Thursday, October 23: Google visitors, see the latest post: Crystal Mangum Claims Assault.
——————————————————————————————–
Update III (8/25): Here’s the press release that arrived in my inbox on Thursday night:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 22, 2008
Publication Date: October 1, 2008
Media Inquiries: Vincent Clark
vince@firefilmz.com
greenecourt@aol.com
919.630.3806
Michael Denisoff
MDenLA@oal.com
949.293.2797
http://www.firefilmz.com
http://www.denisoffconsulting.com
Poignant Memoir Reveals Details of a Difficult Life
(Los Angeles) – The Duke Lacrosse case is no longer the lead story on the network and cable news shows, but there is one central figure, who was there on the night in question and who’s voice has been silent. She’s been called an exotic dancer and a prostitute, and the public was led to believe she wanted to frame some “good college students” from Duke and put them in jail. Although most of the questions appear to be answered in the Duke Lacrosse Case, one still remains. Who is Crystal Gail Mangum? During the investigation and in its aftermath, she never spoke publicly, that is until now.
The Last Dance for Grace: The Crystal Mangum Story is the only definitive account of the life and struggles of the woman at the center of the Duke Lacrosse case, the alleged accuser. Were it not for the Duke Lacrosse Case, she likely would be described as a bright, young woman from Durham, North Carolina, who has had a difficult life. Like so many of us, Crystal has made mistakes and has struggled to make amends. Her biggest mistake just happened to lead to one of the most controversial legal cases in American history.
Published reports throughout 2006 and 2007 portrayed Crystal as a gold-digging hooker searching for a big payday or as a unstable, troubled young woman.
The truth about Crystal’s life, her account of what happened on March 13, 2006, accusations, and the motives of the people criticizing her were never seriously explored. As people appeared from out of the woodwork to offer their opinions about Crystal, no one ever asked the one person who could set the record straight.
To complicate matters, the State of North Carolina was in the throws of a monumental legal battle. Criminal defense attorneys argued over how much evidence should be turned over by district attorneys in all criminal cases, not just the Duke Lacrosse Scandal; a principal called “Open File Discovery”. The result was a very complicated legal theory that collided with Crystal Mangum’s desire to have the case heard in open court.
The Last Dance for Grace can’t and doesn’t deal with the complex legal aspects of the case. Disbarred Durham County, North Carolina district attorney Michael Nifong was removed due to misconduct in the case. Nifong’s misunderstanding or some will say willful disregard for open file discovery was the reason the case fell apart. The muddling of facts about Crystal’s life, along with North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper’s desire to settle the dispute over open file discovery, swallowed the case whole.
The Last Dance for Grace deals openly and honestly with Crystal Mangum’s life. It shows the portrait of a real person and not some caricature. Crystal’s story is at times heartbreaking. She has endured a series of very difficult periods in her life, but each time she has emerged stronger, striving to do better.
This book is an important tool to discuss race, class, sex and the judicial process. It also provides very important lessons for any young person trying to make good life-choices.
Crystal Magnum is donating one dollar from the purchase of each book to help battered women.
Editors Note: ALL inquiries concerning Ms. Mangum are being handled via fire! Books or Denisoff Consulting. Several indivduals have purported to represent Ms. Mangum. At no time in the past or presently has she been represented by anyone other than fire! Books or Denisoff Consulting. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CONTACT MS. MANGUM DIRECTLY OR DISCUSS THIS MATTER WITH ANYONE OTHER THAN: Vincent Clark, Courtney Greene or Michael Denisoff!
——————————————————————————
Update II (8/23): A reader sent me a link to a video of Joe Cheshire, a defense attorney in the Duke case, talking about Mangum’s book.
Update (8/22): Good grief. There’s video.
It’s been a long time since I’ve written about the Duke “rape” case. Feast your eyes on this fresh fodder.
Disgraced Crystal Mangum, the former stripper and prostitute who accused three Duke University lacrosse players of strangling, beating, and brutally raping her (vaginally, anally, and orally) in a tiny bathroom at a house party back in March 2006, is writing her memoirs. Not an Internet rumor. It’s true!
The Last Dance for Grace: The Crystal Mangum Story, scheduled for release on October 1, is Mangum’s sob story of a story. It, like everything else about her, will generate ridicule…unless it contains a big, fat apology to Reade Seligman, Collin Finnerty, and David Evans.
From the press release:
“The truth about Crystal’s life, her account of what happened on March 13, 2006, accusations, and the motives of the people criticizing her were never seriously explored. As people appeared from out of the woodwork to offer their opinions about Crystal, no one ever asked the one person who could set the record straight.”
Don’t be shocked or dismayed. She’s an opportunist. There’s nothing illegal about hiring a ghostwriter to pen “her story” so she can make money from the sordid mess she made. This is America! Freedom of speech, capitalism, and all that.
Background
When I first heard about this accusation, I knew it was a straight-up lie. No way did those guys rape that drunk/high stripper. No way. How did I know? I just knew. Call it gut instinct. Even before the DNA tests, I knew I’d be proven right. The story just didn’t ring true. And I knew before the media bore down on the case exactly how they’d cover it. Race angle all the way.
I saw a woman with gang-rape fantasies trying to get paid. She was pitiful and ignorant. I called it early and got a lot of flak for it. But you know me. Sticks and stones, water off a duck’s back, and all that.
Mike Nifong, the now disgraced and disbarred district attorney, went after the players like a personal vendetta. Nifong was running for re-election against a black candidate in a heavily black city, and he seized the opportunity to fuel a class war and stir up the envy of people who, for one reason or another, didn’t like “rich” white boys who played lacrosse at Duke.
The men were indicted on charges of first-degree forcible rape, sexual offense, and kidnapping. Nifong was confident that DNA would link the men to Mangum. When it did not, he still pursued the case, ignoring exculpatory evidence and continuing to make misleading statements.
For example, he and DNA lab director Brian Meehan knew that genetic material from several men (none of the accused) was found on and inside Mangum, and conspired to keep this exculpatory evidence from the defense. Then he lied and claimed he’d turned over all DNA test results. And as it turned out, Nifong didn’t interview Mangum until months after she made the accusations.
After Mangum claimed not to remember whether she was penetrated by any of the men, Nifong was forced to drop the forcible rape charge.
The whole thing was awful. I watched Duke professors try to convict the accused men, using the opportunity to push their sadly outdated racial grievances to get even more undeserved stuff. I watched a usually anti-prosecution liberal media hang onto and favorably report Nifong’s every lie, publishing ridiculously simpering race-baiting stories. Mainstream media played up this “rich white boys rape poor black mother of two” story while ignoring or downplaying rape stories where the accused was black and the victim was white, which is more common than white rapist/black victim. (Ah, they were bored with those stories. That’s the ticket…)
I watched disgruntled blacks take out their rage and frustration on these lacrosse players, dredging up ancient history and propping up a scapegoat to blame for their own deficiencies. It was embarrassing.
I could go on and on. The way the media covered this case became a story in itself. There’s much, much more to the whole fiasco, and if you get bored at work today, check out the Duke Rape Case archives. If you’d rather not deal with 55 posts, check out Wikipedia’s entry on the case. For ongoing reports, visit the blog Durham-in-Wonderland, maintained by KC Johnson.
Aftermath
Attorney General Roy Cooper dropped all charges against Seligmann, Finnerty, and Evans. Nifong lost his job, his law license, and served only a day in jail for contempt. Cooper, for reasons I’ll never understand, declined to press charges against Mangum.
The three men filed suit against Duke University and reached a settlement. They filed suit against the city of Durham for federal civil rights violations. The unidicted lacrosse players involved in the case also filed suit against Duke and Durham.
If Crystal Mangum had any grace, she’d ask for God’s grace, get on with her life, make amends the best she can, and raise decent children. But she’s still trying to get paid.
Related Townhall colums:
{ 25 comments }
What we need in this country, is a law that makes people who bring false charges against others and lose, pay for their victims legal fees. Then, maybe, people would think twice about going on witch hunts.
And punitive damages as well! There are cases where false accusations, regardless of eventual acquittal, have destroyed people’s reputations.
Why the need to say it this way? Why are the races important? are you suggesting that if the stripper was a white girl then they might have been interested enough to rape her? Or if the 3 athletes were black then your gut would have said they did it?
Why couldn’t you just have written:
“No way did three guys rape some drunk/high stripper. No way.”
In regards to the rest of the article I knew people like Nancy Grace and Sharpton were just looking for a story after there was no evidence. She is also a capitalist willing to make money however she can. Selling your story is much easier than selling your body. But please as someone who is always writing as if race no longer matters and there is no need for affirmative action, when your gut tells you that white men wouldn’t rape a black woman. You are giving reason as to why Affirmative Action may still be needed in this country. Statements like this do not help your cause at all.
After some reflection, I decided to remove the adjectives. Those details helped shape my impression, but I think they distract from my point in the post. – Admin
Look, Carter, that was my strong impression. The details of the accusation and subsequent media coverage, and a good dose of common sense, colored my view of the case (pardon the pun). This case was based on race from the beginning, and it wasn’t my doing. CM thought she could cash in, because she was a “poor” black woman allegedly raped by three white lacrosse players, Nifong went full steam ahead with this case, because he was running against a black woman, and on and on and on.
I didn’t start this fire.
You’re right about one thing. Race preferences have something to do with this case, but not what you think. You’ve got it twisted.
But whatever. Believe what you want.
Totally agree with numbers 1-2. Check out Deuteronomy 19:16-20.
Looks like Crystal Mangum is still doing whatever she can to make a buck out of this mess she made.
Didn’t Jesse Jackson give her a college scholarship? She should be in school focused on her studies instead of trying to spend some of her time hocking a book.
LaShawn has provided us with an update on a case that she had a great influence in bringing to light.
It was LaShawn who had the courage to take on the “racial” issues in a direct and thorough manner. She forced the dialog on the MSM.
The end result was a clear picture that Nifong had used the “race” card for his political advantage and had bent and twisted his prosecutorial power to back his advantage. He lost everything he had as a result.
LaShawn is informing the long standing readers of a small point in the aftermath of a race case gone sour.
None of us wish ill for Crystal. She has whored her way through life and turning a trick for some publishing money is hardly surprising. Personally, I think she is a mentally ill person and so I have greater scorn for the creeps who are using her body once again.
If there are still those who want to sanitize the role of “race” in this sordid affair, I am afraid you are missing the point.
Wow. I wonder if the falsely accused will sue for the profits?
Well…this just goes to show she is still prostituing.
Looks like she finished college, she should be working on her career instead of this. Oh, unless her career is going to be a life long gold digger.
And she’s donating a dollar from each book sale to battered women, something she was NOT.
Perhaps she should consider donating the remainder of the proceeds to a group like the Innocence Project? Given false accusers like herself are why such a group has had plenty of work.
It all goes to show that “it ain’t trickin’ if you got it” is not necessarily true.
Where are the “personal responsibility” people now?
They had no business messing around with no hoodrat stripper in the first place. I wouldn’t recommend anyone even DATE one, much less engage in ho-ish activities with her. What were they thinking?
As far as this young woman…what did you expect? This girl was running game and saw these boys the way I expect her to see them, as stupid tricks who are about to get played.
Well they all got played in this case.
Sad.
I personally would not classify her as having gang rape fantasies. She was simply an opportunist. When I first heard it, I hoped that it was a lie. Being a black woman, I could not stand the thought that there was that much hate out there against us. As strange as I sound, I was relieved to find out it was a hoax. At the same time, what she did (lie) was criminal, IMO. Then again, there is the case of Magan Williams who was raped and tortured by 6 white men and women. So it isn’t always a lie.
To make a long story short, this woman should not receive an ounce of sympathy.
“They had no business messing around with no hoodrat stripper in the first place.”
Agree 100% with that.
But that said, from what I understand, some of the players didn’t even know there were going to be strippers until they were asked to help pay for them. The two sophomores didn’t want to go to the party but did anyway, as it was a team event. They arrived late (enough to put in an appearance). They were disgusted with the performance (Seligmann said he didn’t like the “tone” of the show–which was edited down on “60 Minutes” to delete the explanation of why he didn’t like it); and they both left after about half an hour.
For this, they were accused of rape (with no evidence), and they and their families were put through hell for a year, and Pressler was fired.
Two of the mothers suffered physically (one was hospitalized); the grandfather of one died (he was active every day trying to get some sort of justice for his grandson);
the player whose joke email was released (clearly shown to be a spoof if the entire email exchanges were read) got 1000 death threats in one week (he was threatened by the DA that if he didn’t cooperate, they’d release the email; he didn’t cooperate);
and much, much more.
The players were proven to be innocent a week before there were any indictments (by DNA testing). There has never been a case where THREE men accused of rape left NO DNA; where two of them could prove they were elsewhere at the time of the supposed rape (with witnesses, photos, phone records, time cards, etc.); where they passed lie detector tests; where the DA refused to look at their evidence; etc.
And the false accusation will hang over them for the rest of their lives, unless they are fully vindicated with the exposure of the whole truth. (And that’s why they are continuing to pursue lawsuits.)
They had no business messing around with no hoodrat stripper in the first place.
For once I find myself at least partially in agreement with THEBIGDODDY. However, wondering about the “personal responsibility people” does not explain the outright fraud of the MSM and Nifong. Magnum was never more than a hammy supporting actress in this sleazy drama where politicians and journalists fanned racial hatred for political gain. It was To Kill A Mockingbird in reverse.
random thoughts on the issue of personal responsibility in the Duke case:
1)Hiring strippers is definitely a lapse of judgment as well as shooting for the lowest common denominator.
2)I wonder how many of those who damned the boys have chuckled over batchelor party shenanigans…..[good for me but not for thee]
3) Most folks agree that the boys brought some of the problem on their own heads.
4) A thinking person would have to acknowledge that the punishment was obscenely out of proportion to the actions of the boys.
5) IMPORTANTLY, as Seahawk noted, “some of the players didn’t even know there were going to be strippers until they were asked to help pay for them. The two sophomores didn’t want to go to the party but did anyway, as it was a team event. They arrived late and they both left after about half an hour.”
6) It is curious how many folks wanted to absolve Mangum based upon her being a product of her environment while wanting to damn the boys for being a product of their environments.
7) In reality, there’s a lot of sex/drinking behavior going on in colleges. While it in no way excuses tawdry behavior, it is fair to say that the boy’s behavior was more typical of their peer group than Mangum’s. So, Mangum gets a pass and the boys are evil?????
Truth is, most folks don’t feel the need to flog a dead horse, particularly when the story involves a horrendous miscarriage of justice, false accusations, a lying prosecutor, and a university filled with folks eager to destroy the lives of others without knowing the facts.
I agree hiring strippers is a poor choice. But…
Something like 20 Duke groups hired strippers that year, including the much-vaunted basketball team. A sorority hired male strippers and posted up pictures they took of them.
The Duke team had a party because it was Spring Break, but they were confined to campus in order to practice. (What sort of activities were the rest of the student body engaging in during Spring Break?)
Does anyone think that if such a blatantly false
rape accusation had been made against three members of the Duke basketball team, that Coach K would have been fired, the team season canceled, and the false case have been allowed to drag on for a year (while Duke washed its hands of the whole thing)?
Or that the media wouldn’t have been asking any hard questions about the lack of substance in the case?
The boys oughta file a civil suit against Mangum for the proceeds of the book. There’s just something so wrong with this woman benefitting from her crimes. As the very least, taxpayers should be repaid the millions they forked over on Mangum’s behalf. Maybe the taxpayers could file a suit.
Of course, there is that little problem of trying to find an impartial jury in a city that went for the jugular cuz the boys were white.
Whatever happened to Malik Zulu Shabazz and the New Black Panther Party and Jessie Jackson who descended on Durham to protect Crystal Magnum? (“The New Black Panther party and black men is not going to stand by, idly by, and let our black women be raped.” Nigi Muhammed.)
Have they conceded that Magnum lied or do they still believe her? In the name of Tawana Brawley, they need to take their stand.
And that goes for the Committee of 88, as well.
Cowards.
I still have difficulty catching my breath while contemplating the ugliness of the Committee of 88. Just thinking about them makes my skin crawl.
While parading tolerance, they condemned a group of young men, largely because of skin color, and made their lives living hell [so much for creating an inclusive environment where all feel "safe and accepted"].
cowards….hypocrites….fakes….
Nah jb, thematically emphasis on of “personal responsibility” are only directed at certain segments of society.
“horrendous miscarriage of justice, false accusations, a lying prosecutor, and a university filled with folks eager to destroy the lives of others without knowing the facts.”
You’re right about this, but haSatan is the prince of the power of the airwaves, with the mainstream media being his herald, and the world (in particular the American people) living antennae by which he roams the earth seeking to “steal, kill, and destroy”.
This horrendous miscarriages of justice occur every single day, sir. Stop thinking that you, and everyone else is so good, when the opposite is clearly the case.
The press release says, “the alleged accuser.” What the heck is that supposed to mean? She’s not the alleged accuser. She’s the actual documented accuser.
excellent piece.
good question from comment 24 about the public position of black leaders on tawana brawley — including al sharpton. (wonder where reverend wright is on this story…)
are the publishers in this only for the money, or do they imagine they’re doing some moral service to our culture.
The racial aspects and the nonsense by the Committee of 88 are not what got my attention in this case as much as the dangers we all face from prosecutorial misconduct. Mike Nifong’s conduct was unbelievable. I felt the same way when Elliot Spitzer was a prosecutor; in fact, I thought it was good when he became governor of New York because he would have fewer chances to mess up people’s lives (although the legislator Spitzer harrassed with the state police would differ). Spitzer as prosecutor was famous for making accusations in the press against people but never following through to file charges because he really didn’t have a case.
Good work, La Shawn!
What do the publishers mean by “alleged accuser”? Is there a possibility that someone else made the accusations? As far as I can see the all the “allegeds” are over. There are the wrongfully accused, the overzealous, and the accuser.
Comments on this entry are closed.
{ 10 trackbacks }