Posted on 04/25/2006 2:34:48 AM PDT by abb
DURHAM - District Attorney Mike Nifong plans to reinstate misdemeanor charges against a half-dozen Duke lacrosse players, saying a March 13 party where a woman reported a rape broke the deals that the players made with prosecutors.
Nifong's decision could affect players who, before the party, had entered agreements in which prosecutors would dismiss the cases if the players performed community service and stayed out of trouble for six months or a year. Among the first to have his charges reinstated was David Evans, one of the team captains who lived at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd., the site of the party in which lacrosse players hired two women from escort services to dance. One of the women told police that she was raped by three men in a bathroom.
Two players, Collin Finnerty, 19, and Reade William Seligmann, 20, were charged last week with first-degree rape, first-degree sex offense and first-degree kidnapping. Their attorneys say the men are innocent.
On Monday, an attorney for Seligmann filed a motion seeking information that would help attack the credibility of the woman, the only person, according to the defense filing, who says a rape occurred. The motion seeks information about the woman, including criminal charges, mental and emotional problems the woman has suffered as well as social services, probation, child protective services and victim's advocacy records.
Today, Finnerty is due in a Washington court where prosecutors in an assault charge are considering whether to revoke a deferred prosecution agreement similar to those affecting other players in Durham.
According to court records, 16 players were charged in the past three years with misdemeanor charges in Durham including noise violations, public urination and alcohol violations. The deals placed the men on probation for either six months or a year.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsobserver.com ...
At least these players were not out stealing cabs, driving w/out a license while drunk, eluding police, and attempting to run one of them down as the accuser, a NCCU college student and mother of 2 children born out of wedlock, did.
Oh lawd, please don't tell me she goes to Bob Jones! lol
I am not defending the stripper. She also got herself in a situation of her own making.
the best one was the kid who urinated on private property, but was dismissed because of wrong citation being issued;if they can't get it right on pissing in public, what makes anyone think that this stupid D.A is really gonna win this pathetic case
Nope - but she has a friend who goes to Liberty which is almost as bad. LOL
You must know more than the rest of us. Which members of the team were there? Perhaps you should fill in Nifong, he's also clueless. Doesn't matter though right? They're all guilty!
Let's put our kids in a room, throw away the key and homeschool them.. That way they'll never "put themselves in this position". We don't want to be embarassed!
So you think it is right that they were arrested? They somehow are at fault that all this has happened to them?
No, of course it's not their fault. It's their parents fault. Or maybe Duke's fault. Or maybe the coach's fault. Or maybe Bush's fault. Pick one. Just so long as they don't have to actually be responsible for their own actions. We can't have that, can we?
"Are you saying that the team members' lapse in common sense [or morality] is justification for their being thrown under Nefong's speeding train?"
Did they make a mistake? You Bet? Are they paying for it? Understatement! Should they go to jail for being rapists? Hardly. Let's be real, and as a Christian, I refuse to judge the kids and their parents. I won't throw stones, all of our kids make mistakes.
I will wait until the facts come out at trial. I know only what I have heard and read in the media so I don't know if these guys are guilty or not. I'll keep an open mind.
I have yet to find the perfect son and I have had three of them. :-)
Fair enough, but your "open mind" closed in on the players rather quickly, didn't it?
I'm hardly throwing stones. I am saying this "mistake" could cost them dearly, along with their families. They are supposedly intelligent young men who apparently don't have a lot of common sense. I feel very bad for their families and for Duke. I'm sure they don't deserve this. But as some on here have said "boys will be boys". Just a rite of passage - nothing more. Except now two of these guys are facing prison. Wonder if they think it was worth it to see a couple of "dancers"?
We do know some facts, such as the lacrosse players hired strippers to perform at a party with alcohol while knowing some players were not old enough to drink. We know the coach had been warned on more than one occasion that the lacrosse players were out of control. His players choices cost him his coaching job at a very prestigious college. The players have cost their parents a lot of money in attorney fees. The players have embarrassed a lot of people. Whether or not a rape and kidnapping occurred, I have no way of knowing. That's why we have trials.
I'm sure they know now that it wasn't worth it! This "dancer" has apperently done an "eenie meanie miny mo" on two of them.
I'm also certain their parents are very proud of them..in spite of making a critical mistake. Sometimes the character of one's child is more telling in difficult times.
she really is a whore, I think the producers put a collar on her for her demeaning behavior; she rarely spends any time on the case anymore
Right now your mind seems far from open, but that's just my opinion!
Me too!! Three sons--lots of fun right?
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