Friday, February 2: Post is closed to commenting. Resume discussion at the latest post.
(Update: If it wasn’t clear before, it should be clear now: Mike Nifong, disgraced Durham County district attorney, is in serious trouble. Also, in addition to James Waller [pictured with lawyer Barry Scheck], I should have mentioned Cory Maye. A few bloggers on “the right” have covered his case, including The Volokh Conspiracy and libertarian Radley Balko.
Later…Linwood Wilson, Nifong’s investigator, is quite a character. He’s the subject of ethics complaints, too. Some team Nifong had.
A few months back, Wilson publicly challenged a statement made by the defense, and all it did was reveal his own ignorance. He was unfamiliar with the case files, and had the nerve to publicly criticize someone quite familiar with them. What a dope. More blog stuff here.)
Columnist David Hawpe makes a good point in his latest column about the Duke case, “On wrongful prosecutions, the right engages in selective outrage.” He wonders why “the right” isn’t just as vocal or as outraged when blacks are falsely accused of obviously phony crimes. He calls our outrage selective.
Is he correct? Is there a bit of unnatural selection going on?
Before I deal with the substance of the piece, allow me to point out to Mr. Hawpe that his column’s title just as easily could have been, “On wrongful prosecutions, the left engages in selective support and reverence for prosecutors and the police.” But tit-for-tat doesn’t get us very far.
Hawpe succinctly summarizes how we right wing types reacted to the stripper-accuser’s allegations of gang rape by three white men. We saw a woman in trouble with the law fake unconsciousness and cry rape to avoid going to jail for violating probation. We saw a woman, who’s no lady, selfishly use her sex and race as weapons to lash out at white men in resentment and anger. We saw a certain segment of the black community do likewise. Did she or they know her CYA maneuver would result in a nationwide media storm? Who knows, who cares…
So yes, “the right” (and more than a few on the left) called the Duke rape case by its name: BS.
Hawpe points out that men have gone to prison and perhaps even to their deaths for allegations that were just as far-fetched as the stripper-accuser’s, as was the case with James Waller, accused of a heinous crime. Hawpe asks:
Where was the right-wing rage last week when DNA testing showed that James Waller was wrongly convicted of raping a 12-year-old boy in 1982?
Where was the indignation when it proved that the white boy’s description of his black assailant — 5-foot-8 and about 150 pounds, with the lower part of his face covered by a red bandana — didn’t apply to the 6-foot-4, heavyset Waller?
I’ll try to answer Hawpe’s question because I think it’s a fair one. Where was I when Waller and people like him were railroaded? Where was I when others, black and white, were sent to prisons or were killed for crimes they didn’t commit, couldn’t have committed? Read on.
I’ve always been pro-prosecution, even when I was a liberal. Law and order preserved and justice dispensed have been sources of great satisfaction for me. Because I believe those state functions are vital for a safe, well-run, and prosperous nation, I tend to give the state the benefit of the doubt, even though prosecutors are fallible human beings. However, I’d rather they erred on the side of letting a criminal go free than locking up an innocent person.
I typically don’t blog about specific trials and DNA results. I tend to focus on the overview: crime statistics and trends. But for the mainstream media’s (MSM) slanted and blanketed coverage of the Duke case, I probably would not have gotten involved. And let’s get real. What left-leaning journalist wouldn’t incessantly cover a juicy story like the alleged gang rape of a poor black woman, who has to strip to feed her children, by “rich” drunken white frat boys shouting, “Nigger!”?
I must confess that I am biased. Given the disproportionately high rates at which blacks commit crimes, especially violent crimes, I don’t pay much attention. Such stories are too common, and they make me too angry. I don’t feel it’s worth the effort to follow media coverage, research the facts, and find out whether the alleged perpetrators are being railroaded.
I must confess that I tend to focus on what MSM cover because I like criticizing the media. And I was just as intrigued by the race angle as they were, for different reasons. Court cases are going on all over the country every day of every week. It’s sad to say the one that got my attention was so fraught with issues of race and class, but that’s the way it is. When other innocent men, black men, were accused and sent to jail, I didn’t pay much attention. It’s classic dog-bites-man. And the similarities between this case and the Tawana Brawley case, which I noticed immediately, were too rich to ignore.
The risk of ignoring other cases is that innocent people lose their freedom. My confessions are not excuses for my lack of outrage or attention; they merely are reasons, right or wrong.
Readers, instead of ranting and raving about Mike Nifong or the stripper-accuser, let’s do a cold, hard reality check:
1) What was it about the Duke case that fired you up the most?
2) Aside from the Duke case, have you been following other cases in which people have been accused of committing a crime where the allegations are obviously phony, particularly where the accused was black? If so, tell us about those cases.
More Duke case coverage: William Anderson (another must-read), The Johnsville News, Durham-in-Wonderland, LieStoppers, Crystal Mess, John in Carolina…
(AP photo)
{ 2 trackbacks }
{ 130 comments }
I dont think anyone would have paid attention if the left didnt make it about “race, sex, and class” They way it was portrayed by the left needed some kind of balance. When you talk about bloggers of cou rse they have to respond to what the media is covering. You have people like nancy grace and paula zahn in the beginning framing this as a student turned stipper being gang raped. They were misleading. So if the cablemedia covers a story where a person is innocent I think the country will care.
La Shawn:
James Waller’s fate is living proof why Blacks should be concerned about the Duke case.
In the long run, more Blacks have been, and will be, falsely accused by the likes of Mike Nifong.
Does any sane Black person believe that an man without a conscience like Mike Nifong would NOT take advantage of a Black person in the same situation?
La Shawn,
Without the attention of the national media, a lot of these types of cases take place under the radar, so to speak, unless you are local to the story. What got everybody’s attention onto the Duke case was the national media’s focus on it.
By the way, I just saw that Fox News is reporting that the North Carolina bar is now charging Nifong with withholding evidence and misleading the Court. Nifong may be getting his just due eventually thanks in no small part to bloggers like you who immediately saw through the MSM hype over the salacious details of the case and recognized it for the obvious BS that it is.
Montie, old friend! You’re still alive, I see…
Very much so, just overloaded with work and Grad school. I may not have time to comment, but I always take time to read “La Shawn Barber’s Corner” each day
Lashawn,
When I hear of a case if injustice like the James Waller case I’m also outraged. And it has nothing to do about race. I would be disturbed about regardless of white on white, white on black, black on black or black on white crime, that didn’t actually occur. The fact that an innocent individual spent time in jail over false accusations is wrong regardless. I don’t think the left understands this is how the right thinks. And in my opinion, I see the left stick up for an individual just becuase of skin color, and nothing to do with whether their story is true/false or even credible.
Ms. Barber-
I would like to draw your attention to the case of Cory Maye. He’s a black man in Mississippi on death row for killing a police officer. A bunch of folks on “the right” have been working to get him freed.
I’ll leave the details to the experts. A summary is here:
http://volokh.com/posts/1134497241.shtml
Radley Balko over at theagitator.com has been doing a lot of legwork on behalf Mr. Maye. Here:
http://www.theagitator.com/archives/cat_cory_maye.php
Yes, I’ve read about the Cory Maye case. Should have mentioned in the post before now. It’s in the update.
Margaret Kelly Michaels and other day care workers who were witch-hunted in the 80’s come to mind. Though not a race issue, they were cases (particularly Kelly Michaels) with impossible allegations. Almost no one came to Kelly’s defense because the mantra from the left was “Believe the Children” (no matter how leading their questioning was).
Sorry Mr. Hawpe, you are full of it.
I focused on the Duke case and not the Waller case because I do not live under a rock. The Duke case was blasted on the headlines of newspapers and television programs. I guess you don’t typically see 88 professors from Duke take out a full page ad in the newspaper, passing judgement on a case that has yet to be brought to court. Things like this tend to get my attention, I guess I am odd in that way?
On the other hand, this is the first time I have heard anything about the Waller case. I can’t have an opinion on something I know nothing about. Did 88 Duke professors take out an ad on that case? I think if they had, I might have heard about it.
Rather than setting up “the right” as the hypocrites in this case, I think Mr. Hawpe ought to ask why the MSM and 88 Duke professors stampeeded all over themselves with this story while essentially ignoring the Waller case? I can only react to what I read in the paper or see on the news.
Nifong is not in as much trouble as he needs to be.
I am a conservative. I believe in tough enforcement of the law but I also believe that the rights of the accused must ALWAYS be scrupulously protected. I support Miranda and all of its follow ons. They are necessary. The police are some of the laziest and stupidest people in society and they are not necessarily aligned on conservative values.
However, there is no tit for tat. Anyone who is accused of a crime needs to be judged individually on the merits of his case regardless of the injustices that have been inflicted on others. David Hawpe is full of BS.
Rather than setting up “the right†as the hypocrites in this case, I think Mr. Hawpe ought to ask why the MSM and 88 Duke professors stampeeded all over themselves with this story while essentially ignoring the Waller case? I can only react to what I read in the paper or see on the news.
How many television stations cover the news? How many newspapers are in this country? Why is there such a pack mentality in the MSM? Seems to me that they all cover the most sensational story du jour and beat it to death. How many stories are we missing because of this?
Why weren’t we inundated with this story on frontpages and lead broadcasts all the time? Where was the outrage from victims’ advocates and “listening” professors in this case?
If there is too much focus in the blogosphere on one case and not others, it is generally because of a lack of information… And perhaps the lack of information is the intent of the herd?
One innocent jailed is too many. I don’t care who they are. Tell us more and we can do more to help.
La Shawn,
The CNN special with Blondie (aka Paula Zahn) about the Duke case points to race being the deciding factor in the publicity of the case. Nifong should be tried for trying to frame three guys. The exotic dancer ( “stripper”) has a bad track record of contradictions. However, Nifong is (was) an officer of the court. He left charge of sexual assault (sodomy?) on two defendants.
The Duke administration tried and convicted them before any trial. Shame on Nifong, Duke Administration, Gang of 88, and MSM.
James Barber
I just read through the new Amended Complaint by the NC State Bar — I got to it by going to Drudge, which linked to WRAL TV’s news story, and WRAL has scanned and posted it — after 291 paragraphs, the complaint closes with a summary paragraph of nine subparagraphs, (a) through (i), listing DA Nifong’s misconduct, ethical violations, etc. Strongest one to catch my attention? It’s the last one, (i):
“By committing each of the violations set forth above in paragraphs (a)-(g) and by engaging in the pattern of misconduct and violations set forth in paragraphs 10-278 above, which constitutes a systematic abuse of prosecutorial discretion in the underlying criminal cases, Nifong engaged in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice … ”
That’s pretty dang strong — “systematic abuse of prosecutorial discretion” — and I have a sense Mr. Nifong is in serious deep doo-doo (Bush 41 will forever be remember for this line!). Anyone who thinks the Bar is just out to apply a slap on the wrist here is seriously misreading the situation.
I agree with Shari (commenter no. 1) and others. If the media hadn’t made such a big deal over how bad these boys were and 88 Duke professors hadn’t jumped on the bandwagon, I may never have noticed.
Plus, my gut told me something smelled. If the same story happened with a white alleged victim and black alleged perpetrators, I am pretty sure that I would have had the same reaction.
Another thought, there were some that made a big deal about Susan Smith saying a black man car-jacked her with her children in the car. Yes that is appalling, but it can not surpass the evil act (and had she been a black woman it would have been just as revolting) of killing her own children.
Justice denied effects every American, regardless of the race of the accused. My wife is a Criminalist (DNA) and I can tell you that most prosecuters do not abuse their position. But the ones that do are not well respected even on their side of the courts.
But the truth is, some cases are pursued for political reasons or just because the prosecutor is a doughhead.
That should be big news whenever it happens and our legal system should do everything possible to eliminate it. I would bet that this guy casting stones at conservatives (Hawpe) is just cya’ing for past articles he’s written. In fact, I’m gonna go googling now. I will report back anything I find.
I would like for a lawyer to explain how the cops got a no-knock warrant, to be executed in the middle of the night, when they could not even be bothered to find out the NAMES of the people in the dwelling. If I were the judge and they brought that to me, I would say, “You want me to sign WHAT?” Why, why, would a judge sign such a thing? The mere exercise of getting a judge’s signature on a piece of paper does not mean our 4th-amendment rights are protected, does it? Aren’t the judges supposed to, you know, be judicious about what they slap their signature on?
(talking about Cory Mayes here)
Hmmmm.
1. Because in 1982 there wasn’t an internet per se, there wasn’t a world wide web and there weren’t blogs.
2. Because in 1982 there was still the Fairness Doctrine that strangled conservative commentators and prevented the emergence of conservative radio.
In other words, for Mr. Hawpe’s edification, we conservatives didn’t have ANY mechanisms with which to assemble our collective outrage.
Now if he’s really upset by this, then he should be asking liberals why they’ve spent so much time, money and energy in trying to deny conservatives a political voice.
Laura:
You hit on another area of corruption – the judiciary.
A scrupulous judge wourd second guess such a weak case.
No doubt the “buddy system” is operational in Durhan.
“I can tell you that most prosecuters do not abuse their position. But the ones that do are not well respected even on their side of the courts.”
Yeah, but do the “good” ones go so far as to *name* the bad ones, and attempt to *remove* them from the profession? Not that I see.
James Waller’s fate is living proof why Blacks should be concerned about the Duke case.
In the long run, more Blacks have been, and will be, falsely accused by the likes of Mike Nifong.
In addition, it wasn’t too long ago that black men accused of raping white women were lynched. Of all people, blacks should be aware of the dangers of false allegations and what happens when the “presumption of innocence” is tossed aside.
For me, the Duke case was front and center because the lacrosse players were being pilloried simply for being white and well-off/rich. One can point to the fact that a poor black male is often targeted, but that may be related to the crime stats among poor black males, rather than simply being a reflection of race and class with no cooberating crime stats.
Further, the Duke case became far more incendiary due to the groups that fanned the flames such as the group pf 88, the MSM, the NOI, national/local civil rights leaders, protesting students who wanted to see the players strung, and of course Nifong and crew.
This scenario had it all. As for the Waller case, we are just hearing about it after the fact.
Furthermore, I still say that far too often, the left screams for the innocence of folks like a Mumia and I have just begun to tune them out. So often, those involved in innocence projects fail to differentiate between those who are truly innocent and those who simply did not have a world class lawyer or who did not have a world class legal experience. Many of these are actually guilty. I haave interviewed many prosecuting attorneys who simply offer a plea bargain because they know that it will be exceedingly difficult to sustain a “perfect conviction.”
Well, I found out that Hawpe is a very liberal columnist (big shock!) but I was unable to find any articles that he wrote that were more than a couple of months old. So, I admit it, I too am an internet doughhead.
In response to 23 above, Prosecuting Attorney’s are elected officials. The way that the good ones try to get rid of the bad ones is to run against them. That is the American way. It is up to the informed voters to boot the bad ones out. Unfortunately most people do not bother to get too informed about local elections even though politics on the local level effects them the most.
But yes, the good prosecuters do everything in their power to bring the bad ones to light.
I was in elementary school in 1982 and the internet wasn’t invented yet. Plus, I’ve never heard of James Waller.
For the cases that have happened more recently, why ask conservatives these questions when he should be asking the liberal media about it? The only reason the media went nuts over this case was because it seemed to legitimize their “whites oppressing blacks” belief. They were the ones who brought it to my attention. What cases, besides OJ, have been brought to our attention where a black man was thought to have unjustly been convicted of a crime against a white person?
If he’s got to go all the way back to 1982 to find such an example… then puhlease.
“One can point to the fact that a poor black male is often targeted, but that may be related to the crime stats among poor black males, rather than simply being a reflection of race and class with no cooberating crime stats.” – comments by Jan
Jan-
Are you saying that makes it okay to criminally and unjustly prosecute Black men? I’ll have you know that Black men have historically been targeted by law enforcement. The thought has been “even if he didn’t do it, he did something else so we minus well arrest him”.
You rightly used the word “targeted” meaning the police intentionally pursue Black men regardless of having probable cause. This does lead to a higher amount or “statistic” of Black men being incarcerated just as it would white men if the police were lurking around their neighborhoods, watching their every move, and constantly stopping them to run their credentials through the system.
I keep coming back to “To Kill A Mockingbird”.
William Windom played the Mike Nifong part in that movie, Brock Peters the black man unjustly accused of rape. No happy ending.
Dig the irony, Doug. Did you know that To Kill a Mockingbird is one of Nifong’s favorite books?!
Would the accuser have made these accusations if she had been stripping for a mostly black sports team at Duke? Would the MSM and the 88 professors have jumped all over the story? Would the Jesse Jacksons and the Al Sharptons have shoved their way in front of the cameras over this? A big, fat “heck no” to all but maybe the first question. If she made the accusation about black players, even Nifong might have ignored her.
Still, the 88 professors are the ones who linger in my mind the most. What are they doing teaching college students, when they so obviously resent these young people for what the professors assume is the players’ “privilege”? What kind of education will any of Duke’s students get at the hands of “educators” who scream about racism and elitism at the drop of a hat? I’m glad my kids are still attending community college. When it comes time for them to transfer to a 4-year college, I’ll be sure they don’t go to Duke.
It was not just the bloggers who reacted differently to this case, everybody did. The media coverage of this case was very different than usual, not just the level of the coverage but also its nature, the desire to convict was palpable.
The same applied to the reaction of the public, when did a rape allegation last result in crowds of pot bangers, public figures and race hate groups descending on a city?.
Furthermore it was the instant passionate desire on the part of so many commentators to convict without evidence which fascinated me and the nasty historical ghosts such behavior evoked.
The more I looked the more obvious it became to me that these were false allegations and that these boys were being railroaded. That changed me because, until then, I didn’t believe it happened in America, which now seems rather naive!!
If the media had not made such a huge issue of it and had not been so clearly biased I would probably have taken little interest and believed they were probably guilty.
After this case I will never again trust the legal authorities , and certainly not the media like I once would have.
Sarah
The James Waller case was pre-DNA evidence as a basic courtroom tool.
Let’s restart the clock on this issue. Since the 1990’s a lot of things have changed that make the justice system stronger.
I have no interest whatsoever in skin color, religion, sexual preference, or social class when it comes to the proper pursuit of justice.
What about that Sandy Berger? He sure has some high placed protection.
I found it hard to believe that any young man who could get into Duke would blow his future out of revenge or lust over a stumbling escort worker. (I have wondered if Kim’s “limp **** white boys” was a specific insult based on the complete lack of interest exhibited in the “show”. )
The Nifong railroad is what got me hooked. That he could, with the help of a judge and one or more police, create a fantasy case and keep it afloat this long. Also, the stereotype of the rich white jock/closet rapist..which flies in the face of statistical reality. Stereotypes should always raise a red flag – especially agenda-driven ones. Also, as a mother of sons, I am furious that their constitutional rights may be endangered by VAWA and that based on this case, DNA exoneration may only be available to males who are NOT rich, NOT white or NOT jocks.
I emailed Niolet/N&O back in November about a Dallas DNA exoneration for a Mr. Fuller. It appears the white victim (no one was questioning that she was raped) simply chose someone who resembled her assailant – an honest if tragic mistake. Interracial ID’s are frequently fraught with error, so who on earth would want to make DNA irrelevant and return to “good, old-fashioned” eyewitness ID? Nifong is an idiot and deserves every legal and financial penalty he will (hopefully) suffer. Perhaps a case study of these exonerations will point out where the system is flawed. What are the chances 100% reliance on eyewitness ID and circumstantial evidence will be common factors?
Few cases come across the radar where the accused are so obviously innocent and so obviously being railroaded. It is harder to get behind the case of a twice-convicted rapist insisting he didn’t commit the third rape. To be honest, I wouldn’t really care if he went to prison. It looks like there are more cases than we may like to think that Can anyone name a case where a verdict of guilty was unjustified based on evidence? Where natural laws had to be suspended in order for the charge to be credible? Where negative evidence was manufactured and positive evidence deliberately obscured?
Nifong is more dangerous to black defendants than he is to white ones. If I am right wing media, then I have focused on some black defendants in this blog and others. But it’s really the MSM that drops the ball. For all their liberalness, they do not cover injustice well or stick to it. And there seems to be a huge lack of integrity in all 50 states as regards to prosecutorial and police malfeasance. Nifong is just the tip of the bad egg iceberg. He needs to be made a strong example of how not to be.
Nicole said; “Jan-Are you saying that makes it okay to criminally and unjustly prosecute Black men?
Of course not and the question borders on the ridiculous.
We are talking about why this case elicited such attention and I merely posit that targeting white males for the sole reason that they are white and comfortable but have no history of violent crime is quite different from targeting those who do have a history of violent crime IN TERMS OF THE MEDIA GARNERED.
By the way, CVS (crime victimization studies) studies are very much in sync with arrest studies, which tends to belie the notion that there are all of these folks being arrested who have never done anything wrong.
And I can’t help but wonder today, after reading these comments, how would this case have been handled by Nifong if he hadn’t been in the middle of a re-election campaign??
Who is the Radley Balco person? Geezzzz…
I meant, who it this Radley…
Okay, I give up… LOL!
The left wing media made this case famous before it broke down because it confirmed so many of their beliefs about America. It confirmed their narrative.
The right wing has concentrated on it so much since it broke down because it denies the left-wing narrative and confirms the right-wing narrative. Neither side talks about this case because they care about justice, much less about the the victim(s).
I became interested in the case because my son was a freshman at Duke University when the alleged rape occurred. I not only read and heard about how the media descended on the campus but I heard first hand from my son about what life was like for the Duke students both on and off campus. What bothered me as a parent, is that when you send your son/daughter to college you hope they will conduct themselves appropriately. If they do not, you hope that they will be treated fairly by the faculty, administration, or, if it gets that far, the police and district attorney’s office. That was the problem here. No one was treated fairly, not the accuser, not the young men. There is much shame to go around, not the least of which are the media, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, the 88 Duke faculty, and Mike Nifong. The young men should also be ashamed for hiring a stripper, how degrading to their mothers, sisters and girlfriends. As for the accuser, where is the father of her children? Is he involved in raising and providing for them? The bottom line is that all people need to be treated with respect and dignity. If this had happened, this case would not be where it is today.
HMH
Jan-
The white males in this case were personally targeted because of their personal status (rich, elite school, elite background, etc.). I think it would be the same if they were asian, latino, etc.
That is much different from the historical targeting of a black man, any black man, regardless of any particular characteristic he has, just because he is black.
What these (CVS) studies negate to address is the societal impact of a true history that has lead many law enforcement officers to unjustly target black men. And, it doesn’t stop there. Where are your statistics that show the percentage of black offenders who are offered counseling, probation, psychiatric treatment, as opposed to white offenders who are often given a way of out (get out of jail free pass)? You won’t see these statistics!
So, no my comment isn’t ridiculous. But, perhaps your comparison is.
What I find so ironic in this case is how the Duke faculty jumped on the case because it was an opportunity to fight racism and sexism and the ensuing stereotypes.
And the end result is they only revealed (in spectacular fashion) their own biases and stereotypes–the privileged elite white male who goes out of his way to hurt oppressed minorities.
They’re not actually interested in ending racism and sexism–they want both to continue, as long as they’re in the power position–and they’re okay with falling right back onto unflattering stereotypes to accomplish their agenda.
Nicole;
Do you know what the CVS studies indicate? They simply delineate the nature of the crime experiences of folks. Basically, the reports are quite valuable because the arrest patterns closely mirror what folks say they have experienced in terms of race, types of crime, etc.. Of course CVS studies don’t go into the victimizer’s history.
Frankly, I don’t think that the victims of rape, brutal assaults, or robberies particularly care about the pasts of the rapists, murderers, and robbers who cross their paths.
Yoou say that the whites in the Duke case were targeted ONLY for their personal status (though a number of the lacrosse players were far from rich), but they were also clearly targeted for their race. If you can not even acknowledge this, you are willfully in denial. There was much discussion about “white” privilege in the ensuing condemnation.
Have you ever asked yourself how it is if these young men were so privileged that they found themselves being put through hell at the hands of a prosecutor and the community in the full view of the public?
As far as black men being victimized by the criminal justice system these days, when one looks at the conviction rates of urban areas (1/2-1/4 the rate of the rest of the country) a very different picture emerges that the comonly held notions.
The last five policeman that I interviewed noted that they are far more likely to give a black person a pass for several reasons (and were far tougher on white males than they were on anyone).
Perhaps the Duke case is not such an anomaly but rather a systemic problem in the US. I can tell you of countless shocking cases where white folks have been at the mercy of the system.
Problem is; few people are willing to listen to the reality of the white world and so we all keep our heads in the sand.
Dear La Shawn: Thought provoking as always. I worked many years ago as a deputy D.A.in a rural county and was under the delusion that prosecutors were honorable and honest. I knew that injustice could happen through poor defense representaion or Jury prejudice, but I never imagined injustice due to a despicable diabolical D.A. I am now reconsidering my life long support for the death penalty because I think that there may be many, many Nifongs out there. Consider for instance the Gell case and the Little rascals cases in North Carolina. I no longer believe that District attorneys are honorable people. Many are honorable and on the other hand many are dishonest and diabolical. Welcome to the real world I guess.
This is all I’ve been saying.
And to the 50% stat, once again.
In the state of Illinois, 50% of people on death row during a certain time period, were found to be actually innocent of the crime for which they were placed on death row.
This wasn’t, as someone stated on another thread, across the country, but only in Illinois, which I’ve written since I first mentioned this stat.
Transcript of today’s hearing at
http://www.wral.com/news/local/flash/1177860/
in easy-to-read format.
#48 DarkStar: There is something strange about your numbers.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center there were 123 inmates in all fifty states found innocent between 1973 and November 21, 2006. To be included on the DPIC’s Innocence List the defendants must have been convicted, sentenced to death and subsequently either (1) their conviction was overturned and they were acquitted at re-trial or all charges were dropped or (2) they were given an absolute pardon by the governor based on new evidence of innocence.
On January 10, 2003 Governor Ryan of Illinois granted clemency to all 167 death row prisoners in Illinois.
Half of 167 is 83 which means that over two/thirds of the total on the DPCI list would have to be on Illinois death row.
As you scan the list of the Death Penalty Information Center (which spans a period of 33 years) you find but a few from Illinois.
I have looked into this as much I think is useful. If you can point me to a better set of statistics, I will be happy for the tip.
Seahawk, am I reading the transcript correctly? Is Nifong requesting a motion for a “change of venue” based upon polarization in the community?
I got fired up when my daughter had to walk to class past a bunch of armed racists shouting raical epitaphs at her and threatening to storm the school.
I got fired up when Nightline did a big expose on the ‘racist Duke culture’ while my daughter, a minority student, was experienceing the opposite. I got fired up when dozens of faculty members tried to incite violence against the lacrosse team by claiming they were guilty before trial. I got fired up when Brodhead bailed out on the palyers and coach , instead of standing up for truth and justice.
College students acting badly goes back at least to Chaucer. The plain fact is that racists used the unfounded allegations of the prostitute as an excuse to dispense tribal and class justice. They were no better than any lynch mob of the last century, no matter how much better their vocabulary.
O.J. Simpson
#51
“Seahawk, am I reading the transcript correctly? Is Nifong requesting a motion for a “change of venue†based upon polarization in the community?”
No, they’re discussing whether Nifong’s being charged before the bar with making excessive remarks about the case might affect the defense motion for a change of venue in the Duke case.
Perhaps one of the most telling charges made against Nifong though is noted in paragraph 205 :
“Nifong sought and obtained (the Finnerty and Seligman) indictments after receiving the preliminary results from Dr. Meehan and despite his office’s prior representation in the application for the NTO (non-testimonial order for the entire team to give DNA) that the DNA evidence requested will immediately rule out any innocent persons.’”
IOW, Nifong justified the need to have all 46 players’ DNA tested on the basis that the tests would be used to rule out who was innocent. It was on that basis that the court granted the order. When the tests did rule out who was innocent (that is, all the team), Nifong did not accept the results and indicted anyway–contrary to what he indicated to the court that he intended to do.
It is hard to see now why the AG should permit the state to continue with the prosecution and not just drop the case, unless his primary concern is political cover.
S’hawk, there are plenty of “telling charges” throughout the initial and amended complaints, any one of which are enough to make the good and decent lawyers in our state mad as hornets at Nifong (if proven true at the tribunal he’s now before — musn’t rush to judgment!)…
I think the charges concerning his press statements covered the time period of March and April only. I wish they’d added into the heap the smug and smarmy “Press Release” of May 15, 2006, the four sentence gem over DA Nifong’s signature on the day he got the Grand Jury to indict David Evans.
Sentence #3 therein: “At the outset of this investigation, I said that it was just as important to remove the cloud of suspicion from the members of the Duke University lacrosse team who were not involved in this assault as it was to identify the actual perpetrators.”
Yeah, right. On the day he released that statement, then, he was still accepting the premise that “this assault” had occurred, even though the state’s SBI lab had procured no evidence of a lacrosse team member DNA match with anything obtained off the accuser at the hospital ER, and a private lab of his own choice had exonerated every team member of swapping paint (to use a NASCAR term) with her, as well.
Sentence #4: “For that reason, I believe it is important to state publicly today that none of the evidence that we have developed implicates any member of that team other than those three against whom indictments have been returned.”
Um, evidence that “we have developed”? How ’bout “evidence of exoneration we have conspired to suppress through its omission in reports we know we’re gonna have to release”??? In this day and age, with TV’s “CSI – Las Vegas” giving the impression that crime labs “develop” the evidence crucial for conviction or exoneration, can we derive the impression from Nifong’s press release that 3 of the team members did not pass an exoneration litmus “developed” through the labs’ scientists’ efforts?
DA Nifong branded the three as the “actual perpetrators” with evidence he had “developed”, even after knowing full well his scientific evidence pointed to exoneration.
What a cretin. What a boil on the face of my profession….
1) What was it about the Duke case that fired you up the most?
There is a thread over at liestoppers about what impassioned you to follow this case, One will find a flood of reasons that many are following this case.
2) Aside from the Duke case, have you been following other cases in which people have been accused of committing a crime where the allegations are obviously phony, particularly where the accused was black? If so, tell us about those cases.
MANY! Oh and I could give a rats ass about the color of skin, ( now names are sorta a give away)!
I’ll cite some of the stuff I’ve been exposed to, not necessarily pending cases I’m following, as they normally don’t hit my radar.
NOTE: we need a better radar system!
Corey May is one, and I know you mention him already, but I keep tabs, Thanks Radley.
A non case that Radley also brought to attention is Dave, the owner of Rack and Roll in a VA town. Amazing crap surrounding that one and still looking on in disbelief as well.
More will come later.
LaShawn, this is NOT a right left issue! YOU already know that and you mentioning or directing such does not sit in my comfort zone. Justice must be blind! Those charged with prosecuting us or defending us need to put on the blinders. But such does not happen. I wonder why.
I wander much of the legal blogs, I see many cases some valid some with so much BS I could not clean the corral in a year with a super loader!
Right or wrong, many folks are impassioned over this case, which brings many different eyes from a variety of backgrounds to the front. Such is what is needed for the real changes we all need to apply by a force-majore!
Most of us have no idea what has happened to the rule of law and common sense! We are slowly learning that common sense has for some reason been outlawed!
The Duke non-rape case is opening more portholes daily than can almost be counted! It’s exposing threads of nepotisim, favortisim, familiarity and the benefits of “club” membership. Threatening to open up the “club” to the light of day nationwide! The “club” is of course the club of the Bared, attorneys!
The only industry in this nation allowed, without restriction, to CREATE law, ARGUE said law with another club member infront of another club member the Judge! The link? Legal industry! Despite any attempt to bring them under control, they are out of control, way beyond out of control. We think guns are dangerous? Try the pen and the sword routine today, which will carry the day.
And to think we were once afraid of one guy running a few rail roads or another guy making most of the steel in the nation! Imagine that!
********************
“If there is too much focus in the blogosphere on one case and not others, it is generally because of a lack of information… And perhaps the lack of information is the intent of the herd?”
by Terri
**
No the blogsphere will diseminate about all cases equally. But as indicated above, the radar needs to be better, until that happens, folks like yourself need to provide the blips to be checked out.
**
And terri, note……
“I agree with Shari (commenter no. 1) and others. If the media hadn’t made such a big deal over how bad these boys were and 88 Duke professors hadn’t jumped on the bandwagon, I may never have noticed.”
*************
“But yes, the good prosecuters do everything in their power to bring the bad ones to light.
Comment by benm — 01.24.07 @ 2:06 pm ”
Sorry but such is false! it’s about power/control, not about right or worng good or bad.
*****
“#
Dig the irony, Doug. Did you know that To Kill a Mockingbird is one of Nifong’s favorite books?!
Comment by La Shawn — 01.24.07 @ 2:54 pm”
**
OH GAWD do i ever love that! WTG LS!
*********
Deacon gets a full monty…
“Dear La Shawn: Thought provoking as always. I worked many years ago as a deputy D.A.in a rural county and was under the delusion that prosecutors were honorable and honest. I knew that injustice could happen through poor defense representaion or Jury prejudice, but I never imagined injustice due to a despicable diabolical D.A. I am now reconsidering my life long support for the death penalty because I think that there may be many, many Nifongs out there. Consider for instance the Gell case and the Little rascals cases in North Carolina. I no longer believe that District attorneys are honorable people. Many are honorable and on the other hand many are dishonest and diabolical. Welcome to the real world I guess.
Comment by DeaconP — 01.24.07 @ 8:23 pm”
**
I talk about this same thing over on liestoppers, my handle over there is RRR, not deception some registration thing.
BUt what is real is that Nifong is not a loner in this nation, in fact I’m wondering if he is not just another normal DA and not even an exception. Just another one, uses the Pd as some sort of private evidence gathering device, ot does real stupid things like take over an ongoing invistagation from the pd, placing himself in harms way.
But folks, this is a nationwide problem! We have cops out of control, Example, thanks Mrs. Johnson of atlants, oh the cops killed you, for defending your home and you are but 88 and only managed to shot three of the five invaders with badges? Sorry old girl.
************
Hunter also gets a full monty..
“I got fired up when my daughter had to walk to class past a bunch of armed racists shouting raical epitaphs at her and threatening to storm the school.
I got fired up when Nightline did a big expose on the ‘racist Duke culture’ while my daughter, a minority student, was experienceing the opposite. I got fired up when dozens of faculty members tried to incite violence against the lacrosse team by claiming they were guilty before trial. I got fired up when Brodhead bailed out on the palyers and coach , instead of standing up for truth and justice.
College students acting badly goes back at least to Chaucer. The plain fact is that racists used the unfounded allegations of the prostitute as an excuse to dispense tribal and class justice. They were no better than any lynch mob of the last century, no matter how much better their vocabulary.
Comment by hunter — 01.24.07 @ 11:31 pm”
** I now not if possible or practical, but move your child to someplace safe. Naw leave her in DUKE, it soon will be the safest institution in the nation for ALL students!
*******************
Question #1
http://z9.invisionfree.com/LieStoppers_Board/index.php?showtopic=1809
*****************
Remember this, If it is to be, it is up to me!
It’s time for us me’s to become a real force!
I’m amazed that folks contend so much that these guys where railroaded when in fact, the system (justice) worked. They where accused, and eventually exonerated. Was it painful getting there? Certainly it was, but hey, we did get there and now they (like Kobe Bryant) get to live happily ever after. Fortunately too for them, like Kobe they are privileged and can, comparatively speaking, recover fairly easily.
I invoke the name Kobe into this because his situation was very similar in that it too involved a rich dude, and highly publicized. My question, given the similarities, is did anybody here cry for Kobe?
Finally, the system is still working because Nifong is likely to get justice for his efforts as well.
My question, given the similarities, is did anybody here cry for Kobe? -Benjamin
While there were a couple similarities, the differences are glaring.
“S’hawk, there are plenty of “telling charges†throughout the initial and amended complaints, any one of which are enough to make the good and decent lawyers in our state mad as hornets at Nifong”
The difference being that hornets usually travel in groups of a dozen or more.
“My question, given the similarities, is did anybody here cry for Kobe? ”
I did. I thought that case was BS from day 1.
The whole “date rape” concept is an invitation to injustice – not because women don’t have a right to change their minds about having sex, but because the law is unenforceable. A woman goes up to a man’s room, sex occurs. She claims she told him “I’ve changed my mind, I don’t want to after all” and he forced her. He claims she did it willingly, and had her second thoughts in the morning.
Short of having a videotape, how can a court ever determine what really happened? It’s pure he said/she said, and all such cases should be dropped for lack of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
“The difference being that hornets usually travel in groups of a dozen or more.”
Comment by Ralph Phelan — 01.25.07 @ 7:52 am
Cheap shot, Ralph. I rebuke thee.
TaterCon
Why make a big deal about left or right, conservative or liberal. This just sickens me because it seems as if it is all about choosing sides. Is this what God would want of His people? Does being on the left or the right make you more or less of a Child of God? There are many on the left who are wrong and many on the right who are wrong.
I think the issue here is that justice is unbalanced and many go to jail as a result of false accusations.
Why can’t we deal with what the Word says on these issues? Why focus on this person or that person?
Bottom line….Wrong is wrong, not matter whose side you are on.
As it is not clear LaShawn, how do you feel about the Maye case?
I’d like to point out that while Balko seems to know all the details, he only knows the details of Maye’s story and hasn’t bothered to get the story from any of the other 4 police officers present when Ron died. Ron being the police officer’s name that no one here bothered to use. He had a name. He had a family. He had friends. And because of Maye he is now dead.
Hey, everyone, I am out of the country, so I won’t be able to get the low down till next week from bar buddy,
But I do think I said this before
THE LONG KNIVES ARE OUT!!!
Nifungu is toast. Feds are up next. What a great summer mikey is going to have.
Kemp
MissRes – I don’t know much about the Maye case except the few posts I’ve read on Balko’s blog. All I know is there was some dispute over whether Maye knew they were cops, whether they announced they were cops, and whether what Maye did was self-defense.
I know these police officers. I know neighbors who lived across the street from Smith and Maye who have said over and over the police knocked on Maye’s door, front and back twice before entering. They also had a police car out front with the blue lights flashing. The police and neighbors have both said the police announced themselves before entering. If Maye didn’t know they were the police, he needs more help than prison. If he honestly did not know after they announced themselves and blue lights were flashing in his windows, then Maye suffers some severe mental impairment. This isn’t a black/white issue. This is a clear case of right and wrong and Maye was wrong.
I think I need to look into the Maye case. Thanks for the info, MissRes.
You’re welcome. But please, for the sake of good journalism, do more research on both sides than Balko did.
MissRes –
Actually, I have talked to both sides — at least to the extent that the other side will talk to me.
District Attorney Buddy McDonald and I have exchanged several emails, and we chatted when I was in Poplarville for the two-day hearing on Maye’s post-trial motions.
I also spoke with one of Maye’s neighbors, and his lawyers spoke with the others. None could say one way or the other if the police announced or knocked. If they had heard what you say they did, they almost certainly would have been called to testify at the trial. They weren’t.
In fact, the only witnesses to the raid other than Maye and the police were Jamie Smith and Audrey Davis, who were in the duplex next to Maye’s, and who were the targets of the raid in the first place. Smith already had drug charges pending against him. Maye had no prior criminal record.
Mysteriously, despite the fact that Smith had a prior record, had charges pending, and that police found a substantial quantity of drugs in his apartment, he was able to skip town after the raid, and is now believed to live somewhere in California. Odd, isn’t it?
For the record, I have tried to contact the police who were on the raid that night. They didn’t return my calls.
To be honest, I’ve gone to great lengths to portray Officer Jones as accurately as possible. See my article on the case for Reason magazine. Or for that matter, any of my blog posts about him. He was by all accounts a good man and a good cop. In fact, my reporting indicates he was one of better cops in that area. Even black people down there speak highly of him, despite the fact that they generally don’t trust most of the police.
I do think he made a series of tragic mistakes that night, most notably using a well-known and admitted bigot like Randy Gentry as his CI. I of course have made no bones about my belief that Cory Maye shouldn’t be in prison (much less on death row). Too much about this case stinks, from Gentry, to the town of Prentiss firing Bob Evans as its public defender for representing Maye, to the testimony of Dr. Hayne.
But that doesn’t mean Jones has to be a villain. And I don’t believe he was. I think this was tragic case all around. Most of the blame I think lies with bad policies and the misguided drug war.
Frankly, I’d be delighted to talk to anyone who knew Jones. I’ve chatted with a couple of his friends over email, and with a few people who knew him when I was in Prentiss.
My intent has never been to portray him as some faceless cop without friends and family. And I don’t believe I’ve done that. Still, I’d like nothing more than to give him more depth. If you or anyone you know would like to chat with me about him, please do contact me:
radley.responses@gmail.com
I have read every one of Radley Balko’s posts on Corey Maye and every document that he has linked too. He has been extremely fair to Officer Jones. He has used facts–not emotion is reaching his conclusions.
Misres said:
“If he honestly did not know after they announced themselves and blue lights were flashing in his windows, then Maye suffers some severe mental impairment. This isn’t a black/white issue. This is a clear case of right and wrong and Maye was wrong.”
What do you mean wrong? Wrong because he didn’t realize who was in his house? What motive did he have to intentionally kill someone he knew to be an officer? None that came out at trial. What did come out is that he had every motive to protect his home from an invader because of the presence of his baby.
Radley has debunked the idea that there was any non-interested evidence put on at trial that the officer knocked and announced his presence. Further, where is the evidence that Maye awakened and looked out the window and saw police cars? I don’t think that I would necessarily look out the window if I heard a ruckus outside. I’d be too afraid. I, too, would be getting my gun and taking cover.
If the reasoning of MisRes is of the kind that was used to convict Corye Maye–then the injustice perpetrated here is even more palpable. Hers it an outcome oriented viewpoint. Somebody she likes died, so Corey Maye must pay–and centuries of established common law and statutes concerning self-defense, intent and protection of one’s home and family may be damned!
Nine Congressmen are now asking for a Dept. of Justice investigation into the Durham mess (long overdue!) :
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=triangle&id=4971893
Whoo hoo! as Homer would say.
Congressmen, start your engines and turn up the burners! These young men have indeed had their civil and constitutional rights violated.
Seahawk, thanks for keeping up-to-date.
Sorry. Late to the party, as usual.
I miss how this became a left / right issue.
And I miss the whole argument that ‘you care about the Duke injustice, but what about’ (fill in the blank case)?
As I wrote earlier, this case should have united left and right, not divided us. The left has always championed questioning authority, being ever diligent against unchecked authority. There worst fears were proven true in this case. So why did they not throw idealogical differences aside in the Duke case? It is to the Left’s shame that they did not.
Throwing the black racists and the unrepentant feminists aside as unable to tell right from wrong, who else in America should NOT be outraged about this case?
‘There but for the grace of a kind God go I’. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US is at the mercy of a corrupt DA like Mike Nifong.
People who now cast stones and complain about past wrongs miss the point. We all live in the Church of the Here and Now. THIS case is wrong. Let’s all unite on that fact and THEN address past or additional wrongs.
Kempermanx and TaterCon? All the stories that I read say your NC Bar is really, really serious about Nifong. I certainly hope so, but I’m still worried by the NC DA’s association’s comment about “We try to protect our own” comment.
Reb in Chicago
LaTara #62,
I read your comments after posting my own. You more elegantly expressed the same thoughts.
Reb
Reb, I think the DAs’ association officially threw DA Nifong under the bus during the week after Christmas, after the State Bar’s first complaint was filed, after the infamous December 15 hearing, after the dismissal of the rape charges coming after DA Nifong’s office’s first investigative interview with Precious on or about December 21.
They had already tried to “protect one their own” long before then, starting in late April, I understand, when some of his brethren took him aside at a DA’s conference and said “Look, friend, you are really getting way too far out there with these public statements to the press… it’s an ethics problem if you continue.” Note that DA Nifong shut up, at least with his press comments, shortly after that meeting.
If I recall the DAs’ association’s recent statement, they also said they had tried to offer help to DA Nifong this past fall, but the offer was declined.
My read on all this is that when they were out to protect one of their own, it was with the intent to protect him from himself. Even they couldn’t have known how much of the “exoneration evidence/DNA lab reports” he was hiding before December 15, and that, of course, is probably why DA Nifong declined the offer of help before then.
Why did I say “thrown under the bus”? I’m thinking there are plenty of DA’s out there who know two of their brethren dodged a bullet in the Gell case, and maybe now see the accumulation of egregious charges against Nifong as a signal that the State Bar’s Disciplinary Hearing Commission is going to put the hammer on him. It’s not only a “Better he than I” view — it could well be a “Let ‘em pile it on him, and maybe we as a body won’t face wholesale scrutiny if he goes crashing down…”
Gotta remember — “wholesale scrutiny” doesn’t come from just the press and the blogs. It could come in the form of legislative reforms, and the DA’s are like the rest of us — they don’t want legislators tinkering with their rules and their way of operating their businesses as prosecutors. And, they don’t want the State Bar’s panel on ethics opinions, which issues opinions interpreting the Rules of Professional Conduct, working up a whole new batch of ethics opinions in response to the factual scenarios that have come to light through this Durham DA’s conduct. These opinions serve to guide attorneys in advance with answers to hypothetical questions arising from real or potential factual scenarios already faced by, or on the horizon of, NC’s practicing attorneys.
benm #26: re: “In response to 23 above, Prosecuting Attorney’s are elected officials. The way that the good ones try to get rid of the bad ones is to run against them. That is the American way. It is up to the informed voters to boot the bad ones out.”
On the other hand, if an attorney is operating in an illegal way, possibly violating the civil rights of the citizens, then removal of that person’s bar membership would render him unable to do his job, thereby eliminating him from the profession.
There is more that other attorneys can do aside from simply running against a bad attorney. It’s just a matter of getting them to DO it… bucking the “ol’ boy” and “protect our own” syndromes.
Obviously, someone eventually DID do it in the Nifong case. Someone somewhere complained to the NC Bar specifying Nifong’s conduct.
In light of this case I know I should be saying we should wait until Nifong is proven guilty before “hanging” (figuratively) him (isn’t that what a large part of the outrage in the Duke case was all about?), but Nifong SHOULD be disbarred just based upon what is obvious in the public records of this case. In order to be “not guilty”, he would have had to have someone holding a gun to his head, and I doubt even he’s stupid enough to make that claim. He was just plain dead wrong from the get-go.
Benjamin said: “I invoke the name Kobe into this because his situation was very similar in that it too involved a rich dude, and highly publicized. My question, given the similarities, is did anybody here cry for Kobe?”
SteveDinMD: The Kobe and Duke cases are, actually, quite DISsimilar. In all likelihood, Kobe probably did rape that girl. When questioned by police, he LIED, claiming he never had any sexual contact with her. DNA testing proved his semen was inside his accuser. Kobe also agreed to pay to settle the girl’s sexual battery claim. The allegations against Kobe Bryant, from start to finish, were at least several million times more credible than those against the Duke Three. Nobody should cry for him.
Ralph Phelan said: “The whole ‘date rape’ concept is an invitation to injustice – not because women don’t have a right to change their minds about having sex, but because the law is unenforceable. A woman goes up to a man’s room, sex occurs. She claims she told him “I’ve changed my mind, I don’t want to after all†and he forced her. He claims she did it willingly, and had her second thoughts in the morning.”
SteveDinMD: There is some truth in what you say about so-called “Date Rape.” Your application of the term to the Kobe case, however, is unjustified. Kobe was not “dating” his accuser. The alleged assault occurred in her place of employment (hotel where Kobe was staying) while she was on duty. I’d call it more of a “Work Rape,” the circumstances of which tend to substantiate the accuser’s claim.
Geez, SDofMD, wait’ll everyone wakes up and sees your 3 AM indictment of Kobe. I have a sense you’ve hit a beehive with a stick ….
“Aside from the Duke case, have you been following other cases in which people have been accused of committing a crime where the allegations are obviously phony, particularly where the accused was black? If so, tell us about those cases.”
One such case is of, Genarlow Wilson, a young Black man in Georgia who was sentenced to a mandatory 10 years in prison because of an archaic law. He was a promising young athlete, on the honor roll and homecoming president. Now, his life has been taken away because he received oral sex from a 15 year old, willing victim, while he was 17. The prosecution could have set aside the charges, but, they say he “refused to take his medicine” by going to trial instead of taking the plea bargain and serving just 2 years for being a sexually active teenager. Did I mention the girl who participated was white?
What makes this case even more outrageous is that this young Black man is probably learning how to become a criminal while in jail, while during the same period a Georgia teacher was actually molesting one of her, by having a sexual relationship with him. She received 90 days. Did I mention she was white?
The fact of the matter is that no one has sympathy for Black men because they have been historically painted in a negative light. This young guy got arrested in the second semester of his senior year right before going off to a top-tier college to play football. He was on the road to becoming a productive member of society. Yet, now he’s going to be another Black man who has a felony, and only a highschool education. We all know the stigma that “sex offenders”, and felons have in society, so he will probably not be able to find a good job.
But, I guess, this is just another statistic for the CVS study…right Jan? You can compile all the numbers you want. They don’t get to the heart of why these men have been and are being arrested in record numbers. Are you aware that in past times (maybe current, See Kobe references above) a white woman would claim rape if it were found that she had slept with a Black man?
Lastly, Jan commented that :
“Yoou say that the whites in the Duke case were targeted ONLY for their personal status (though a number of the lacrosse players were far from rich), but they were also clearly targeted for their race. If you can not even acknowledge this, you are willfully in denial.”
I highly doubt, and feel I am not alone, that these boys were arrested “clearly” because they were white. Do you not think that rape is a serious enough crime to pursue those being accused of it? Or, do you just not remember the fact that the parties involved were intially given an opportunity to make statements about what had occured. However, they all refused to talk at the direction of their attorneys. Thus, the prosecution only had the witness’ testimony to go on. I think the prosecutor was intially aggressive because these boys had money and resources that would afford them the opportunity to get rid of evidence, leave the country, pay off witnesses, etc. There is no “denial” in that.
The 9 congressmen calling for the DOJ to investigate the Durham mess :
Walter Jones, North Carolina
Rick Renzi, Arizona
Tom Feeney, Florida
Todd Tiahrt, Kansas
Virgil Goode, Virginia
Trent Franks, Arizona
Rodney Frelinghuysen, New Jersey (Seligmann’s congressman)
Carolyn McCarthy, New York (Finnerty’s congresswoman)
Peter King, New York
I’m sure they’d love to hear from you…
Nicole wrote:
[Emphasis added] I highly doubt, and feel I am not alone, that these boys were arrested “clearly†because they were white. Do you not think that rape is a serious enough crime to pursue those being accused of it? Or, do you just not remember the fact that the parties involved were intially given an opportunity to make statements about what had occured. However, they all refused to talk at the direction of their attorneys. Thus, the prosecution only had the witness’ testimony to go on. I think the prosecutor was intially aggressive because these boys had money and resources that would afford them the opportunity to get rid of evidence, leave the country, pay off witnesses, etc. There is no “denial†in that.
Nicole, you have it wrong. These young men and their attorneys asked to speak to the DA to tell their stories. Nifong did not want to hear it! Do you not remember that fact? And, there was NO evidence to get rid of, if you recall, NO DNA MATCH to ANY of the lacrosse team members, which Nifong chose to keep hidden. Do you remember that theses three young men HELPED Durham police when they came to collect evidence? And even after knowing the fact that there were NO DNA matches, Nifong continued with his persecution and prosecution. So your theory that the prosecutor was initially aggressive because these boys had money and resources that would afford them the opportunity to get rid of evidence, leave the country, pay off witnesses, etc., is utterly ridiculous. He had one motive only: Get re-elected as Durham DA off the backs of three innocent people. Period…
#80 Nicole states: “The fact of the matter is that no one has sympathy for Black men because they have been historically painted in a negative light.”
I do not mean to take this remark out of context, but I find it hard to imagine.
I need some real education here. Where in the United States is this true? In my rural Virginia community that is about 50-50 black and white this is not the case. I am near a town of 100,000 that is 80-20 white to black and this is not a sweeping fact there, either.
I do not deny the existence of race prejudice, but things have changed enormously since my childhood 60 years ago when our schools were segregated and most of the blacks with jobs on Main Street were “boys” who fetched and carried.
Since I spend a lot of time in the public housing areas, I know there is a big disconnect among the young between their need to be policed and those who police them. But I find that those who must confront the miscreants have an enormous reservoir of respect and concern for the individual.
Seriously, where does one go to find the attitudes of the 40’s and 50’s still in control?
We never heard of the Waller case when it came down – because it was black on white. We rarely hear about black on white crimes outside of our local area, because they do not become national news (unless a celebrity is involved), because the press has little interest in them.
White on black crimes are given much more coverage, however. And, unlike black on white crime, the racial aspect is a legitimate topic in white 0on black crimes. It was Hawpe and his colleagues in the press who chose to make the Duke case a national story – back when they thought the crime had occured. They thought it warranted our attention then.
Now that the case has fallen apart, and it was an obvious hoax and malicious prosecution, don’t ask us to not care about it anymore.
What we saw was an outrage, and we are outraged. It doesn’t matter if we aren’t outraged about a case we never heard about.
The double standard he thinks he sees is a result of the double standard of reporting by his newspaper and all the rest.
I highly doubt, and feel I am not alone, that these boys were arrested “clearly†because they were white. – Nicole
I couldn’t agree more.
I said that the boys were “targeted” because they were white. By targeted, I mean that they were on the receiving end of vitriol and condemnation by any number of groups/the media/individuals.
My comment was not referencing the arrest. In fact, when there is a serious rape charge, I do not fault the police for taking action whatsoever, and I doubt whether anyone here has a problem with the fact that the police had to take initial action.
You seem to be missing so much of why the Duke story has elicited outrage among so many. It isn’t because people feel more sympathy for white boys and “that no one has sympathy for Black men” as you plaintively stated. Obviously, it you don’t “get it” by now with all of the above comments, then there is nothing one can say to paint the picture for you.
You are still missing the point about the CVS study. All I am saying is that victims report details about crimes in very similar details/numbers as arrest rates which is why CVS studies are so important, as they are an indicator of arrests are out of sync with reported crime.
TaterCon: My comments seem for the most part to have escaped notice. I was up very late working, and what I read irked me at the time. By the way, what were YOU doing up at that ungodly hour?
#80/Nicole
I did hear about the Wilson case and I could NOT believe this young man was sent to prison. That was really scary to me considering I have young-adult sons. I never read anywhere that the young lady ever complained or attempted to file any charges.
“Columnist David Hawpe makes a good point in his latest column about the Duke case, “On wrongful prosecutions, the right engages in selective outrage.†He wonders why “the right†isn’t just as vocal or as outraged when blacks are falsely accused of obviously phony crimes. He calls our outrage selective.
Is he correct? Is there a bit of unnatural selection going on?â€
That’s a fair question Lashawn, but David Hawpe makes an unfair comparison in his article.
Hundreds of innocently convicted people have been released on DNA evidence and while it’s true that it never stirs the outrage of someone actively being wrongly accused the way the Kobe Bryant case and the current Duke case have, that’s because the overwhelming emotion is those cases (DNA exonerations) is relief.
What use is “outrage†when the accused/convicted has already had his conviction reversed? Outrage over the system finally getting it right?!
These are completely different circumstances and Hawpe is wrong to attempt to show them as analogous.
The Cory Maye story, mentioned by “the Modern American†is certainly one similar case that has generated outrage, at least on the Right.
As did the Kobe Bryant case, where most Conservative commentators refused to rush to judgment, the way many in the MSM routinely do.
There’s also the case of Ronald Dixon who was wrongly charged by Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes when he dared to protect himself and his young daughter from a burglar.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=8609
“As a cop, I was taught that deadly force is permitted to protect one’s own life or the lives of others. That simple precept of justice seems to have been forgotten by King’s County (Brooklyn) District Attorney Charles Hynes.
“Hynes conducted not a prosecution, but a persecution, of Ronald Dixon – a man who acted within the tenets of the law to protect his family from a criminal.
“Awakened in the middle of the night by a burglar Dixon did the only thing he could do: He shot him with a legally purchased a handgun. However, that firearm was legally purchased in Florida. Dixon was in the process of having it registered in New York when the incident occurred. He had paid $500 to a firm to have it registered in New York, where gun laws have a Byzantine complexity…â€
No, I have to disagree with Mr. Hawpe’s basic premise. There is often outrage when people see real-life examples of people being wrongly accused and wrongly prosecuted, just as there is usually an overwhelming sense of relief when DNA evidence clears those who are wrongly convicted.
I was as suspicious of the accuser’s story in the Kobe Bryant case, even though his adulterous behavior was foolish and self-destructive, it didn’t seem to be a rape, especially with the accuser’s boyfriend appearing as a primary witness against Mr. Bryant.
Both rape allegations (Kobe’s & the Duke case) seemed highly suspect. That sparks outrage.
When a wrongly convicted man is released due to new technology in DNA evidence, that tends to spark relief!
By the way, what were YOU doing up at that ungodly hour? — SteveD
I can’t remember — either my two Golden Retreivers told me they had to go outside to answer nature’s call, or maybe I woke up to do the same … um, inside.
But you’re right — somehow, you’ve stayed under the radar ….
TaterCon
The reality of life is that if these three young men were poor and black we would never have heard of this case. It would have been three kids with court appointed lawyers taking the best plea they could have gotten.
That is what is so monstrous about this case. Only the LAX player’s relative affluence got them the lawyers to make the case fall apart.
Nifong has been in the DA’s office how long? How many cases has he had? How many has he tried to railroad? Given the population of Durham, how many of the people railroaded were poor and black?
Or do we really think he got this brazen in his first attempt?
I do find it interesting that a news columnist wants to make us feel guilty that we don’t much care about cases we do not hear of. Perhaps if the media would do it’s job we would care about more cases.
You are correct Peter.
How are we supposed to be outraged about cases we never even heard of?
If these cases had been front page, national news, and we witnessed an obvious frame-up, there would have been outrage. But they don’t make black on white crimes, such as the rape of a white boy by a black man, national news.
Matthew Shephard and James Byrd are national stories. But when a homosexual predator rapes and kills a straight teenager, or a group of blacks murder a white man, its typically only a local story. Sometimes even relegated to the Metro section.
One unfortunate result for blacks from this is that a frame-up goes unnoticed.
Instead of casting aspersions on the readers, Hawpe should walk down the hall and ask his Editors why – in the absence of celebrity involvement – they don’t cover black on white crimes to the same extent that they cover white on black crimes, like the Duke case (now hoax).
Reading here has touched on thoughts I’ve had for a while. I find it amazing that the blacks and ‘black leaders’ in the Durham area are so adamant to continue defending CM. Perhaps what they should be doing is looking at some of the past cases (for both blacks and whites) that Nifong has handled to see if perhaps there are innocent people who are in jail because they didn’t have $ for lawyers such as these young men have. Things happen for a reason — maybe Nifong’s ‘luck’ ran out and this had to happen to get some justice for past cases. Real leaders would by now have come forward to be more realistic that nothing along these criminal charges happened — that doesn’t mean they couldn’t support CM if they wanted too but in another manner (like getting her counseling). I await the day when I hear ‘all charges dropped’
We don’t hear about many other stories because:
Schools don’t take out incendiary advertising by a group of their professors about the crime, communities don’t have protest marches condemning the convicted as guilty because of their privileged status, race based groups don’t circle the homes and community of the convicted in a menacing fashion and appear on numerous shows convicting the convicted with such non-existent evidence of guilt, the media doesn’t make a circus of the conviction by selectively skewing the facts, the DA doesn’t make the case a banner headline so that he can ensure reelection by corrupting the process, etc.,etc.,etc..
When these elements all converge as part of a conviction, ANY case will hit the news.
This case noticeably entered the public arena and it had very little to do with their “privileged status or their lawyers.
It is, however, scary to think of what would have happened to young white men of far lesser means — Nifong might actually have gotten away with this. On the other hand, if it had happened to young black men I contend that when the first DNA came back with no positive results, the black community and black leaders would have practically rioted and Jesse/Al would have been front and center.
Gail;
I think you are so right.The black community actually advocates quite effectively for poor blacks and there is no doubt that they would have jumped all over this one and I can just hear the rhetoric now.
I cannot think of any effective advocacy for poor whites in our country.
Peter said: “The reality of life is that if these three young men were poor and black we would never have heard of this case. It would have been three kids with court appointed lawyers taking the best plea they could have gotten.”
SteveDinMD: It possibly could have worked out that way. I consider it more likely, though, that no one would have been charged under the circumstances you describe because the case would have had almost zero political value (at least in Durham) to compensate for its monumental weakness. I expect the allegations would have been investigated over a period of a few weeks, after which the DA’s office would have declined to take it any further. On the other hand, had it been a white stripper/prostitute accusing black members of the Duke basketball team, the case would have been political kryptonite, and would have been summarily discarded without any mention in the press and on the strength of only the most cursory investigation by the responding patrolmen.
The greatest potential for injustice, I believe, would have occurred had Nifong more carefully selected his white stooges. His and the leftists’ railing against these “privileged” defendants makes for productive political rhetoric, but for a tough slog in the courts. It has been reported that the three accused LAX players have so far collectively spent over $5 Million on their defense. Circumstances surrounding his charging of the three defendants make me strongly suspect that Nifong conveniently “arranged” to have the three wealthiest team members “identified” to better play to his Durham constituency. That was a monumental mistake. It would have gone much better for Nifong had he charged three whites with the appearance of wealth, but without the substance. Any middle to upper-middle class white defendants would have in any case seemed like princes of the realm to dirt poor Durhamite voters, and would have served Nifong’s political purpose. More important, however, they would have had insufficient wherewithal with which to mount the kind of aggressive defense as we’ve seen. The end result would likely have been Nifong’s election, three unjust convictions or pleas, and widespread jubilation among the mainstream media and their leftist fellow travelers, who for years to come would use the case to justify adoption of their radical socio-political agenda.
We should all be thankful that Nifong has been hoisted on his own petard, but we should not allow ourselves to fall once more into complacency. All the ingredients yet remain that will allow some future rogue prosecutor to ignite another firestorm of injustice and racial animus. We should therefore be mindful to productively use our fortuitous reprieve to correct the underlying conditions that continue to put us all at risk.
Good point, Jan. A low income black defendant who is falsely accused stands a chance anyway of becoming a cause for the NAACP, Jesse, Al, or others in the racism industry.
A poor white is screwed.
SteveDinMD;
I agree with you that had the students NOT been “privileged”, the case would not have progressed as far as it would have lacked substantive political cache. So many have charged that their “privilege” was indeed a “privilege”, while I viewed it as their greatest liability.
Jan said: “I cannot think of any effective advocacy for poor whites in our country.”
SteveDinMD: Poor whites probably comprise the most vulnerable segment of the U.S. population right now.
Perhaps Jan BUT even if it had been 3 white men of lesser means, I think Nifong would still have manipulated this — keeping in mind that he needed something to push his political agenda. Under normal circumstances, it might have gone away, but with his political need/career on the line, I still feel he would have taken it to another level.
SteveDinMD: Poor whites probably comprise the most vulnerable segment of the U.S. population right now.
Agreed, and I have often wondered why the “compassion” of “poverty advocates” is not extended to such a vulnerable group of people in our midst. Recently, I told my father that there were more poor whites in the country than poor blacks and he was utterly disbelieving. The reality is that most folks don’t have a clue about white poverty in the US. According to one neurologist that I interviewed, his white “poverty” clients were the least functional of all patients they saw in their enormous practice, which I found very telling.
Jan said: “I agree with you that had the students NOT been “privilegedâ€, the case would not have progressed as far as it would have lacked substantive political cache. So many have charged that their “privilege†was indeed a “privilegeâ€, while I viewed it as their greatest liability.”
SteveDinMD: It should not be a “privilege” for the innocent to go unpunished. It should be a RIGHT. Alas, in practice such is not the case. Moreover, I find it revolting that the hoax enablers’ sense of “justice” now demands that the accused LAX players be convicted and punished in a manner consistent with other wrongfully prosecuted defendants who cannont afford to legally defend themselves as effectively.
Gail;
I agree in many ways with your statement as Nifong may have latched onto any configuration of white on black criminality as his utter lack of ethics propelled him to use any scenario possible to further his career.
It is also unlikely that three “poor” boys would have been nearly as effective as three “rich?” boys, and without the outcry over privilege, it may not have been seen as “a go” by him. Hard to say and of course, this is just conjecture.
What we do know is that the notion of “privilege” was exploited fully to the detriment of the boys.
For what it is worth…Have you guys noticed the degraded tendency in the US to subscribe to the notion that “rich folks don’t bleed”? We seem to have so much less sympathy for the well off who are going through personal tragedy of the sort that crushes the soul as if, somehow, a well appointed home cushions the effects of devastating events. The rich have become “fair game” in the US and can be maligned, stalked, and worse.
There is such seething envy these days and I find it repugnant.
Jan said: “Agreed, and I have often wondered why the “compassion†of ‘poverty advocates’ is not extended to such a vulnerable group of people in our midst.”
SteveDinMD: The answer is probably because there is no money to be made off this constituency. Poor whites cannot afford to buy justice or political power, and the courts have not allowed their advocates to shake down corporate targets of opportunity with lawsuits. Beyond this, given the political/media climate, no one earns merit or praise defending the interests of any white person. Such advocacy is at best portrayed as being in bad taste, and at worst as being part of some racist conspiracy. Poor whites thus continue to suffer at the hands of minority interests and wealthier whites, alike, with no relief in sight.
I’m a middle left democrat. I’m outraged at the Duke case and other cases of injustice.
The problem is getting exposed to these cases.
In the duke case, the media brought the case to my attention. When a poor black guy spends 10 years in jail for a crime he couldn’t have committed, my outrage and those who have the ability to publicize it starts, when we hear about it.
10 years too late.
Julian Mannino said: “I’m a middle left democrat. I’m outraged at the Duke case and other cases of injustice. The problem is getting exposed to these cases. In the duke case, the media brought the case to my attention. When a poor black guy spends 10 years in jail for a crime he couldn’t have committed, my outrage and those who have the ability to publicize it starts, when we hear about it. 10 years too late.”
SteveDinMD: Part of the answer is to curb the power of prosecutors and to have them subject to far greater accountability, and not just to some potentially twisted local electorate. Another part of the answer is for society to demonstrate a willingness to prosecute and severely PUNISH instances of prosecutorial misconduct. Simply disbarring Nifong, after all he’s provably done, would be a mere slap on the wrist and do nothing to curb further abuses by others. Putting this man in prison to serve hard time, however, would send the proper message and might well do much to ensure that other prosecutors take care to strictly serve the interests of justice.
The answer is probably because there is no money to be made off this constituency. Such advocacy is at best portrayed as being in bad taste, and at worst as being part of some racist conspiracy – SteveDinMD:
I think that this is so true. Untold billions of dollars are poured into urban areas in grant based funding alone (not to mention local government spending via redistribution and federal dollars) whereas there is virtually no significant emphasis on urban/suburban poor.
I have found that, as a white person, if I relay appalling real life scenarios or even something as benign as relating the number of times I and others have been stopped while driving as white, the stories are often simply disbelieved or considered to be anomalies or utter exaggerations, and thus shouted down.
Over a period of two years, I learned that the “insular” black community has little insight into the travails of the white community and thus has the luxury of assuming that “stuff” only happens to them.
That is why LaShawn, Helio, and others are so refreshing as they clearly view related dynamics in terms of “human struggles” and not merely those relegated and weighted by race.
“Nifong has been in the DA’s office how long? How many cases has he had? How many has he tried to railroad? Given the population of Durham, how many of the people railroaded were poor and black?
“Or do we really think he got this brazen in his first attempt?” (Peter)
That’s really difficult to speculated about based solely on this case for a number of reasons.
First, the Duke defendants are any DA’s dream (read Wolfe’s Bonfires of the Vanities – the book’s great, the movie is terrible). In Bonfires Wolfe talks about the DA seeing a rich, white defendant as “the great white whale,” because it assures the case gets high visibility and can showcase that (usually white, male) DA as a “paragon of virtue,” more than willing to “go after one of his own.” It also allows the DA (a politician) to preen and posture as a “champion of the underdog.”
In that regard, a “privileged white making a better target,” especially for Liberla DAs, SteveDinMD is right – they’re background, in this case, almost certainly made them a more attractive target to Nifong.
Also, Nifong’s predicament as an incumbent falling behind in the polls and without a lot of funds, created a perfect storm for this case – an obviously morally weak DA who saw this case as a ticket to another term and a more lucrative retirement package (according to one of his aides).
Given Nifong’s eagerness to break the law for his own benefit is it possible, perhaps even probable that he’d done this before? The temptation is to say yes, and while that’s probably a correct assumption, it’s only speculation unless/until someone looks back at the totality of Nifong’s prosecutions.
After he’s disbarred, it might behoove the North Carolina Bar Assoc to do just that.
The police are usually the first line of defense against false charges. When an alleged victim can’t keep their story straight and keeps changing pertinent details, that’s generally enough to make the investigators very suspicious.
The Durham police reportedly had their doubts about the accuser’s veracity, but Nifong’s response was taking the investigation out of police hands and then failing to interview the accuser for over nine months.
Still, incompetance, malfeasance and corruption, all in one case!
When you look at how badly Nifong screwed this up, you might also argue that this well may have been his first deliberate wrongful prosecution, because if he had any practice, you’d think he wouldn’t have made so many obvious mistakes. You’d have thought prior practice would’ve made him more effective at this sort of thing.
It really is tough to speculate on without more facts about his prior reputation and, more importantly, a look at some of his earlier prosecutions.
It really is tough to speculate on without more facts about his prior reputation and, more importantly, a look at some of his earlier prosecutions. – JMK
Great point and I agree that it may be worth looking at previous convictions. However, to me, this case represented the “perfect storm” and he stood much to gain by the prosecution and may thus be a one-off event.
In fact, consistency with the Duke case indicates that an examination of his record may show a pattern of pandering to the local community, which is the converse of what many folks say that may be found. Maybe he has railroaded other whites or been soft on black crime in order to secure his position in the community. Or, maybe not. Folks better beware of what they ask for.
The Duke boys are exactly what Wolfe refers to as “the great white defendant” in “Bonfire.”
In addition to political opportunity, the DA is motivated because he feels guilt from continually putting away black and Hispanic defendants. When a rich white defendant comes along – like the Duke 3 or Park Ave. resident Sherman McCoy in “Bonfire” – the DA can assuage his guilt by throwing the book at him.
If you read “Bonfire” (the movie was awful) you’ll be astounded at how aptly Wolfe described what’s going on in Durham right now.
#80 on Genarlow Wilson case
Why that case is unworthy of the kind of blog/media attention the lacrosse case has gotten:
1. Attending a bachelor/ette party with adult strippers in the company of friends who may at some point in their lives been guilty of such crimes as parking or speeding tickets, public urination, and noise violations is something many have done, or know someone who has.
Attending a videotaped orgy with a group of males with police records and girls under the age of 18 is not.
2. Having someone FALSELY ACCUSE you of a crime, whether to avoid responsibility or out of jealousy, is something many of us can imagine happening, to ourselves or to someone we know.
Having to argue that something we actually DID shouldn’t be a crime for blah, blah.. reasons is not.
3. Having a prosecutor lie on camera and to news outlets WAS unimaginable and appalling and worthy of national attention and outrage. Having a prosecutor obscure evidence, pervert standard investigatory procedures, ignore exculpatory evidence and set the clock back by denying the validity of DNA results in favor of eyewitness ID – also worthy of national attention and outrage.
An overly harsh punishment legally allowed by statute, is not.
The Wilson prosecutor did not lie. There WAS sex of some sort. Is it unfair for Genarlow to be sitting in jail for doing something his peers probably do every weekend? In spirit, sure….but it s Georgia statute and a Georgia problem. The case has nothing in common with the lacrosse case.
Mr. Hawpe is trying to equate the Duke case, in which a prosecutor refuses to accept that DNA results are exonerating with a case prosecuted BEFORE DNA testing was available. If Nifong’s heinous and backward tactic works, a precedent could be set (?) and Mr. Waller could go back to prison, since he was ID’d – the “good, old fashioned wayâ€.
Give yourselves and LaShawn a pat on the back :
James Cooney, one of the defense lawyers, had
this to say in part of an interview :
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews…ts/16561971.htm
Do you think the news media played a role in the players being charged?
Ans. : “. . . The feeding frenzy (in the media) led to an atmosphere of outrage that not only demanded indictments_regardless of the evidence – but was directly responsible for street protests in Durham and in front of Dave Evans’ house and the mob that confronted Reade Seligmann at his court appearance, a mob that shouted out death threats. As objective evidence emerged, however, and as the evidence was analyzed and re-analyzed on the Internet and in the “blogosphere,” something fairly rare occurred – many parts of the media began to re-examine their initial views on what happened.”
kewl!
Blogoshpere indeed.
Thank God for La shawn and other bloggers. 20 years ago, the New York Times would have decided what information the public would have gotten in the Duke Lacrosse Hoax.
When they tried to prop up Nifong’s faltering case last August with that ridiculous article/ambulance run, it was annihilated by the bloggers before the ink was dry.
There was a time when that kind of disinformation would have been the final word. The best one could hope for in response was a 2 inch, edited, letter to the editor – in some other paper, since the Times wouldn’t print it.
Likewise, the CBS National Guard fraud would fraud would have been the final word.
Its a new world today. The New York Times is a has been, exposed for the fraud that it is.
God Bless La shawn, KC, Matt, etc.
And God Bless Al Gore for creating the internet…..just kidding.
“Great point and I agree that it may be worth looking at previous convictions. However, to me, this case represented the “perfect storm†and he stood much to gain by the prosecution and may thus be a one-off event.
“In fact, consistency with the Duke case indicates that an examination of his record may show a pattern of pandering to the local community” (Jan)
Without question, Nifong seemed motivated purely by political gain, which is why this was a deliberate act of evil on his part.
He didn’t interview the accuser for over nine months because he knew she was unreliable.
He rigged the line-up because he wasn’t confident in her ability to pick out Duke LAX players out of a mixed line-up.
And he withheld DNA evidence because he knew that releasing that early on would’ve rasied a ton of wuestions and possibly submarined his case before he benefitted.
Nifong used an obviously emotionally damaged woman, with a history of mental problems and at least one similar false charge. In my view that was as repugnant an act as a thug holding up a toddler as a shield in a gunfight.
He may very well have a sordid history with other defendants black &/or white, although his ineptitude in this case may indicate that he really was a novice at wrongful prosecution.
In NYC, famed anti-cop DA Liz Holtzman got an arson conviction on Eric Jackson-Knight, a black electrician with a prior arson conviction, whom was working on a Waldbaum’s supermarket in Brooklyn the day it went up in flames killing six firefighters who fell into the inferno when the truss roof collapsed.
The Waldbaum’s fire took place in 1979 and Eric Jackson-Knight was wrongly imprisoned until the mid-1990s, when evidence withheld by Holtzman surfaced clearing him.
Holtzman’s wrongful conviction stuck through Jackson-Knight’s conviction and through over a decade and a half of a prison sentence.
Fortunately for the Duke players Nifong’s screwed up at every turn in this case.
Interview with one of the indicted :
http://www.nypost.com/seven/01282007/news/nationalnews/duke_players_pain__life_is_on_hold_nationalnews_frank_ryan.htm?page=0
January 28, 2007 — As the Duke lacrosse team held its first practice of the 2007 season Friday, Collin Finnerty was 500 miles away, wishing he was there – and uncertain he ever will be again.
“I dream of being back on the lacrosse field with my friends one day, but I’m just not sure if that’s going to happen,” said the Garden City, L.I., resident.
“I’ve worked my whole life for this, and now everything just seems to be on hold until this gets resolved.”
(snip)
“My mom and dad were with me when we found out [that I had been indicted], and we all just cried and hugged each other for a long time. It was unbelievable,” said Finnerty, who maintains his innocence.
Yet ANOTHER man has been freed from a wrongful conviction by DNA testing :
http://www.ajc.com/search/content/metro/stories/2007/01/28/metlegeye0128a.html
By Carlos Campos
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 01/28/07
“Willie O. “Pete” Williams’ recent release after more than 21 years in prison on a wrongful rape conviction has put a face on an issue once again before the Georgia Legislature: faulty eyewitness identifications.
“Williams, 44, was picked out of a photo lineup by a victim who testified in court that she was “120″ percent certain he was the man who raped her. But DNA evidence later proved he was not guilty of the crime.
But Evans, Finnerty, and Seligmann still remain charged…
That’s wonderful news. But it’s too bad that Mr. Williams had to serve 21 years before DNA proved he was innocent. What can you tell us about the accuser?
For those writing in support of a pardon in the Genarlow Wilson case, the contact is :
Clemency_Information@pap.state.ga.us
State Board of Pardons and Paroles
2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, SE
Suite 458, Balcony Level, East Tower
Atlanta, Georgia 30334-4909
Telephone: (404) 656-5651
FAX: (404) 463-6627
(Chairman : Garland R. Hunt)
I have started to follow the Wilson case. I truly do not understand how this young man got 10 years. Just to clairfy the post#80, his mother was on a talk show yesterday and the young lady is not white (she Af-Am). Supposedly the day he got sentenced to 10 years, there was a teacher in the next courtroom getting sentenced to 90 days!!! for her involvement with a student. Amazing. Also, it was noted that if he and the young girl had had actual intercourse, this would have been a misdemeanor with less serious consequences. Again – AMAZING!!!! It appears that now the law is in the process of being changed.
The Feb. 5th hearing in the lacrosse case has been called off :
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1183786/
“A scheduled hearing for the Duke lacrosse case has been postponed as defense attorneys met with the new prosecutors assigned to the case on Tuesday.
(snip)
“Tuesday’s meeting, which lasted two hours, was the first time the two sides have met to discuss the case. After the meeting, defense attorneys Joe Cheshire and Wade Smith said the discussion went well and they look forward to working with the new prosecutors.”
I had a feeling that would happen. Glad I didn’t buy that plane ticket!
You’re right, La Shawn. No surprise at all.
As for the plane ticket, what if Kempx comes up with the Carolina-Dook game tix he’s been seeking?
TaterCon
Seahawk, I particularly liked this passage:
“We are very excited to have professional prosecutors who are willing to sit down and engage us in conversation, who are willing to fairly look at the case,” Cheshire said. “That’s all we have asked for since the very beginning, so we are excited that we are engaged in the professional process.”
I still can’t believe Nifong refused to meet with the attorneys to get their side of the story. What an idiot…
A currently inoperative portion of our constitution :
Amendment VI
“In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence”.
“I still can’t believe Nifong refused to meet with the attorneys… ” Tate, at 125
Tate, that’s what clued me in on how and why this thing was likely to unravel for Nifong, very early in the case. When Joe Cheshire and Wade Smith went public with the SBI’s DNA results, I knew they were confident in their clients’ defenses. Then when it became known that Nifong wouldn’t even give them the time of day to sit down and talk about the nature of the evidence the defendants had, I knew something was very, very odd — and much different than what Newsweek, the Durham Herald and the N&O were portraying.
Nifong’s getting his just deserts for thumbing his nose at collegiality with his fellow members of the bar. You can avoid a lot of troubles in the practice of law if you remember to follow common sense, shoot straight about your case and observe common courtesies. Truth be known, there’s hardly anything worse for a lawyer in a trial practice than to get a reputation as a bastard who won’t do the right thing, starting with the simple things, like professional courtesies.
There is one thing worse, though — and that’s to get a reputation as a lawyer who can’t be trusted to say and do the right thing with the evidence and shoot straight with his/her word to the Court and colleagues of the bar.
After all, how can you enjoy a decent lunch in the local barbecue joint if you know colleagues are looking at you with scorn? I suppose you can if you’re callous enough, but geez — that’s the kind of life attitude that’ll get you a visit from three ghosts on Christmas Eve …..
TaterCon
Feb 5 hearings postponed until May!!
Defense agrees to postponement and sound very excited about it. Go to WRAL for story.
Kemp
Feb 5 hearings postponed until May!! Kemp
So does this mean you’re gonna quit looking for Carolina game tickets for La Shawn?
Heh. :-}
She’s already blown me off, so I’ll be home nursing a hang over from super bowel. Diet starts Monday, no drinking for two months. I hate Lent!
Kemp
Geez, Dude, aren’t you starting too early? When’s Ash Wednesday this year?
You won’t be giving up ‘cue on this diet, will you?
yep, starting early and q is off the list. ash wed is late feb, but i need the time to win weight loss contest. steve thomas says hi! kemp
Comments on this entry are closed.