service, it was also an Escort service, and if it is, ‘three’ explains quite a bit.
The other amazing thing is that this lady had a really wild night back in 2002 and had multiple felonies - all of which were plead down by Nifong’s office. so he *knew* that there’s reason to doubt her. It’ starting to look like this woman must have pictures of Nifong doing something really embarassing for him to treat her as benevolently as he has.
Comment by Bill — 05.23.06 @ 5:16 pm
To those that say; only a trial can resolve this, once “all the evidence is fully assembled” and everyone should defer to the lawyers and wait a year or so, “so a jury can determine this, as only a jury can..,
I say nonsense.
The legal system is routinely used these days by unscrupulous lawyers and their clients not to seek true justice, but to enrich themselves, advance careers and agendas - purely by screwing other people.
For the innocent folks being screwed, it is not in their interest to let miscarriages of justice play out - but to seek to escape the trap of being in the legal system and being bled of their savings and assets, and facing a capricious outcome. Every additional day trapped as an innocent in the legal system is an injustice.
I thought of two recent cases where first, some aggressive Belgian prosecutors were claiming the right to arrest and imprison US officials passing through their country for trial as war criminals, secondly, ACLU cross destruction lawsuits.
In the first case, the US informed Belgium that we would not “play”, and treat any seizure of past or present US officials as a kidnapping and told stunned Belgium officials that anything up to the use of military force to seize the Hague was possible. We had no intent of honoring their “crown jewel legal system and their precious trials planned. They backed off once they realized their politically ambitious lawyer’s posturing could land them in a world of shit. Similarly, the power of the US legal system rests on the public respecting it. We live in a country where power is diffused in several agencies while ultimately resting with the people - not the CEOs, the President, or lawyers claiming ultimate sovereignity over us. When lawyers pervert the system, they should be treated as we, or for that matter the Germans, have been known to treat the Belgians…
In the case of the ACLU and their attacks on Christian manifestations of faith - those that say that the attacks are purely a matter for the lawyers to decide on and to let the “superb American legal system deal with it” are wrong - that plays right into the ACLU’s hands. THEY have the time and money, not the small towns they attack. That is why so many municipalities have capitulated - because they buy into the idea that once it is “a lawyers matter, in lawyers control” the people, the executive, the legislators best shut up.
Nifong is playing the same presumptive game. Innocent lives are being played as his political pawns, and we are told that we the people, the executive, and legislative agencies best butt out and leave it for the lawyers to battle over. Sorry, but if I was innocent and the facts were out there, I would want out of the legal system ASAP…and surely the Duke players and their parents do not wait to be paying 500 dollar an hour lawyers to leisurely discuss matters with opposing lawyers on their country club golf links or legal offices over the next 10-11 months.
End it.
This is another Tawana.
Her lies have already cost the North Carolina taxpayers 100s of thousands, and the player’s families 10s of thousands each…and the latest news is the black families of the victims of a Durham quadruple homicide last winter have said they are bullshit mad that they are still awaiting DNA testing in their case due to police saying they “lack the funds and facilities for quicker DNA testing in the high priority case…” That is true political power — Nifong appears to have blown off a quaduple homicide DNA testing so he can do his Evil White Duke Rapists tests using state labs then finding the money to have private lab testing in his stripper case.
==================================
I must add I am dumfounded on news that it appears no toxicology was done on the accuser when it was known she was in an incapacitated state and the extent of her impairment or what caused her impairment affected her veracity of testimony, and how she got incapacitated. Police reports say she was so “out of it” from drugs or drink that it took 31 hours for her to sober up enough to sign a statement on what “crimes” she alleges happened to her.
Did she refuse testing? What was the SANE nurses role in that? Why was Nifong saying that he was waiting to determine what had caused her impaired state?
More BS??
Comment by Chris Ford — 05.23.06 @ 5:43 pm
Can’t a judge just step forward and say “enough is enough! Case dismissed!â€
“At the pre-trial hearing(s), the defense will argue for dismissal of the case. I strongly suspect it will be dismissed.”
While I am 90% plus sure the accuser made up the story to avoid implicating herself, I think you may be overoptimistic about a quick dismissal.
I am not a lawyer and not familiar with NC laws, but while a conviction requires “beyond a reasonable doubt,†a motion to dismiss from a judge usually requires that it’s impossible to convict (win in civil cases) – assuming everything the state alleges is true. I am not sure, but I just think pointing out that a witness is not credible does not mean court can’t consider his/her testimony.
Perhaps a NC lawyer could clarify.
Of course from a matter of public policy, a DA should not prosecute if there is not convincing evidence.
Comment by UNK — 05.23.06 @ 5:43 pm
At this point if I was a defendant (and I could afford it) I’d demand a trial. So that the evidence would be made as public as possible.
Once that was done I’d start suing.
Comment by M. Simon — 05.23.06 @ 6:17 pm
What is truly amazing in all this is that Nifong thought he had the evidence to indict but it will take him an entire year to gather the evidence to convict?
Caes like this are delayed when the accused waves tgeir right to a speedy trial in order to gather more evidence, but it is UNHEARD of for the Prosecution to delay the trial when the defense is requesting a speedy hearing.
There are so many sad parts to this story. Perhaps one of the saddest is the damage this will do to all future rape cases in which the woman truly was raped. People will all say, oh, another “Duke” case - she’s lying.
Comment by Bill Mitchell — 05.23.06 @ 7:09 pm
Question to the legal experts here:
What is the worst that could happen to Nifong here? He has broken so many rules of ethical conduct (the line-up, refusing to hear exculpatory evidence, making damning statements in the press prior to all the evidence being in, intimidating a witness for the defense, paying off a witness for the prosecution, denying the right to a speedy trial - the list goes on…)
What can happen to him? Disbarment? Criminal penalties?
I am asking because I have no idea, thanks
Comment by Bill Mitchell — 05.23.06 @ 7:13 pm
“black families of the victims of a Durham quadruple homicide last winter have said they are bullshit mad that they are still awaiting DNA testing in their case due to police saying they “lack the funds and facilities for quicker DNA testing in the high priority case…†”
It’s too bad for the black victims of the crime, that the people seen leaving the murder scene were not white or KKK (did the KKK ever commit a quadruple murder?). I am sure if the white man killed the four blacks, efforts and resources spent on “solving†the rape would have been spent on the murder.
Actually, it does look like two rookie investigators (4 and 15 years on police force but both new to investigation this year, from some local newspaper) were assigned to the rape – perhaps rightly leaving the more experienced investigators on the murder cases.
Comment by UNK — 05.23.06 @ 7:49 pm
Nifong should stand at a podium in front of every news outlet in the country and apologize to Duke - the lacrosse players, the university, the alumni… This is one of the finest universities in the world, let alone the U.S., and to have it suffer any kind of black eye, thanks to the OBVIOUS lies of a desperate woman with a limited future… It makes me sick. I’m not sure who’s worse - Nifong or the Escort woman. Let’s call it a tie.
Duke will end up stronger in the end. Everyone wanted to jump on the “Yea! Duke did something wrong!” bandwagon…but guess what, the school has proven once again that it’s an amazing place.
Comment by StanfordGuy — 05.23.06 @ 8:19 pm
Anyone get the feeling this is all about Nifong. If the accuser said there was no rape at the beginning, who convinced her to change her story?
I know Nifong went to North Carolina. Do you think he has deep seated Duke hatred. I mean, if this woman was a straight up liar, she wouldn’t have offered up the truth about the other guys. The accusser in the Kobe case stuck to her lies, even when DNA showed sperm from three other men.
Even the other dancer said the woman didn’t cry rape to her. I wonder if Nifong is behind the whole thing. Why would he stick his neck out with such little evidence. Maybe he thought, this might get me the black vote. The woman could be being used by Nifong, just like these players.
It’s really sad. He is the only person who walks away with reputation in tack.
Comment by merlisa — 05.23.06 @ 8:42 pm
OF COURSE it was all about getting the black vote. And now that he’s unjustly won reelection, he’s stuck with a ridiculous case based entirely on lies.
Duke has hundreds of Rhodes scholars in its history. It’s hospital is one of the finest in the world & on the cutting edge of curing some of the worst diseases. It’s contributions to the arts and literature are unbelievable.
The school can certainly weather a lying stripper and a dirty D.A. 3 or 4 years from now, people will barely remember any of this garbage.
Comment by StanfordGuy — 05.23.06 @ 8:55 pm
Two observations, La Shawn:
1. If Nifong drops the case, he is finished politically (and perhaps professionally). Although he won the Democratic primary, he may be vulnerable to a write-in campaign in November (does someone know what the law in North Carolina is on write-in voting?).
2. Nifong and the “civil rights” advocates pushing for a lynching of the accused Duke players are far too self-centered to realize it, but they are playing into the hands of the KKK and other like-minded organizations. If a “not guilty” verdict is reached (or the judge throws out the case) white racists will say “I told you so” and maybe get a receptive audience to peddle their wacky conspiracy theories to.
Comment by Mwalimu Daudi — 05.23.06 @ 8:56 pm
But there has to be some credible sources, Fox News doesn’t count, that provides a clear account.
Comment by ricland — 05.23.06 @ 9:17 pm
Has anyone wondered why she accused 3 men?
Think about it. She has a boyfriend who is ‘known’ to the Durham Police. Unless he is a big contributor to their annual pledge drive, he is probably ‘known’ to them due to nefarious reasons.
Let’s assume he is the jealous type - the type that likes to beat a woman up who cheated on him.
The accuser had sex with 3 men in the same period as the supposed rape. So there was a possibility of 3 different DNA samples coming back. How does she explain this to her jealous boyfriend?
“I was raped by 3 Duke students!” - that’s how.
Would the story hold up? No, there are a million problems with it and the boyfriend would eventually find out, but I don’t give this woman high marks for gray matter or thinking ahead.
Just an idea but it fits.
Comment by Bill Mitchell — 05.23.06 @ 9:19 pm
LaShawn,
Thanks for keeping the fire burning. We all know this is BS and Nifungu is only trying to get re-elected. The problem is how does he get out? Old saying, never back your opponent into a corner, they will fight to the death. I don’t see any easy way for this A**hole to give it up. He has to drag it out, because when he gives it up he is, as the Black Panthers said, a “dead man walking”. At the very least, I think he faces a ethics hearing from the NC Bar, although they are a bunch of Democrats, even they are embrassed by this jerk. Of course, the media will turn on him and he will be damaged goods the rest of his life, and rightfully so. His reward is coming, have faith in the lord, revengence is our! Kemp
Comment by kemperman — 05.23.06 @ 9:25 pm
vengence not revengence, spell check still doesn’t work, cause I can not figure out how to turn off the three or four pop up blockers on my computer, so bear with my bad spelling. Kemp
Comment by kemperman — 05.23.06 @ 9:28 pm
Tonight, for the first time, I heard it on Fox News during the Hannity & Colmes program. Alan Colmes mentioned that the story told by the defense team and various witnesses clearly implies that the accuser was working as a PROSTITUTE. Those following the case on the web have been aware of this for many weeks, but tonight was the first time it was uttered as part of a mainstream media broadcast. Fox News having crossed this line makes it much easier for other news outlets to follow suit. Perhaps the dam is about to burst.
Comment by SteveDinMD — 05.23.06 @ 9:52 pm
“Anyone get the feeling this is all about Nifong. If the accuser said there was no rape at the beginning, who convinced her to change her story?
I know Nifong went to North Carolina. Do you think he has deep seated Duke hatred….”
Aw, c’mon, Merlissa!!! Let’s not blame the Carolina-Dook rivalry!!!! I’ll promise you this is not about a Carolina grad going after Duke just because it’s Duke.
They taught us better than that at the college from which my undergraduate degree hath come, upon yonder Hill overlooking this debacle seven miles to the northeast!!!
Comment by TaterCon — 05.23.06 @ 9:53 pm
By the way, Kemp, have you tried the pit-cooked (over hand chopped, hickory hardwood embers) ‘cue at Allen & Sons on the highway to Hillsboro, north of Chapel Hill?
It’s worth the detour. Eastern NC barbecue at its finest, even if it is west of I-95. Anyone going to Durham to cover the story ought to ask the locals how to find it.
Comment by TaterCon — 05.23.06 @ 9:59 pm
I’ve been thinking about the absense of any toxicology report. Were any such analyses performed? If not, why not? Did Nifong intervene to prevent the tests being done? Not being personally familiar with clinical procedures for post rape examination, I had assumed that blood and urine samples would have been taken as a matter of course, but perhaps I’m wrong. What concerns me is the possibility that Mr. Nifong, when confronted with a clearly intoxicated “victim,” opted to forgo developing toxicological evidence on the assumption that it would prove exculpatory, and thus undermine his case. If this is, in fact, true, then the DA would clearly have violated a fundamental duty of his office.
Comment by SteveDinMD — 05.23.06 @ 10:08 pm
All this barbeque talk is making me hungry. Thought born and raised in Connecticut, I’ve acquired a taste for Memphis style “dry” ribs and NC style pulled pork. I might just have to plan a drive down to Charlotte to visit my sister and her family. It would be a combination family visit and “barbeque tourism.” %^)
Comment by SteveDinMD — 05.23.06 @ 10:19 pm
“I’ve been thinking about the absense of any toxicology report. Were any such analyses performed? If not, why not? Did Nifong intervene to prevent the tests being done?”
Steve, I didn’t watch the procedings during last Thursday’s discovery motion hearing, but if the DA made a representation to Kirk Osborn and to Judge Ronald Stevens he was handing over his entire file, “that’s all I’ve got, ‘n there ain’t no more, yer ‘ronnah”, there’s a pretty good chance he’ll have some ’splaining to do at the hearing on the already filed follow-up motion for the toxicology evidence.
If there IS toxicology evidence on Crystal that wasn’t included last week, or worse yet, exists but wasn’t divulged, and if this comes out with Judge Stevens presiding again, I think someone in the courtroom might get a new one burned ….
Comment by TaterCon — 05.23.06 @ 10:30 pm
Steve, If you get to Charlotte the pickin here are slim, Bubba on I-77 is the best, use to be spoons on S Blvd, damn he doesnt serve beer either. tatercon, me think you do protest too much. You know what UNC and Duke students have in common? They both got into UNC. Nifungu is diffentantly a Duke hater, I know folks who know him. Failed state employee, or a succesful UNC grad or both. At least he not working at Steve’s sandwich shop like the UNC grad that tried to run over his fellow students to help Allah. Oh, sorry for the rant, my wife when to UNC so I guess I just hate the place naturally. Kemp.
Comment by kemperman — 05.23.06 @ 10:37 pm
Kemp: Gotta admit I’m the son of a mixed marriage — Dad went to Carolina, Mom went to Duke. I had the good sense to apply to one college. Carolina. Didn’t want to waste Dad’s money on an application to that Gothic Rockpile you call alma mater.
Rant forgiven. But I didn’t know I would trigger such emotion by defending my school…. I think the main point is the DA has other obvious agendas that don’t touch on memories of roundball rivalry.
Comment by TaterCon — 05.23.06 @ 10:55 pm
“We all know this is BS and Nifungu is only trying to get re-elected.”
Not all of us who believe it’s BS, think Nifungu is only trying to get re-elected.
An alternative theory is that he is just not that bright. He could be just as dumb and uniformed as some Southern Racist Sheriffs were in the past.
The alleged victim also appears to be a very experienced liar. She did manage to wangle her way out of lockup.
Comment by UNK — 05.23.06 @ 11:01 pm
I, for one, am very relieved that this whole ridiculous debacle was B.S. To be honest, Duke is a great, great school in so many ways - one of the best, no doubt - would be a shame to see it go down from a rape conviction from some athlete. Duke shall be redeemed!
Now…as for the Duke/UNC rivalry… It is a fine one, admitted, but it’s falls 2nd to the fine Princeton/Harvard rivalry I enjoyed for my college career. All hail, the mighty Tigers!
Comment by Princetonian — 05.23.06 @ 11:09 pm
But there has to be some credible sources, Fox News doesn’t count, that provides a clear account.
Comment by ricland
I find Fox is pretty credible as a news source. Better than the other 3 MSM news. So yes, for most people Fox does count. There are problems with O’Reilly, Hannity and Uriah Heep, and the joke that is Greta..O’Reilly and his smarmy ego, Hannity as Bush’s “not so brite toady-boy” until he finally broke with the Ruling Elite over immigration. Uriah is reliably knee-jerk Jewish liberal. Greta is the “missing pretty white woman specialist” who rarely breaks any real news. For my soap opera viewers, I am pleased to announce breaking news that MILF Beth Holloway will be back for her 200th appearance on my show with her exciting new thoughts and feelings!!
In the Duke case, Fox and ABC have led coverage. Kudos for Fox because they have used the Not-Greta, Megyn Kendall, who is not only HOT!!!!, but appears quite serious and intelligent and who with her staff, has broken dozens of new stories in DC and in the Duke case.
Comment by Chris Ford — 05.23.06 @ 11:12 pm
A class action should be taken against the stripper, the stripper’s parents, the second stripper, the district attorney, and the city of Durham.
Comment by Betty Friedan — 05.23.06 @ 11:13 pm
Maybe Nifwrong has “witnesses”. Maybe the boyfriend and the two chauffeurs will vouch for the stripper and her tale of rape.
Comment by belle — 05.23.06 @ 11:28 pm
She ‘did’ 3 guys, went on to her ‘dancing’ gig, got ‘raped’ by 3 more and went on about business for a while??
Has anyone considered that maybe she’s a nymphomaniac exhibitionist??
Her boyfriend jealous?? How’s he gonna know she ‘hit’ him and 2 more before her ‘gig’?? Is he doing DNA tests?? I doubt it…
Pathological liar and nympho showoff is my guess when it ALL comes out…
Comment by TexasFred — 05.24.06 @ 12:12 am
Duke Lacrosse Rape Accuser Had Sex With 3 Men Near Time of Alleged Rape (Audio)
My suspicions of her possibly being more than just a “dancer” in the “exotic” sense might very well be true.
So much has come out that I’ll just have to list it in parts.
Toxicology report
At this point, there is no …
Trackback by Independent Conservative — 05.24.06 @ 12:23 am
In addition to motions to dismiss and for acquittal, a motion to suppress “the pin the tail on the donkey” picture id lineup, if granted, would end the case. She would not be allowed to identify her attackers at trial, and with no DNA, not a pube or fiber to tie them in, game over. Nifong would say I tried hard, last question, who gets blame for id process, cops or Mike? Also look for motions to move case out of Durham. If granted, I think Nifong still prosecutes, but before a jury less jacked up than Durhamites. Nifong wants to try all cases together. Problem for defense: Finnerty and Selimann want DNA tests in because they show no match whatsoever. DNA on a fake fingernail contained a mix of DNA with some markers the same as Evans. While he has good explanations (it was in my trashcan with my tissues, q-tips etc.), he will move to suppress the DNA evidence, and most likely wins because a few markers only narrows it down to several million (I think)and is not probative or reliable. I don’t how jury can hear the DNA story about no match to two and no mention of Evans without possibly drawing a negative conclusion. My bet, if it goes to trial, there will be at least two.
Duke Law Grad
Comment by Jim — 05.24.06 @ 12:52 am
“a motion to suppress “the pin the tail on the donkey†picture id lineup, if granted, would end the case. ”
I agree assuming there is no other way to ID the three boys in the bathroom.
DNA has failed to ID the three boys, but if the rape actually occurred, in my opinion, it would be very easy to get some testimony placing three entering or leaving the bathroom and not elsewhere in the house.
Depending on how many time-stamped photographs there are, it may even be possible to use the process of elimination to eliminate everyone but three – assuming a brutal 15-minute rape actually occurred.
Comment by UNK — 05.24.06 @ 1:26 am
Undoubtedly, if everyone in the house could account for their time within a 15-minute period, the story would change to a 3-minute rape (that just seemed like 15 minutes, I mean 30 minutes).
Comment by UNK — 05.24.06 @ 1:29 am
I’m wondering, can defendants in civil trials decide to have their cases heard by judges only?
Obviously, the lacrosse players will beat the criminal rap; I doubt there’ll even be a trial.
A potential civil case is another matter. This woman is obviously a bottom-feeder and will dig for gold if she can find an attorney. If I were one of the players accused I’d do whatever I could to avoid my fate being decided by a black Durham jury.
It’s bad enough this lowlife hooker has cost these boys bail and lawyer money, God forbid they should lose a civil suit to an “activist” black jury.
Comment by Svigor — 05.24.06 @ 2:21 am
Here is another interesting theory:
Nifong is getting kick-backs from the all of the attorneys for each defendant. The defendants attorneys are cutting a deal to “milk” the defendants for $100,000’s for attorney’s fees.
When it’s all said and done, Nifong and the attorneys take a month trip to Waikiki…compliments of the defendant’s attorney’s fees. The stripper gets paid $50,000 for agreeing to milk this case.
IN THE END: Everyone is happy because the stripper suddenly decides to drop the case…the boys get off the hook, and all attorneys including nifong will take a trip to Waikiki, and the stripper gets $50K.
Comment by William — 05.24.06 @ 6:40 am
Perhaps Nifong is counting on the case being thrown out on the line-up?
He can blame that on the cops and say he had a great case but lost on a technicality.
My guess is he is hoping for that or for the woman to refuse to testify for fear of committing perjury. If she refuses to testify it may limit her civil options.
Anyway, I think Nifong is counting on one of these for a way out and to blame it on the police.
Comment by Bill Mitchell — 05.24.06 @ 6:56 am
I wish the Republican’s would put forth a candidate for the general election.
A ham sandwich could get indicted, er elected over this guy…
Comment by Bill Mitchell — 05.24.06 @ 6:58 am
“I’m wondering, can defendants in civil trials decide to have their cases heard by judges only?”
Svigor
A. Nope, not if plaintiff asks for a jury trial in the complaint.
“A ham sandwich could get indicted, er elected over this guy…” Bill Mitchell
Change the “could” to “should” and you’ll have everyone agreeing with you….
Comment by TaterCon — 05.24.06 @ 7:43 am
“Maybe Nifwrong has “witnessesâ€. Maybe the boyfriend and the two chauffeurs will vouch for the stripper and her tale of rape.” Belle
If so, why didn’t they come in through the bathroom window to save her?
Joe Cocker
Comment by TaterCon — 05.24.06 @ 7:46 am
“Here is another interesting theory:
Nifong is getting kick-backs from the all of the attorneys for each defendant. The defendants attorneys are cutting a deal to “milk†the defendants for $100,000’s for attorney’s fees.
When it’s all said and done, Nifong and the attorneys take a month trip to Waikiki…compliments of the defendant’s attorney’s fees. The stripper gets paid $50,000 for agreeing to milk this case.” William
William, that’s an insulting crock of s–t and you know it. You’re pandering to the “anti-lawyer” sentiments you think everyone holds, but you’re not paying a lick of attention to what a good and aggressive job these defense attorneys are doing.
Comment by TaterCon — 05.24.06 @ 7:52 am
OK, here’s a question. How is it that DNA evidence is a “magic wand” that gets murder and rape convictions overturned years after trial, yet here, the DNA evidence doesn’t seem to have that magical power?
Perhaps we will see a new word coined after all this is over: “I’m being Nifonged!!”
Comment by BigOrangeAxe — 05.24.06 @ 8:33 am
Tatercon,
I believe you are correct that Nifungu is no rocket scientist, I’ve confirmed that from former classmates, and I didn’t mean to imply that he is on a roundball vendetta. He knows Dukies don’t vote, that’s where he’s coming from. Failed to mention in last post that I had lunch with DA here in Meck county, we’re on a board together. The “case” came up, but we were all too polite to put the question to him. He did make it pretty clear that Nifungu must have something more or he’s toast, but now that Nifungu has dumped his 1300 pages, I don’t think he has anything else. If he is witholding evidence from the Defense, he’s in even more trouble. I suggested our DA would never bring this case to trial, he grinned and mentioned that he did go to Duke Law School and had once lived on “the Street” during law school, but other than that got nothing out of him. I think everone down here, with a lick of sense, is embrassed by Nifungu. Kemp
Comment by kemperman — 05.24.06 @ 9:18 am
I am very encouraged by these comments for the most part. Some concerns however still hold me. One: The DA will continue this case as long as possible. He is on a self-preservation mission just as he has been from day-one.
Two: For many, this is all about the victim mentality, which unfortunately feeds hatred. I’ve heard she was a victim because she was black, or a woman, or even underpriveledged. Mark my words; At the end of this, she’ll be painted still as a victim. It will be she was a victim of sexual abuse or her father didn’t give her enough attention. The false-accusers rarely if ever truly pay for damage they cause. Our justice system is a tool of the angry.
Comment by Chris — 05.24.06 @ 11:11 am
One more thing: Thank God that these boys are from New York and New Jersey. I couldn’t bare another round of “The South hasn’t changed at all”
Comment by Chris — 05.24.06 @ 11:18 am
The more this drags out, the more resentment I feel for the accuser. Obviously, she is messed up. No one willingly makes the same choices she has made in her life – married at a young age to a much older man; two kids to a man she never married (who will grow up never knowing the advantages of an intact nuclear family); men using her for sex as early as 14 years old; numbing herself from the tragedy that is her life through alcohol and drugs; feeling powerless to really change anything about it.
The sad fact is she has been told that none of it is her fault. She can blame anyone and everyone for her lousy situation. Everyone wants to say she’s disadvantaged because she’s a black single mother trying to support her family. They want to say that she’s been prevented from achieving the American Dream because of her race, class and gender. They say the black female has been objectified in current culture to be nothing but a sex toy.
The truly sad fact is she made all of the choices herself. She chose to have sex with someone other than her husband and the result was not one, but two children. She chose to conduct herself in such a way that she received a general discharge from the Navy only one year after enlistment. She chose to steal a taxi and try to run down some cops while driving with a blood alcohol level more than double the state’s limit. She chose to seek employment as an “adult entertainer†and escort.
Some would have you believe she had no choice, no other option. That’s just bunk. Just how much money does it take to support yourself and two kids in Durham? Fer cryin’ out loud, she was supposed to make $400 for one “appointment†of dancing for two hours. Now I know she doesn’t get to keep all of it, but lets just suppose she gets 50%. That’s $200 for one night. And she had at least five “appointments†during the previous weekend. Plus “tips.†Seems to me like she was making a pretty decent income doing this. I also wonder where all of the money went.
No, she isn’t forced into stripping or prostitution. She CHOSE it. She liked the money. She didn’t want to delay her degree by going to school part time or at night. She didn’t want to clean houses or cut grass or stock grocery stores shelves. If I’m willing to pay some 16 year old kid $50 for two hours of work at my house doing yard work, why couldn’t she find comparable employment?
You see, she is the “victim†because no one has told her to stand up and take responsibility for her own decisions. No one has said the only limits on her are the ones she places on herself. No one has informed her that this is the one opportunity you have to mold your children into productive members of society, so don’t blow it. No one has explained to her that, regardless of intentions, you are judged by your actions.
Comment by SLee — 05.24.06 @ 12:27 pm
I wonder, has Jesse Jackson written his first check yet?
Comment by tawanabrawley — 05.24.06 @ 12:33 pm
Gee, where has he gone anyway? Hmmmmm.
Comment by SLee — 05.24.06 @ 12:34 pm
Maybe he will hide out for a while, ya know?
Comment by tawanabrawley — 05.24.06 @ 12:50 pm
>>>
Mellow out Tater. I am only throwing that out for fun, not that I think it is true. I am not anti-lawyer at all. I think the defense attorneys have done an excellent job to discredit the accuser. I did however think that it is was interesting that one of the lawyers knows Nifong personally, which is why I just threw this out for fun. I think LaShawn has the wraps on this one and has presented the most logical argument I can think of, regarding what really happened.
Comment by William — 05.24.06 @ 1:38 pm
#54, well said and my thoughts exactly. She made choices that put her where she is today; if she stayed in the Navy she would have around 40K to pay for school….a full timer draws $1034 a month for enrollment.
I have read blogs stating she had scholarships that pretty much paid for school. I have not seen this, but there were articles stating that Crystal requested that NCCU seal her files. Her parents stated she lived with them at the time. She had no real bills if these two items were true, so a love of money (the root of all evil) is why she chose to turn tricks.
If she was worried about feeding her kids and paying her bills, she could have saved a ton by skipping weaves and fake nails…both of which cost an arm and a leg to keep up with….
It is time to stop with the victim mentality because 99 percent of the time, the person involved is a volunteer and not a victim.
Comment by cynical1der — 05.24.06 @ 1:55 pm
Duke Rape Case Update
LaShawn Barber continues to track the Duke rape case. Defense’s discovery request has been answered with an amazing 1,300 pages of documents. (No doubt including such things as Duke’s soda machine instruction manuals and the mayor’s recipe for chick…
Trackback by Joe's Dartblog — 05.24.06 @ 2:00 pm
I can’t wait for Newsweek to come out with a cover showing the accuser and with a huge headline, “HOAX!”
This will be penance for their “Sex, Lies, and Duke” cover.
Of course, I may have to wait a long time. . .
Comment by Seahawk — 05.24.06 @ 2:11 pm
Echoes of Tawana?
I’m left wondering… did this woman, finding herself where she really didn’t want to be, and fearing that she might not be able to leave as easily as she came in, invent the story to explain her behavior, in hopes of, like Tawana Brawley, avoiding g…
Trackback by ThoughtsOnline — 05.24.06 @ 2:20 pm
And what kind of a name is “Nifong”?
Comment by tomaig — 05.24.06 @ 2:24 pm
Apparently the Duke Women’s Lacrosse team are going to wear sweatbands that say “innocent” in support of the accused, during their final game.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=2456262
(I guess the women don’t think they are simply a bunch of male sexist hooligans who are out of control. . . )
You guys don’t read updates or follow links in the post, do you?
Linked it about an hour ago… - Admin
Comment by Seahawk — 05.24.06 @ 2:26 pm
Take time to visit http://www.innocenceproject.org. They work to get mercifully preserved DNA evidence tested years later using new methods. In 14 years, they have gotten 177 men convicted by positive victim ID and other forensic and circumstantial evidence released from prison, based soley on the convicted man’s DNA not matching that found at the crime scene/in or on victim. One founder is Barry Scheck of OJ trial fame. One was released yesterday in Florida, but immediately re-arrested for immigration violations.
Earlier this year, four black football players from Va. State (predominantly black) in Petersburg, VA were arrested for raping a white coed from upscale Univ. of Richmond. Trial coming later this year. No national coverage, in fact, hardly any local coverage!!
Comment by Duke Law Grad — 05.24.06 @ 2:31 pm
No coverage, indeed. I mentioned that case in the update of this post:
http://lashawnbarber.com/archives/2006/05/04/rape-shield-law/
As you know, Duke Law Grad, white-on-black rape is less common but IMMENSELY more interesting than black-on-white rape.
Comment by La Shawn — 05.24.06 @ 2:42 pm
The great work by the Innocence Project would suggest figuring out a way to improve the system for everyone (such as not having a death penalty because it’s final) – and not suggesting punitive actions against a specific town or person.
There are thousands of rapes and murders every year, but only a few are newsworthy.
Most rapes are date rapes where it’s a he-said, she-said situation between drunken parties that is not that newsworthy. The only “news†is usually the sleaziness of both the accused and accuser and no one ever knows what happened for sure.
Likewise, most murders fall into the all too common categories of drug wars, ex-husband/wife, or anger control issues, which are not newsworthy except for a brief tabloid summary in the local news. At least murders have “news†in that new evidence is found.
Comment by UNK — 05.24.06 @ 3:22 pm
As you know, Duke Law Grad, white-on-black rape is less common but IMMENSELY more interesting than black-on-white rape.
Comment by La Shawn — 05.24.06 @ 2:42 pm
This being true, someone please explain to me why I have read in blogs comments such as, “whites feeling blacks are their property to do with as they please”.
Rape is a terrible, unforgivable act. It is meant as a “You are completely powerless against me” statement. To drag race into this would have completely muddied the waters even if there had been an actual rape.
The “pot-stirrers” will be back. They will swim in the shadows, waiting for a sign of trouble that they can exploit. Remember “Bonfire of the vanities” ?
Comment by Chris — 05.24.06 @ 4:07 pm
I suggest a new law. Let our government do something. “Anyone falsely accusing someone of a crime will accept the sentence normally handed down for said crime. Further, any prosecuting attorney found to have withheld evidence that would have proved innocence during trial, said attorney will bare the sentence.
Comment by Chris — 05.24.06 @ 4:17 pm
It is laughable to see some people treat Black Conservatives like we are offering a different opinion from them because we are somehow trying to cater to some Conservative circle. It’s like they can’t fully accept that we have an honest difference of opinion with them. Them being whatever Liberal lobs the complaint using terms like “pandering for approval”.
I never see Whites who get hate mail saying that they are accused of trying to cater to some Conservative class. They are simply hated for BEING CONSERVATIVE. When will these Liberals realize that regardless of race, we are simply Conservative Americans in our views and skin tone does not dictate values or thought.
They continue this perception that to “Be Black” YOU MUST tow the Liberal line. It really cracks me up that they display a total bias based on race, while they are the ones that claim to be against such.
They base their opinion on skin tone rather than the content of character. But these same hypocrites claim to abhor such treatment.
The available facts in the case show there was no rape. Just a woman sleeping around, embarrassed and probably upset some White guys called her names.
Comment by Independent Conservative — 05.24.06 @ 4:26 pm
“This being true, someone please explain to me why I have read in blogs comments such as, “whites feeling blacks are their property to do with as they pleaseâ€.”
They don’t believe the statistics because they claim:
black victims were afraid to report white crimes to racist police,
black men were falsely convicted of rape, and
white people tabulate and fake the statistics.
Comment by UNK — 05.24.06 @ 4:26 pm
“I suggest a new law. Let our government do something. “Anyone falsely accusing someone of a crime will accept the sentence normally handed down for said crime. ”
I haven’t thought it out in detail, but there are conflicting interests between 1) initially reducing the number of false accusations (which your proposal would help) and 2) making it easy for false accusers to confess and end the situation (which your proposal would harm)
Your proposal would encourage people to stick to their false story to the bitter end.
And wasn’t that proposed in the Bible somewhere. It probably did not fly.
Comment by UNK — 05.24.06 @ 4:31 pm
Duke: 1,300 Pages of Evidence
La Shawn’s latest comments on the Duke lacrosse rape case include many links along with an interesting email demonstrating the perils of swimming against the tide….
Trackback by Pajamas Media — 05.24.06 @ 4:38 pm
Also, so as not to encourage rapists from targeting drunks, drug addicts and the mentally ill, we do want everyone who may have been raped, like in that other Duke rape, to report the rape even if they are not sure what happed last night.
Comment by UNK — 05.24.06 @ 4:41 pm
Point well taken, UNK. I often wonder though how much damage is actually done to race-relations not by the false reporting of crimes, but by the adding on of race bating. Not just this case, but remember “A black man stole my car with my kids in it”? The shame of it is, people are more likely to believe the accusation if there is some prejudice already there. If the first stripper had been raped, why would the two strippers stop to call the police to report someone from the house screaming racial insults at them while they were passing by? Because you get more bang for your buck when race is involved.
Comment by Chris — 05.24.06 @ 5:01 pm
Duke Update
The Independent Women’s Forum comments:Our college liaison Allison Kasic complains about the Mainstream Media blackout on the news bombshell released yesterday indicating that the stripper/alleged victim in the Duke lacrosse rape case told police inv…
Trackback by Daily Pundit — 05.24.06 @ 5:28 pm
“I often wonder though how much damage is actually done to race-relations not by the false reporting of crimes, but by the adding on of race bating. ”
Much.
But for years, Negros or N—– got the worst of it, when they were convicted, jailed or worse on the basis of false accusations.
Every Southern black man of a certain age knew not to get caught in a compromising situation with a white woman.
Comment by UNK — 05.24.06 @ 5:30 pm
Quick Duke Update
The rest of the national media has been pretty quiet about these developments in the Duke case…
Trackback by Hugh Hewitt — 05.24.06 @ 6:24 pm
La Shawn,
Wow! A scientist who isn’t objective. Scared of that….definitely scared of that! I’m rethinking my opinion of Duke, if it churns out scientists of this caliber.
Comment by belle — 05.24.06 @ 6:26 pm
What I haven’t heard anything about is the “almost” physical impossibility of this happening. I have three bathrooms in my house, all of them bigger than the average bathroom. Yet there is no way in hell that four people strugglng and fighting could possibly, in the 20 minutes allowed, complete the act as the alleged victim has described.
I believe that she claimed vaginal, anal and oral forcible entry.
Not possible.
Comment by RLS — 05.24.06 @ 7:20 pm
On the PhD, Duke, “moderate democrat” black women upbraiding S. Barber on non-PC, “non-approved black thought”
I don’t get why the heck an intelligent women with a fine education [if her bona fides check out], in this day and age, thinks differences in opinion are a bad thing. Bad, that is in the black community, but OK and acceptable in the Hispanic, Asian, white, Jewish, Muslim, Catholic..and so on communities. Only the feminists, now in serious trouble because they alienate so many women with their Stalinist orthodoxy and intolerance of other women (and men’s) opinions contrary to theirs, insist on a collective party line and like black Correct Thinkers attack all opposing thought as BAD for (the royal) WE, the representatives of ALL women (blacks).
If you get past identity politics and victim labels and look at just the quality of journalism and intelligence brought to bear in analyzing the Duke rape case, you quickly see that LaShawn has been far more on mark than the self-anointed “Head Spokespersons” of America’s black community, be they in the journalist field or Jesse Jackson types. Or the feminist victim advocates who all came in on the Duke rape as “You Gotta Believe!!” the Victim and punish the *spit* mennnnnn that must have done it and address the larger male jock and Duke “rape cultures” running rampant (folks like the nauseating Wendy Murphy or Nancy Grace).
An example of the “award-winning, prestigious MSM journalists” in opposition to La Shawn but in lockstep with official liberal theology are Lynne Duke of the WP and Julianne Malveaux of CNN. Just today, Lynne Duke had an embarrassingly sloppy opinion piece disguised as a “news” story that could have been written in mid-March but not now except for her scrupulously ignoring the facts that don’t fit her preset ideology.
It’s worth a read just to examine how careless this “award-winning journalist” is with the facts, her approving quotes of Malveaux’s rape conjectures, and the hysterically funny bit about how whites in college have reduced all black women to sexual objects and regularly menace them.
Lynne Duke link from May 24th Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/23/AR2006052302022.html
Now, ignoring the fact that the sexual objectification of black women is a largely internal black cultural issue that DOES need to be addressed. And it is true and not such a bad thing, IMO, that young people of all races find friendships, knowledge, respect, AND sexual attraction does not magically stop on lines of race… I still think that the twin phenomena of sexually degraded, wanton black women chasing white guys or gangs of immoral white guys going crazy trying to hook up with black women and exerting undue pressure on them to the point of driving black women to “justified fear of white boys” - are pretty limited in their extent, and two of the smaller concerns in our multi-racial society, with respect to healthy, productive societal relationships.
==============================================
No toxicology was done? Amazing! I believe the formal procedures call for testing when impairment of the woman having a rape kit administered would impact the investigation.
My suspicion is the accuser was apparently silent on rape until she was driven to a detox center where she knew she would be tested for drugs and alcohol prior to being allowed to be admitted, then began claiming rape there, then was taken to the hospital and - I conjecture - REFUSED permission to test her blood or urine - fearing a substance abuse bust or public intoxication charge.
Though she was so messed up it took 31 hours for her to be evaluated as sober enough to sign her formal criminal complaint statement.
======================================
Though the spotlight’s on Nifong now as the Source of the fiasco, don’t be surprised if it ends up other parties had critical roles in blowing this up into a cause celebe…Durham’s Town Manager, a black politician, was “running” the police department in the Chief’s vacation absence. An ambitious, inexperienced detective, Benjamin Niman, was assigned as lead investigator, and early on indicated his belief that the rape was true. A more experienced local cop, Scott Gottlieb, has been involved in incidents with Niman in unauthorized dorm raids of defendents under counsel, posible intimidation of witnesses. We don’t know anything about the SANE “rape expert” nurse, and if she had an agenda she was pushing and her clout in demanding the “obvious rape” be prosecuted. We don’t know if it was a local Democratic Party decision after Duke’s presumption of guilt by firing the coach, canceling the teams season was thought to give “cover” so the race card could be brought out and energize the black community for the local primary elections.
Did Nifong alone have the clout to spring for all the funds needed for all the DNA testing when DNA testing is supposedly still waiting on “resources to become available” in a quadruple murder in Durham that happened months before the rape? I believe only the Durham Town Manager, the County Court Lead Administer can free up additional funds, not the DA alone.
Certainly Nifong is in the middle of it, but there may be others involved and soon to be shown as looking pretty bad for their part in a miscarriage of justice.
Thanks, Chris. I linked to the article earlier today, which is what prompted the Ph.D.’s e-mail. - Admin
Comment by Chris Ford — 05.24.06 @ 7:30 pm
I’m curious La Shawn,
Did the “professor” seem to be “embarassed” the “alleged victim” was a black woman who felt the need to pimp herself out for money (I think the dictionary has another word for that)? Just curious.
Funny, Renee.
Nope, it was all saved for me. - Admin
Comment by Renee — 05.24.06 @ 7:31 pm
I would be more embarrassed of the many men who took advantage of her since she was fourteen. If one has some “character flaws†it’s rather easy to become a substance-abusing “escort,†but it takes some thought and effort to become a statutory-rapist or pimp.
But there are bad apples in every family, class and race, and I don’t think anyone should be embarrassed about anyone else, especially for an academic disagreement.
Comment by UNK — 05.24.06 @ 8:12 pm
Where is Kim Roberts? I wonder how she will spin this to her advantage now. I’m hoping Jesse will pony up to the table with a nice scholarship for her, so she won’t be forced to do this sort of work again. Actually, maybe she could do the strip club circuit as the ” The Second Stripper”!!!
Comment by belle — 05.24.06 @ 8:18 pm
Hmmm, perhaps that will give audiences across America an opportunity to pelt Kim with rocks and garbage. %^)
Comment by SteveDinMD — 05.24.06 @ 9:23 pm
OK, La Shawn is going to kill me if she’s already linked to this, but here goes. . .
Where’s Nifong?
http://www.herald-sun.com/durham/4-737899.html
DURHAM — “. . . taxi driver Hasan Ateya Kafi, 45, . . .was accused last year of feloniously kidnapping a Duke student and committing misdemeanor sexual battery against her.
Court records show that Kafi was allowed to plead guilty this month to only the misdemeanor, receiving a 60-day suspended jail sentence and 18 months of probation.”
(Note : this is NOT the taxi driver who took the lacrosse players home)
Comment by Seahawk — 05.24.06 @ 10:33 pm
I’d be happy if we could somehow eliminate the notion that if a woman accuses a man of rape he’s automatically guilty, facts be damned. Given the massive investment in this fallacy by feminist organizations I doubt this will change any time soon.
Comment by Captain Ned — 05.24.06 @ 10:42 pm
Rape according to John Updike:
“”You know what a rape usually is? It’s a woman who changed her mind afterward.”"
—-From Rabbit Redux (1971), by John Updike
Comment by Glamchild — 05.24.06 @ 10:53 pm
Glamchild, one thing I tell the young women who work for me is this: buyer’s remorse is not rape. If you went to bed willingly last night and regretted it this morning, it is not rape.
Personally, I think the accuser deserves some prison time for a phony charge but I don’t think she would do well in prison.
Comment by cynical1der — 05.25.06 @ 12:13 am
Duke Roundup
I haven’t been following the Duke lacrosse team alleged rape case on this blog. I have been watching it on my own, however, with the fascination one has of watching a slow-motion train wreck. Via Hugh Hewitt, Mary Katharine Ham, Betsy Newmark and La S…
Trackback by Pro Cynic — 05.25.06 @ 1:22 am
Good article on the case from Michael Gaynor, a prominant attorney.
Link: http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/gaynor/060524
Two passages stand out:
1) slavery ended long ago, (2) none of the Duke lacrosse players ever owned slaves, and (3) no innocent person ought to be convicted on a phony rape charge in order to “atone” in some perverse way for slavery or white racism, or as punishment for the stupidity of attending a party at which strippers of whatever color were the “entertainment.”
I would bet money that the ‘victim’ is on welfare, maintaining her benefits by being a ’student’ (this was a ‘workaround’ for Welfare Reform; and no doubt she doesn’t pay taxes on her earnings from stripping and, likely, ’sex work’ (DNA from 3 men found at time of ‘rape’) — not exactly what to expect from a ‘dedicated mother struggling to support her children.’
Much more in Gaynor’s piece.
===================================
I think more trouble lies on the front of those, as in the PhD Prof who lectured LaShawn Barber and the “award-winning journalist” Lynne Duke of the Washington Post, in trying to rehabilitate the accuser as a “hard-working mother of two who is a Navy Vet”.
She was booted from the Navy under less than honorable circumstances which disqualify her from Vet status and benefits. And she may face tax and welfare fraud charges if she was scamming welfare and/or not reporting her dancer/prostitution income. Plus fraud charges if she claimed she was not working, and got free tuition in turn at NCCU. Another bit in the mystery is that her parents report that she was hospitalized for mental issues related to anxiety over money problems as she and their grand kids were living with them…. If she was having money problems while she presumably raking in money as a sex worker, on welfare, living at home, no car…that suggests she was spending lots of money on something…and I somehow doubt it was on her kids.
A drug abuse problem may explain her catonic behavior, financial difficulties, and apparant refusal to be tested for toxicology.
================================
I have to dredge this up again. According to the growing more credible by the day Duke players, what they saw was BOTH strippers go alone into the bathroom after 4-5 minutes of dancing and lock themselves in for 20 minutes. According to them, the strippers were thought to be making a phone call or two and apparantly painting their nails by the smell. Photos apparantly exist, stifled under “rape victim shield law” that show the accuser’s hands free of her 5 inch long nails before dancing, of a different color. Then, after the bathroom hiatus the Duke players claim, photos of a different pinkish-red color nail polish on her hands as she was leaving. Reports of a month ago said Duke players claimed fresh nail polish was smeared on the porch rail and grass outside as the accuser stumbled and fell. It is possible those “natural nails” were examinined and photographed during the “rape kit”, which might show smeared paint as well.
Hence, the defense lawyer’s interest in the cell phone and the evidence about the nail polish…….
And of course interest in pretrial deposing the 2nd stripper about her being in the bathroom with the accuser - or her not being there - under oath.
Any evidence confirming the 20 minutes of time the bathroom had the stripper accuser in it of course would be a likely Nifong case-ending bombshell…(1)If the 2nd stripper admits the two were in there and what happened between the 2 of them;(2)Any cell phone calls the stripper made between 12:06 and 12:30; (3)If she “did” her nails in the time period being questioned, or perhaps a new story from her about how she “was so traumatized” she thought it important to paint her nails while being beaten and gang-banged..
Comment by Chris Ford — 05.25.06 @ 1:36 am
I really think the Washington Post article, while short of a lie, was misleading. Below is the start of the Article as it appeared on the front page of the Style section, followed by the article again with my (comments).
The Duke Case’s Cruel Truth
Hateful Stereotypes of Black Women Resurface
By Lynne Duke
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 24, 2006; C01
She was black, they were white, and race and sex were in the air.
But whatever actually happened that March 13 night at Duke University — both the reported rape and its surrounding details are hotly disputed — it appears at least that the disturbing historic script of the sexual abuse of black women was playing out inside that lacrosse team house party.
Two black women performed an exotic dance. The white men in their audience shouted racial epithets, one of the women has said. Things got rough. Someone in the crowd held a broomstick aloft and shouted “I’m gonna shove this up you,” the other woman told police when she reported being raped. As the women fled the house, a neighbor reportedly heard one of the men shout: “Hey bitch, thank your grandpa for my nice cotton shirt.”
In the sordid but contested details of the case, African American women have heard echoes of a history of some white men sexually abusing black women — and a stereotype of black women as hy-
————————————-
The Duke Case’s Cruel Truth
(since the “truth†is “cruel†one would assume the boys are guilty, but after reading to second page of article, the cruel truth may be that it reminds some of past discrimination)
Hateful Stereotypes of Black Women Resurface
(Implies that the boys were hateful and stereotyped black women)
By Lynne Duke
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 24, 2006; C01
She was black, they were white, and race and sex were in the air. (the boys may have just been thinking about sex and not about race, and unhappy about the short sex show)
But whatever actually happened that March 13 night at Duke University — both the reported rape and its surrounding details are hotly disputed — it appears at least (at least implies guilt) that the disturbing historic script of the sexual abuse (is watching a strip show and making tasteless comments “sexual abuseâ€) of black women (the boys actually ordered a white stripper) was playing out inside that lacrosse team house party.
Two black women (one was a half black, half Asian which the boys mistook for a Hispanic stripper they were promised) performed an exotic dance. The white men (implies all the men, not one or two) in their audience shouted racial epithets (only after they got in a financial dispute), one of the women has said. Things got rough (implies violence not rough words). Someone in the crowd held a broomstick aloft and shouted “I’m gonna shove this up you,” the other woman told police when she (eventually) reported being raped (after being arrested for public intoxication). As the women fled (helped to the car by some of the boys) the house, a neighbor reportedly heard one of the men shout: “Hey bitch, thank your grandpa for my nice cotton shirt.”
In the sordid but contested details of the case, African American women have heard echoes of a history of some white men sexually abusing black women — and a stereotype of black women as hy
Comment by UNK — 05.25.06 @ 3:07 am
La Shawn:
For the Black Democrat female “scientist” - she doesn’t know what the scientific method it - if she followed it, she would know that Nifong’s hypothesis is “null”.
As for “stereotypes” of Black women being raped by White men - they haven’t looked at the most recent crime statistics. When was the last time a White man was even accused of raping a Black woman? NOT NEARLY AS OFTEN AS THE OTHER WAY.
NOT MUCH MORE TO DISCUSS HERE.
Comment by Frank Zavisca — 05.25.06 @ 8:07 am
Someone posted that the name Nifong should be used as a verb. For example, “Hey, did you hear about Joe? He was nifonged and got thrown out of school!” or how about, “This man is innocent, your honor, he has been nifonged and so we ask that the charges be dropped.” If I was a parent of a college student, I would think twice about sending my child to school anywhere in North Carolina. Too much race baiting.
Comment by belle — 05.25.06 @ 8:33 am
“If I was a parent of a college student, I would think twice about sending my child to school anywhere in North Carolina. Too much race baiting.”
belle, I agree there is way too much race-baiting. Any is way too much. But don’t believe it is confined to NC. There is money in race-baiting. As long as we reward it, it will continue.
Comment by Chris — 05.25.06 @ 9:32 am
“If I was a parent of a college student, I would think twice about sending my child to school anywhere in North Carolina. Too much race baiting.” — Belle
Well, Belle, at the risk of being told to mellow out again [
, William], I’ll come to the defense of my TarHeel state ….
Seems to me race-baiting is one of those types of things that can break out anywhere. The most recent brushfire happens to have occurred here in my native state.
I remember as a kid, growing up in Raleigh, I got to hear Jesse Helms give his nightly editorials on TV-5. During the time of the speaker ban controversy in the legislature, the debate was about the avowed communist professor, Herbert Apthecker, coming to speak to UNC students at Chapel Hill. To Jesse, Mr. Apthecker was an “outside agitator.” (Of course, Freedom Riders were so labeled in Alabama and Mississippi, too.)
“Race-baiters” travel to wherever the opportunity knocks, and they’re the “outside agitators” of today. Today’s Jesse, the Revvverrrrrend Mr. Jackson, along with Al Sharpton, the New Black Panthers and the opportunistic Willie Gary, Esq., were not born in these parts, as we say. They have travelled into our parts for the attention to be gained.
Hopefully, all this is blowing over as more holes in Ms. Crystal’s story — er, stories — are becoming known. The aforementioned “outside agitators” will move on to the next brushfire, wherever it breaks out…..
….leaving the good citizens of NC to go back to debating other devisive topics — such as, which is better, Eastern NC barbecue with its red pepper/vinegar based sauce, or that overly ketchupped up stuff they pass off as “Lexington Style” in the west???
Comment by TaterCon — 05.25.06 @ 9:54 am
Belle,
Democrats and Liberals in NC have ALWAYS been race baiters. Blacks in NC are about 25% of the vote. Without the Black vote NO democrat in NC could get elected to ANYTHING. When Jesse Helms ran for the Senate and BEAT the Black mayor of Charlotte, he ran an ad about unemployment and the liberals went bats. Harvey Gantt, that mayor, shamely called anyone who supported Helms a racist. He also just “happen” to make a million dollars off a “minority” TV station license, that he bought and flipped two years later, TO THE STATION JESSE USE TO WORK FOR! Race politics IS politics in NC. Until the Black vote starts leaving the Plantation, it will always be so. The Democrats must keep their base inflamed to get out the vote without it they are toast. Kemp
Comment by kemperman — 05.25.06 @ 10:06 am
Belle, Tatercon is right the most important thing here is the que, Roundball, and Racin. It is race week, so I think a trip to the track is in order this afternoon. folks out there don’t give a hoot about the color of your skin, they are interested in a real RACE! (but most all of them do agree Gordon ia a loser!)
Comment by kemperman — 05.25.06 @ 10:13 am
Hmmmmm…interesting…I didn’t realize that all the ‘race baiters’ were black? You don’t say…
Comment by Tiffany in Houston — 05.25.06 @ 10:52 am
“If I was a parent of a college student, I would think twice about sending my child to school anywhere in North Carolina. Too much race baiting. ”
by Chris:
“there is way too much race-baiting. Any is way too much. But don’t believe it is confined to NC.”
I haven’t looked at it empirically, but others have in the book “Winning the Race,†but unlike the racial situation 50 years ago which could be laid clearly on the poor ignorant Southerners, the “race baiting†today is common among Northern (liberal) “intellectuals†and politicians such as Lynne Duke (who wrote that Washington Post “report”) and Mayor Barry. It may be unfair to stereotype NC.
Comment by UNK — 05.25.06 @ 11:32 am
2 questions:
1) Will the media do the responsible thing and give the story the attention it deserves when it’s clear (as it already is, pretty much) that this was all complete bull$hit? Will Newsweek do a cover that makes it clear that the Dukies were victimized?
2) Can the Duke students sue Nifong? Can they sue the county of Durham? how about the strippers? God knows it would all be justifiable.
Very happy to hear that Duke’s admissions and quality of accepted students hasn’t suffered at all.
Duke’s a top-5 school nationally - it deserves to stay that way.
Comment by ek — 05.25.06 @ 12:08 pm
“Hmmmmm…interesting…I didn’t realize that all the ‘race baiters’ were black? You don’t say… ”
– Tiffany
Point well taken, Tiffany, and it merits a response. My four examples were all black, I’ll concede, but all four I cited are also from from other parts of the country, and have come to Durham to take advantage of the newsworthy opportunity.
Had Hillary R. Clinton arrived in town with a “…. you know what I mean!” speech, you can bet I would have included her in my examples!!
There are those posting comments here with LaShawn’s Corner who would put Mr. Nifong in the “race baiter” category, taking advantage of the race based aspects of this case during his recent primary campaign. Kemperman, up above, covered NC’s political history quite well, and I suppose I could have mentioned instances of our white politicians engaging in “racial politics”, had I elongated my post.
My mind (and typing fingers) however, went after the recent “outsiders”, and the four most prominent ones who popped into my mind happened to be black.
So, no exclusivity intended in my remarks!!!
Comment by TaterCon — 05.25.06 @ 12:12 pm
Tiffany,
I did not see where anyone said Blacks were the only race baiters. Race baiting is a function played by just about every Democrat in NC, White, Black, Purple, and the Green ones too. Again without the Black vote, NO Democrat gets elected in this state. period! Just the facts, Dan’o. Book’em! Kemp
Comment by kemperman — 05.25.06 @ 12:14 pm
“Can the Duke students sue Nifong? Can they sue the county of Durham? ”
I don’t know. But Wayne Gretzky is suing the state of New Jersey for defamation, I believe, for $50 million. (He was connected by innuendo with a story about a mob-scheme to bet on professional hockey).
Comment by Seahawk — 05.25.06 @ 1:01 pm
I pray that the Duke kids sue Nifong and the county for defamation. You could argue that if any of the lacrosse players who lost their season due to this hoax were good enough to go pro, they might have lost or diminished wages.
And it goes without saying that the stripper be sued. She needs to be made an example to anyone thinking that the legal system is something to fool around with.
Comment by ek — 05.25.06 @ 1:54 pm
There is a race issue here, specifically, the media’s complete willingness to hype any case that fits into their ‘America Is Racist’ template, regardless of the facts of the case.
The boomers who run the media recognize, at a certain level, that they were wrong about Vietnam, wrong about sexual liberation, wrong about socialism, and wrong about everything else they embraced in the sixties. But they think they were right about civil rights, and every chance they get to wave the bloody shirt of racism in America’s face is a chance for them to validate their ’sixties values.’ Even if the blood on the shirt is fake
It’s not liberal white guilt, it’s liberal white arrogance. Which is much, much worse.
Comment by V the K — 05.25.06 @ 2:30 pm
The Herald Sun Newspaper, Durham, North Carolina
“Gag order sought in lacrosse case”
http://www.herald-sun.com/durham/4-738328.html
Comment by Robin Taylor — 05.25.06 @ 2:41 pm
I don’t think the NAACP has what is called legal ’standing’ to request a gag order.
So I think this will go nowhere, other than to a press release.
(But Nifong with his 70 interviews and his TV demonstrations of how the victim was strangled,
surely must given the defense sufficient necessity
for answering his accusations.)
Comment by Seahawk — 05.25.06 @ 2:58 pm
Hey, ek. Is there really professional lacrosse?
Sorry, my inner child has to stray from seriousness once in a while.
Comment by Chris — 05.25.06 @ 3:02 pm
“…may deprive the alleged victim of her legal rights to a fair trial.”
Does it really say that? I thought defendants had a right to a fair trial, not victims.
Comment by Chris — 05.25.06 @ 3:05 pm
Interesting the NAACP requesting a gag order when all of the information is turning against the stripper, er, exotic dancer.
“…Moral Challenges of our Culture at First Presbyterian Church downtown.”
“The session gave the approximately 150 people who attended a chance to hear a series of talks and discuss among themselves sexual and domestic violence, racism, class distinctions and the media.”
Not to mention the moral challenges of lying, prostitution, multiple sexual partners, false accusations, drug use…
Comment by Chris — 05.25.06 @ 3:18 pm
Whatever happens, the fact is that Tawana Brawley’s name and almost 20 year old story were floated within days in the blogosphere and elsewhere. The mindset is clear and depressing.
Comment by Ken — 05.25.06 @ 4:23 pm
Yes there is Pro Lacrosse. The salary range in the Bay area is 10K to 20K per season. I think the average Duke graduates pay might exceed that.
Comment by kyle — 05.25.06 @ 4:37 pm
The really tragic part of this entire case is that no matter how it turns out in court (convicted, dismissed, dropped or acquitted) the victim will forever be labeled an addict, lier and tramp and the accused will forever be labeled, racists, thugs and rapists. The reputations of everyone involved will be irrevocably damaged.
If the lacrosse players are acquitted people will say it was because they are privileged, rich white kids and they could never be convicted of raping a black woman in the south. If they are convicted people will say it’s because they are privileged, rich, white kids who got railroaded due to political pressure.
Nifong jumped the gun by going to the press about this case before he had all the facts or had conducted any sort of investigation just so that he could win votes. He can’t back down now because it would be as much as admitting that he’s pursued this for purely mercenary reasons, not as a matter of law. If he loses this case there will be a public outcry by those who support the accuser, if he wins there will be outcry from those who support the accused and if he drops it both sides will rise up against him.
It’s obvious that there are a lot of conflicts in North Carolina centering on race, status and socio-economic conditions. This case will not do anything to solve any of that. It will just be one more bone of contention between them.
Bottom Line: No matter what happens with this case, every body loses. The victim, the accused, their families, their friends, Nifong, Duke University, the community of Durham North Carolina, future rape victims, future rape defendants. And for what? Political pandering and machinations.
Comment by absurda — 05.25.06 @ 4:46 pm
Amen, absurda. But can we use the word “accuser” instead of “victim”? We don’t know that she is a victim of anything except bad judgement yet.
Comment by Chris — 05.25.06 @ 6:26 pm
Wouldn’t it be something if the accuser were to pop out now and admit either that she was lying, or that she was drugged/drunk and simply had a flashback to the earlier incident. I wonder if any of the first three she accused had a mustache. I suspect Nifong has this woman under lock and key, because she could do so much damage to the farce he is spearheading. The problem is that the rewards for being honest and responsible are just not as compelling as the rewards for venal behavior and victimhood. We