Blame Nifong, not the accuser
By the way, I also applaud Attorney General Roy Cooper's decision not to charge the accuser in the Duke lacrosse rape case.
Yes, Cooper believes she made false accusations. But she may actually believe them, he added.
He didn't say, but the implication is that she has mental issues.
All the more reason to target Durham DA Mike Nifong, not the woman, as the culprit here. He should have recognized her as an unreliable witness. Lacking any other evidence of a crime, he should have concluded early on that no prosecution was warranted.
The accuser's name now has appeared in all the mainstream media for the first time. I don't necessarily disagree with the decision to identify her, but I'm sad for her and her family. A matter that could have been settled quietly instead was used to ignite an uproar, putting three young men through a hellish year and exposing a confused young woman and her family to public disgrace.
I hope she's getting therapy. She may need healing as much as the men she erroneously accused.
Comments (10)
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Say what?
You feel sorry for her? This woman should spend 25 years in jail. She and Nifong and the Durham police could have cared less about this young men. You should be asking for a federal investigation, for her, Kifong , Cooper, the Duke 88, and Bonehead. Mike Pressler a fine man from all I read, lost his job, for doing no wrong. These young men are ruined for life. Cooper running around acting like a hero. Hegave the Durham Police a free ride. Cooper sat on his butt and let this get out of hand, because of a durn election. These young men where on their way to prison for 30-50 years and you feel sorry for her. I said it once and I say it again, the only people hurt in this are folks who did no wrong. Of course no one gives a flip about the true victims.North Carolina good ole boy injustice, rules again.
Posted on April 12, 2007 7:06 PM
Doug, I can't agree with you on a number of points. Injustice does not rule, because justice now has been done. Cooper did not have the legal authority to take over the case earlier; that's why he proposed a new law to allow earlier intervention in cases like this.
Posted on April 12, 2007 9:51 PM
Has justice really been done, Doug?
Three innocent young men had to live through a year of hell because of an overzealous, unethical prosecutor and a dishonest stripper. Their own university turned against them and their coach lost his job.
It's also undeniably true that these men wouldn't have been able to clear their names had their families not had the resources to hire quality legal representation. It's scary to think how close Nifong came to getting away with this.
Sorry; I don't see many winners here.
Posted on April 13, 2007 11:57 AM
Good old boys rule here, no doubt. A stripper walks into Nifong's office (Durham) and sets off a firestorm.
A doctor walks into Yates' office (Asheboro) and can't get past the secretary's desk.
Makes perfect sense to me.
Posted on April 13, 2007 1:02 PM
Dr. Johnson, Roy Cooper's statement contained a dramatic statement about the power of district attorneys in North Carolina: "With the weight of the state behind him, Durham's district attorney pushed forward unchecked."
At some point in our legal system, the checks and balances sometimes fail.
just saying, thanks for checking me on my "justice has been done" comment. Only in the sense that the three former defendants won't be tried for crimes they didn't commit. Social progressives like the Truth & Reconciliation people talk about "restorative justice," but that's a concept that can't exist in reality. There's no way to restore what's been taken from victims of injustice. Even if Seligmann, Evans and Finnerty collect financial compensation through legal action, it won't give them back a year of their lives or erase the pain and humiliation they experienced by being accused and reviled even on their own campus by fellow students and faculty members. It's a shame, but they have to deal with it as best they can and move on. I wish them well.
Posted on April 13, 2007 1:52 PM
One of the real victims has sadly been largely ignored throughout this ordeal.
Duke Lacrosse coach Mike Pressler lost his job after 16 seasons for charges that were proved to be false and trumped up. I'm not saying he's suffered as much as the players - after all, he wasn't facing prison time. But he's still an innocent man who was unjustly punished during this fiasco and I feel bad for him.
Posted on April 13, 2007 4:13 PM
Given what was learned about the strongly anti-athletics attitudes of so many faculty members at Duke last year, Pressley might be better off at Bryant University. If he wants to return to the major college ranks, he'll probably have a good opportunity before long. In the meantime, his new team is 5-2 so far this season.
Pressler made this statement Wednesday:
"I'd like to say how thankful I am today about the decision in Durham and how grateful I am that the lacrosse community and Bryant community stood by us the entire time.
"I said it a couple of weeks ago that I was very confident that justice would be served and I said that to all the people it applies to. What goes around, comes around, and we're counting on the powers that be in the state of North Carolina to do that.
"Well I think early on I was pretty angry and bitter when I didn't have a job. But a lot of that changed to excitement when I came to Smithfield and was given this opportunity. We try not to live in the past. We're moving forward. Duke has a new coach and a new way of doing things and they're doing well. Bryant has a new coach and we're doing well too.
"I said the truth at the appropriate time to the appropriate people. Two days after this happened; I knew what the truth was. When you say you believe in someone, you stand by them.
"I have not heard from the President at Duke. We have not spoken since May when we put some closure to everything.
"There was a rush to judgment by so many different people. We took our hits as a family. I said this early on; we had a pact between us and the players. If they could take it, then my two daughters, my wife and I could too."
Here's the full statement:
http://www.bryantbulldogs.com/sports/mlax/2007/News/20070411Transcript
Good for him.
Posted on April 13, 2007 4:23 PM
And, as if on cue, comes this press release:
"New York, New York (April 13th, 2007) -- Louise Burke, Pocket Books' Executive Vice President and Publisher, announced today that Threshold Editions will publish an explosive insider account of the Duke University Lacrosse Scandal in June 2007. IT'S NOT ABOUT THE TRUTH by Don Yaeger with Mike Pressler, the former head coach of the men's lacrosse team, will reveal for the first time what really happened after the infamous stripper party, and how the rush to judgment has affected the lives
of those associated with the incident. ..."
Posted on April 13, 2007 4:29 PM
Justice done. BULLFEATHERS!!! These men are ruined for life and justice is done? BULLFEATHERS! Roy Cooper run a great horse and pony show yesterday. Got the press sucked in big time. Put this on your beer box. The guys will not be able to sue Nifong, Durham, the good ole boys will take care of him. The so call bar boys will spank him very lightly, about like I spank my grandchildren, would not make a fly, fly. The only hope we have for justice is that the yankee press, who do not have to kiss the good ole boys butt, will get a federal investagation. If not the boys are screw big time, God knows damn well, the good ole boy press in NC, will sit on their tumbs,and protect the good ole boys.
Posted on April 13, 2007 8:02 PM
Doug, the Bar is going to nail him to the wall.
The Bar is the reason he had to turn the case over to Cooper in the first place.
Dog and pony show? Cooper could not have been more straightforward.
I'm predicted Nifong will be out of office before summer ends. The only downside: the man who appointed him, Mike Easley, will name his replacement.
Posted on April 13, 2007 11:19 PM