Posted on 10/15/2006 5:52:10 AM PDT by Locomotive Breath
That would be wonderful if it happens, but I'm not counting on it. What would be the incentive for someone to do that? What would be the upside for that person? Nobody in the DA's office is going to confront or side-step Liefong for fear of very probable backlash from him. The DPD? Who? Shelton, maybe? I don't think he has enough rank to do it. It seems like it would have to either come down from the local judiciary (fat chance), or politically from the state house. I doubt if even the chief of police could stop Liefong's freight train. If Liefong dismisses, it'll be after the election (which he will likely win) and it will be because he wants to bail on it and will use Mangum as his scapegoat.
LOL! Yes, what the two have in common is that they tell lies that are obvious and feeble lies that are seen through and impeached right there on the spot. Travis says this or that, when yesterday or three hours earlier he said the opposite, just like BB: "We are cutting their legs off on the outskirts of Baghdad. They cannot come here because we are stabbing their hearts and slashing out their eyes in the desert. Their war machinery is broken and lays in pieces in the desert. We are smashing them and cutting them." Then an American tank rolls by on camera, or our guys are seen in the background waving.
I miss BB. :> He used to be on at around 3am or so, so we recorded the news all night so we could watch him the next day.
Oh, I didn't know she did that! Well, I would have stopped watching her sooner had I known that. I never was a regular viewer of hers anyway.
That's what I say. Does he really expect people to believe that one anymore than any of his other BS?
.....and the ever-present empty milk carton placed back in the fridge - empty except for about 4 drops.
I have seen Jason Whitlock about various sports issues and I think on ESPN Sportreporter show? He has certainly risen greatly in credibility with me with his comments. He is really a solid thinker.
As I remember the timing, her dad did not see her until after her pimp had time to beat her for losing his money. I really think both the Dad and maybe even Nifong saw her beat up a day or so later which added to their early belief in her story.
Her dad apparently is clueless about what she is and Nifong apparently is too. So from Nifong's point of view for a week or so after the party he thinks his case is:
1. The Mangum's statement and IDs.
2. DNA that will match some perp.
3. Reports of her obvious injuries from Duke ER.
That would be a very strong case. Of course he is too dumb to imagine that she might be a lying hooker and he will not have 2 and 3.
So I think he initially believed Mangum. Then he felt stuck when her story fell apart and at that point became criminal to win the primary.
If Jackson, Sharpton etal. are worried about race treason, this is a great opportunity for them. They can rebuke a white prosecutor here for exploiting a confused young woman to trick black voters into voting for him. They need not rebuke Mangum but call her another victim of Nifong.
A commenter on the talkleft forum posted this:
Two AA columnists are now calling for an end to the case :
Earl Ofari Hutchinson
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/earl-ofari-hutchinson/the-danger-of-screaming-r_b_31859.html
Jason Whitlock
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/15774974.htm
I've said this before, but it's worth saying again: Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton should be in Durham, N.C., today, promising civil disobedience until the charges are dropped and prosecutor Mike Nifong resigns.
(snip)
Speaking out in support of the wealthy Duke players enhances our credibility when we claim that someone poor and black is being treated unfairly. Poor people need that credibility because they can't afford to make bail, let alone a team of high-priced attorneys.
By remaining silent about this obvious miscarriage of justice, black leadership looks as racist and cowardly as it paints white people who ignore obvious mistreatment of blacks. You follow?
Standing up for Seligmann, Finnerty and Evans would be standing up against injustice, and what we're learning is that injustice recognizes opportunity more than color. In America, there is more opportunity for injustice to visit poor people of color. Their best defense is standing against all injustice, regardless of race.
1:23 AM
Add Professor Coleman to the list. Cash Michael seems to have thrown in the towel, even though he would like to insulate the AA community from the fall-out.
Perhaps there is a slight, hairline crack forming in the facade.
Nifong said that he did NOT watch 60M. I presume that is not a misquote in the article. The words "liar," "incompetent & stupid" and "mentally ill" come to mind.
Violent crime in city sees four-year high
By Ray Gronberg : The Herald-Sun, Oct 16, 2006 : 11:24 pm ET
DURHAM -- Violent crime in Durham reached a four-year peak in the first half of 2006, despite a sharp reduction in the number of homicides, Police Chief Steve Chalmers told the City Council Monday night.
The increase over the same period in 2005 was driven by jumps in the number of rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults, according to numbers provided by the Durham Police Department. Rapes and assaults were at a four-year high, and the number of robberies was as high as it's been at any time since 2003.
All told, there were 916 violent crimes in the first half of 2006, compared to 678 in the same stretch of 2005, a 35 percent increase.
The good news, as far as Chalmers and other officials were concerned, was that the city's murder rate was down sharply. There were only seven homicides in the in the first half of the year, compared to 18 the year before.
Department figures showed that six major North Carolina cities -- Asheville, Charlotte, Fayetteville, Greensboro, Greenville and Winston-Salem -- had higher murder rates than Durham's. But Durham's rate was still the highest among the Triangle's four main cities, with Raleigh providing the closest competition.
Council members welcomed the news on homicides, but fretted about the jump in other types of violent crime.
"The concern is that with the overall 35 percent increase in violent crime, it's a matter of time before you see that murder rate increasing," Councilman Thomas Stith said. "With that level of increase, do we not still have an environment where our citizens will say, 'I don't feel comfortable, I don't feel safe?'"
The council was also unhappy to hear that a man arrested in connection with last year's quadruple homicide on Alpine Road may have committed the crime only about two weeks after being arrested and charged with a long string of drug offenses. The suspect, Roderick Vernard Duncan, was out on a $100,000 bond after initially being held in lieu of $500,000.
Members said they'd like to push the General Assembly to enact laws mandating tougher bond practices in cases that combine drug and firearms offenses.
Councilmen Howard Clement and Eugene Brown also urged Chalmers to crack down harder on prostitution, comments that followed a weekend that saw officers arrest 14 men and women on a variety of soliciting charges.
Clement said he wants police to make shame an element of their strategy.
"I won't be completely happy with the prostitution situation until we see pictures of the Johns as well as the Jeans in the story," he said. "Something should be done to publicize the pictures."
http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-779251.html
Panel discussion is on democracy
Oct 16, 2006 : 8:32 pm ET Herald Sun
DURHAM -- State Sen. Jeanne Lucas, D-Durham, will moderate a panel discussion on the topic "Claiming our Democracy" today at 7 p.m. at White Rock Baptist Church, 3400 Fayetteville St.*
The event is free and open to the public.
The forum is part of a series in which community leaders are invited to lead a discussion of "Covenant with Black America," a book written by public television talk show host Tavis Smiley.
Among the panelists will be Durham Police Chief Steve Chalmers, Judge Elaine Bushfan, John Burness of Duke University, Goldie Byrd of N.C. A&T, author Kevin Jenkins, businessman Ron Roots, businesswoman Sandra Braswell, attorney James "Butch" Williams and Elsie Leak of the state Department of Public Instruction.
http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-779215.html
* White Rock, where the Committee meets- special democratic completed sample ballots anyone?
"until we see pictures of the Johns as well as the Jeans in the story"
"Good. Let's see Mangum's appointment book. I'll bet we could recognize more than a few names in Durham government."
Hey, she does Raleigh too. Why does the Governor receive
tens of thousands in campaign contributions from 'strip clubs'?
Just wondering. We received no phone call from the school, our son was not allowed to call us and interrogated for hours by the administration and forced to write a statement, there was no investigation by police, no interrogation of our son by someone bound by the Constitution, we got a phone call to say he was being arrested, made an appointment to do so, had no trial, had a plea recommended by the polygrapher, and received the disposition of the case by mail.
I was just wondering if some judge actually got to hear the case if we'd have gotten the verdict like you hear about your Walgreens prescriptions -- "Your verdict is ready." Just wondering.
Grand jury indicts man in quadruple homicide
By BriAnne Dopart : The Herald-Sun,
Oct 17, 2006 : 12:04 am ET
DURHAM -- An admitted drug trafficker was indicted Monday in last year's execution-style quadruple homicide, and District Attorney Mike Nifong said the Breckenridge subdivision slayings were the most senseless act of violence in Durham history.
A news conference called by Nifong and Durham Police Chief Steve Chalmers came 11 months after what authorities labeled drug-related bloodshed and after Chalmers said investigators had "strong leads." The probe remained mostly dormant -- at least in public release of any developments -- since then.
Rodrick Vernard Duncan, 27, was released from jail on a vastly reduced bond just two weeks before he allegedly took part in the mass murders, according to details released at the news conference.
Duncan, who lists a Durham address, was indicted by a grand jury on four counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted first-degree murder and one count of armed robbery. Chalmers would not say if Duncan was the gunman in the Nov. 19, 2005, slayings at 2222 Alpine Road.
Lennis Harris Jr., 24, LaJuan Coleman, 27, Jamel Holloway, 27, and Jonathan Skinner, 26, were pronounced dead at the scene of what police termed a "drug-motivated homicide." Each was shot in the back of the head. Digital scales, a white powder and a green leafy substance were recovered from the scene, as were a 9 mm handgun, spent shell casings and unfired ammunition.
One man survived the attack with serious gunshot injuries and another jumped through a second-story window to safety. It is The Herald-Sun's policy not to name crime victims.
Duncan is in federal custody awaiting sentencing for a 2005 drug trafficking offense that took place only weeks before the brutal slaying, Chalmers told a roomful of reporters and photographers.
Durham Police investigators arrested Duncan Nov. 4, 2005, and charged him with two counts of drug trafficking by transport; two counts of drug trafficking by possession; two counts of possession of cocaine with the intent to manufacture, sell or deliver; maintaining a vehicle for the sale of drugs; possession of a stolen firearm; possession of marijuana; possession of drug paraphernalia; and resisting, delaying and obstructing a police officer.
Duncan's bond was set at $500,000 at the time of his arrest. It was reduced to $100,000 and he was released Nov. 5.
Nifong said the lower amount was "still a substantial bond" and was not similar to controversial bond reduction issues in recent months that have allowed criminals to get out of jail quickly.
Duncan, Nifong suggested, might have been able to post such a "substantial" bond because he was "a very good customer" of a bondsman.
Once Duncan was released, a federal task force assumed the armed trafficking case and took him into custody on April 5, 2006. Duncan pleaded guilty July 5 to the trafficking charges and is being held in Winston-Salem, police said.
Chalmers said police suspected Duncan of the quadruple slayings for some time before he and Nifong made Monday's announcement. He would not elaborate on when Duncan became a named suspect in the murders.
Early in the investigation, police said the one investigator assigned to the case was pursuing leads aggressively. At Monday's press conference, Chalmers said the investigator got "overwhelmed," so more men were assigned to the case after Jan. 1. However homicide investigator S.W. Vaughan told the Herald-Sun last spring that he was the sole investigator working the case.
In the following months, the department claimed it assigned at least three more investigators to the probe. Still, no new information was released about the case with the exception of a returned search warrant and the autopsies of the four young victims.
Chalmers promised Monday that police would be making additional arrests in the homicides and that the investigation was "ongoing."
Lennis Harris Sr., a fire inspector with the city of Durham and father of one of the slain men, said he was too emotional to speak about the arrest in the case.
"You think you'd be happy," he said, his voice breaking, "but there's just so many emotions."
Attempts to reach parents of the other victims were unsuccessful.
While the investigation into the shocking quadruple homicide in an upscale neighborhood disappeared from headlines in the past several months, the murders hadn't faded from the minds of residents of the Breckenridge subdivision.
A resident who lives a few doors down from 2222 Alpine Road asked not to be named but said she was familiar with three of the victims from going to Durham high schools. Skinner, a Raleigh resident, grew up in Winston-Salem.
The victims she knew were kind people who she believed could not have been involved in the sale of drugs, as search warrants and police news releases have suggested, the resident said.
"I couldn't believe it happened here ... I thought 'Oh, man, that's three doors down!'" She added that she never thought police would solve the case.
Another resident who had the case on her mind and also asked not to be named, said she was both thrilled and surprised to know police had charged someone in the case.
"I thought they were never going to solve it," she said. "I thought it was just a hit, you know?"
http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-779259.html
* Guess if we want to see the DA in action on this one, we will just have to vote for him.
Cornel West. Didn't he teach at Duke awhile back, along with his chum
Henry Louis Gates, now at Harvard? It seems Henry wanted to explore
his African heritage, and had very expensive DNA testing done. He found
out much to his chagrin, he had more in common with Irish bar maids than
supposed colonial slave-holders. Wonder if Crystal ever explored her back-
ground? Sure the people at the Mangum-Duke DNA project have figured
it out by now.
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