Thursday, October 23: Google visitors, see the latest post: Crystal Mangum Claims Assault.
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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!
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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.
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