[JLS]

Given enough alcohol and muscle relaxant I'd bet good money that you can be induced to have an hallucination, and you will believe that it's real!

I don't think Sarah is disputing this. I think she is saying based on Mangum's past behavior when she applied to be a stripper at the bar, Sgt. Shelton's interaction with Mangum, her parole status with the need not to test positive, her desire not to go to jail etc, that she knew exactly what she was doing that night. She acted on her incentives and cried rape. She knew she was lying.

I tend to agree with Sarah. I also think Mangum could be delusional and what she knew was a lie several months ago, she believes is the truth by now.

[JLS]

PS muawiyah, I also understand your point. Doing things that can make one hallucinates raises doubt about ones testimony whether what you are testifying it true, false and you know it or false and you believe it to be true. So that combination along with the lack of any real evidence she was raped rises pretty quickly to reasonable doubt in this case.

[SarahUSC]

I think she knows it's a lie but I also think she's disturbed and her perceptions aren't normal. I think that's why she has trouble telling a consistent story.

[Hogeye13]

JLS, you are probably right about the delusional part. My question is two part: if these are continuing delusions can Nifong risk putting her on the witness stand or can he run this trial/hoax without putting her on the stand? Next question: if she is put on the stand do you think there is a potential for one of her classic meltdowns while under withering cross-examination by multiple defense attorneys?

[Jezebelle]

I agree with your last sentence - that Mangum may have convinced herself by now that she really was raped. Weak-minded, dependent people such as she have a coping mechanism by which they adopt fictions as their realities. Actually, sociopaths do the same thing, but for a different reason.

[muawiyah]

Let's see ~ she's been diagnosed as bipolar. Hmmmm. Bet you don't know what that means. Folks at MSNBC do, but they want to ignore it ~ too close to home Fur Shur.