Posted on 02/03/2007 4:16:51 AM PST by Locomotive Breath
Gov. Mike Easley said last month that picking Mike Nifong to be Durham's district attorney was the worst appointment of his career, and he said Nifong broke his promise not to run for the office. Easley told law students in New York that Nifong's decision to seek office in last fall's election almost prompted him to consider yanking Nifong from office.
"I almost un-appointed him when he decided to run," Easley said. "I rate that as probably the poorest appointment that I've," the governor trailed off before adding "I've made some good ones."
(Excerpt) Read more at newsobserver.com ...
I believe I read this weekend that a group of Duke parents are going to have a support march on the campus this weekend. I fear for their safety.
NiFog meeting with the New Black Panthers was an outrage.
Oct 9, 2006
DURHAM, N.C. - There's not much middle ground in the legal community when it comes to opinions of local prosecutor Mike Nifong's most famous case.
His law school classmate Patricia McDonald, citing "an utter lack of evidence that a crime even occurred," wrote to Gov. Mike Easley and urged him to pressure Nifong into stepping aside in the Duke University lacrosse rape case.
"Mr. Nifong has lost his moral compass despite his claim that he is a 'committed advocate for the truth,"' wrote McDonald, a former assistant in the Maryland Attorney General's office.
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Gov. Easley, meanwhile, has no intention of asking Nifong to step aside, spokeswoman Sherri Johnson says.
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I doubt they are worried about civil law suits. They may well have just been told to shut up by their superiors so as to not destroy their credibility and ratings comepletely. Notice that those working a hosts/hostesses, ie Grace have shutup and those hired as analyst continue to lie and spew hate, ie Murphy.
Busted!
I can believe some of them have been told to shut up. But I wonder if the Duckett suit got their attention.
http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-815788.cfm
Walk to support former players
BY LEAH KONEN, The Herald-Sun
February 2, 2007 11:17 pm
A pair of activist groups are asking the community to put their feet where their hearts are and walk in support of three indicted former Duke lacrosse players.
Sunday morning's "Walk of Support" will begin in front of the Durham County Courthouse, 201 E. Main St., downtown to Koskinen Stadium, home of the Duke lacrosse team near Wallace Wade Stadium and Cameron Indoor Stadium on Duke's West Campus.
The groups "Concerned Duke Mothers" and "Ethical Durham" hope to show their support and demand "fair treatment" for the former Duke players -- David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann -- who still face first-degree kidnapping and sexual offense charges stemming from the allegations of a Durham woman who originally claimed the men raped her at an off-campus lacrosse party last March after hiring her and another woman to strip at the party.
Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong dropped first-degree rape charges against the trio after the woman changed part of her story in December. Nifong later asked to be recused from the case after the N.C. State Bar filed ethics charges against him related to his handling of the case. The case has since been transferred to two prosecutors from the state Attorney General's Office who are in the process of reviewing the case.
Sunday's walk is also intended to show support for the indicted men's families, former Duke lacrosse coach Mike Pressler ‰? -- who left under pressure not long after the story about the lacrosse case broke -- as well as Duke's men's and women's lacrosse programs.
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http://www.heraldsun.com/opinion/hsletters/
Gatewood's big leap
The Jan. 28 letter by Curtis Gatewood takes the rather remarkable view that the N.C. Bar Association's concerns about District Attorney Mike Nifong are a "conspiracy to disrupt justice," an "attack (on) the integrity of a prosecutor who is prosecuting a case which has the potential to challenge racism, classism, and sexism simultaneously."
Even more remarkable is the fact that Gatewood is a minister and an officer of the North Carolina Chapter of the NAACP.
The sacrificial lamb for Gatewood? A black female stripper with semen from four different males, but none from the accused, on her panties or in her body immediately after making the initial charge. His champion and hers? A prosecutor who, among other things, illegally withheld evidence favorable to the defense and who promoted his biases by early pronouncements to the press that the accused are "hooligans."
There has been remarkable progress in addressing racial injustice since the 1960s. And, although there is still much room for improvement, this will not occur if Gatewood's closing threat, a quote from Malcom X, is taken seriously: He wrote: "If black people can't get justice in the courts, we have to demand justice in the streets."
It is such irrational rhetoric as that that threatens the progress so many of us have fought for. Besides, we can't compensate Rev. Gatewood and his people for all the ills done in the past, such as giving them land and offering settlements, because it is not ours to give. It belongs, of course, to the Native Americans.
J. A. Davis
Chapel Hill
February 3, 2007
http://www.hendersonvillenews.com/apps/pbc.../1015/OPINION01
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How about the Duke scandal. Or should I say the Mike Nifong scandal. Nifong, Durham district attorney, knew that recent tests revealed no DNA match up between the Duke lacrosse players and the woman they were supposed to have raped.
Did Nifong release this information? Nope. Why? Nifong claims that given the volume of evidence in this case, he simply did not realize that he had failed to turn over the DNA results in question.
Folks, if you believe that, then I've got a bridge for sale conveniently located in Brooklyn.
The other disgusting thing about this whole scandal has been the overreaction of black protesters in the area. They trooped and stomped and shouted. They claimed this was just one more case of white persecution against blacks and the American justice system was skewed against blacks.
Blah. Blah. Blah.
Whitey this and whitey that. Ad Infi. Ad naus. You know, the "whitey"-word is as repellent as the "n"-word. When either side uses it, it is disgusting and only shows ignorance.
Now it turns out the stripper accusing the whites of rape was nothing more than a common whore. She had had sex with several different men prior to the party when the so-called crime was supposed to have taken place.
So now what?
The black protesters owe an apology, that's what. And District Attorney Mike Nifong ought to go to jail for a long time.
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http://www.dailyastorian.info/main.asp?Sec...067&TM=70438.17
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Power is called the ultimate aphrodisiac. It is also an intoxicant. That is one way to explain what happened in the recent case of Durham County District Attorney Michael Nifong. It is alleged that Nifong withheld DNA evidence in the Duke University lacrosse players case.
Another way to explain the Nifong incident is inexperience. Clatsop County District Attorney Josh Marquis says that the Nifong demonstrates the importance of seasoning. Marquis points out that Nifong had no prior experience as a trial lawyer.
"What Nifong has done is catastrophic," said Marquis. "The closest example is what Julie Leonhardt did." Leonhardt was Marquis' predecessor, and she obtained indictments against Astoria police without sufficient evidence. Leonhardt was disbarred, convicted and incarcerated.
Speaking to ABC News, Marquis said: "As prosecutors, we do not try our cases in the media. We do not file charges frivolously. ... Some of his actions have brought great disrepute on the profession of prosecution."
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http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satel...!columnists
Rape case here avoided the Duke circus treatment
RAY MCALLISTER
TIMES-DISPATCH COLUMNIST
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Wade Kizer
The college students' rape trial is now over.
You remember the one, from last year. Several students were accused of rape after an out-of-control party. The case involved a wealthy white university -- and issues of race. The accuser's testimony was shaky.
No, not the Duke University lacrosse team case.
The local case. Remember?
"It's interesting that while the timing of the two cases was pretty similar, the national media picked up on that [Duke] one and stayed on it continuously, whereas ours stayed under the radar," Henrico County Commonwealth's Attorney Wade Kizer said yesterday, "which I don't think was a bad thing."
If it meant avoiding the Duke treatment, call it a good thing.
Two Virginia Union University students were sentenced this week to 8½ and 8 years in prison, respectively, on charges of raping a University of Richmond student. Another pleaded guilty to lesser charges and was given four months in jail. A fourth was acquitted.
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http://www.thedurhamnews.com/101/story/32650.html
Published: Feb 03, 2007 12:30 AM
Modified: Feb 03, 2007 04:12 AM
Citizens speak out on state of Durham
Activists, power brokers and residents voice opinions ahead of mayor's address
Stanley B. Chambers Jr., Staff Writer
Mayor Bill Bell will give the annual State of the City address on Monday, a speech that usually touts Durham's achievements. In 2006, he focused primarily on violent crime within the city, which continues to be a problem although homicides are down.
This year's speech may have a few negative overtones, too, because some events will be hard to overlook: the city's image suffered in the aftermath of the Duke lacrosse controversy; a fire at the city's yard waste dump burned for 13 days, causing respiratory problems for neighbors and headaches for top city administrators; and finally, lead-test results of the city's drinking water failed to meet federal health standards. On the bright side, downtown revitalization is bringing new life and improved streets; more homes are being built across the city and old tobacco factories are being converted into homes, retail and office space.
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http://www.lincolntribune.com/modules/news...hp?storyid=5904
Jumping the Gun on Campus, Again
Date 2007/2/3 5:15:07 | Topic: Opinion
by John Hood
RALEIGH ? Here we go again.
It?s not been a year since the emergence of the now-infamous Duke University lacrosse case, when a woman alleged that a group of players at a party sexually assaulted her in a bathroom. Because the woman was black, a stripper, a N.C. Central University student, and of modest means, while the players were rich white kids, the story immediately went national. Other women reported rapes that month. Other women were reportedly raped in Durham last year. But because of race, sex, and class, the allegations at Duke attracted disproportionate attention. And activists, media commentators, and others immediately jumped to the conclusion that the allegations were well founded, despite the fact that they had little evidence to work with in the public domain (as it turned out, there was scant and contradictory evidence in private, too).
The point is, while some urged caution and patience, there was undisputedly a rush to judgment on the sexual-assault allegations ? a rush to judgment that has seriously damaged the credibility of prominent news outlets, columnists, commentators, and legal ?experts.? Perhaps the most-damaged institution is Duke itself. A large segment of the faculty didn?t just jump the gun. They turned their ideological blunderbusses on the supposed link between the supposed crime and a host of social ills, caring little who or what took collateral damage.
Although some leaders and commentators are trying admirably to avoid it, the process appears to be repeating itself just down I-40 in Greensboro, where five Guilford College football players now face charges of having beaten up three Palestinian students, one visiting from N.C. State. Caution? Patience? A due regard for truth and the reputation of young men whom the legal system must treat as innocent until proven guilty?
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http://www.cornellamerican.com/article/194/
The Cornell American
Lifestyles of the Rich and White
Editorial by: Andrew Gioia on February 3rd, 2007 at 8:58 AM
Despite all of the obvious wealth, status, power, and privilege these men hold, however, they still remain charged for kidnapping and sexual offense—apparently all it takes is one woman crying rape and a maniac district attorney to cancel out all of that whiteness.
For almost a year now, every time I thought the Duke lacrosse case couldn’t get any more ridiculous it consistently proved me wrong. From the very first false accusations of rape and kidnapping thrown at members of the team, the only things to come out of it have been trumped up race issues and shameless dishonesty, and all at the expense of three men who happened to be white.
What many in North Carolina wanted was the high-profile gang rape of a young, victimized black woman by privileged, racist white males to confirm what everyone suspects—blatant “prejudice and inequality in the society at large.” Fortunately for them, all it took was one woman crying “rape” and a district attorney, Mike Nifong, who would stop at nothing to advance his own career.
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http://www.theconservativevoice.com/article/22517.html
snip
In April 2006, threee members of Duke University's men's lacrosse team were accused of raping a black stripper, Crystal Gail Mangum, during a March 13 party held at an off-campus residence. Three players, David Evans, Reade Seligmann, and Collin Finnerty, were charged with forcible rape, first degree sexual offense, and kidnapping. The Duke Lacrosse program was immediately suspended for the remainder of the 2006 season. However, the three players and their families were about to get a lesson in racial politics and the workings of our criminal justice system that no political science course at Duke could ever have taught. But, as the saying goes, there was good news and there was bad news. First, the bad news: 2006 was an election year in North Carolina and Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong, a Democrat, was in the midst of a tough primary battle. He needed the support of Durham’s large African American community, and what better way to lock it up than to prosecute a high profile rape case in which the alleged perpetrators were three rich white college students and the victim was a single black mother, struggling to make ends meet? The good news was that the long media obsession with the disappearance of Alabama high school student Natalee Hollaway, in Aruba, had reached the saturation point and the 24-hour cable/satellite news networks were looking for a new story.
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http://www.webcommentary.com/asp/ShowArtic...orm&date=070203
WEBCommentary Contributor
Author: Michael J. Gaynor
Date: February 3, 2007
Duke Case: A Tale of Two Women
Stefanie Williams proves you don't have to be conservative to realize that the charges in the Duke case are wicked, the prosecution of Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and David Evans (aka the Duke Three) was wanton and the mainstream media went wild (United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas might call it "a hi tech lynching"). (But it helps.)
Amanda Marcotte proves that (1) the forces intent on reviling the Duke Three, their teammates and lacrosse players generally--regardless of the facts--have not given up and (2) Ms. Marcotte is John Edwards' kind of person.
Ms. Williams, a Maryland college student with liberal and feminist credentials as well as personnel knowledge of lacrosse, approached the Duke case sensibly, instead of sexually or racially.
On April 7, 2006, the University of Maryland's student newspaper published an article by Ms. Williams entitled "All Crimes Are Hate Crimes."
Ms. Williams:
"What distinguishes a crime from a hate crime? A hate crime is typically defined as a crime committed against a minority; for example, gay bashing, anti-Semitism or racial discrimination. I'm sure by now everyone has heard of the allegations being presented against Duke's men's lacrosse team. And yes, the media too have slandered this a hate crime. But in the midst of all this white privileged people vs. black underprivileged people, I have to wonder: Aren't all crimes acts of hate?
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When former state Agriculture Secretary Meg Scott Phipps got into trouble, but before she was convicted of criminal wrongdoing, Easley publicly called on her to resign.
Because she was independently elected, he couldn't fire her. But he made it clearly known that she needed to get out, and she did.
Who was to run for DA if Nifong didn't run?
I'm speechless
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In response to a question, Easley also said Nifong had handled the case poorly--but, added the governor, "you don't need me to tell you that."
The governor also severely criticized Nifong along the lines laid out by the state bar, focusing on the D.A.'s improper public statements and his decision to enter into an agreement with Dr. Brian Meehan to intentionally withhold exculpatory DNA evidence. He also said that Nifong's actions had harmed the image of North Carolina justice nationally.
An aside: doesn't it seem odd that, in making an important critique about the highest-profile case in years in his state, the governor delivers his remarks in New York?
-end excerpt-
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