Posted on 04/19/2006 4:25:04 AM PDT by Perdogg
DURHAM -- Community leaders and NAACP activists welcomed the news that Durham police early Tuesday had arrested and charged two Duke University lacrosse players in connection with an alleged gang rape, saying the move finally would allow the legal process to move forward.
At a morning news conference, state NAACP President William Barber said his group would monitor the work of investigators and prosecutors as the case against lacrosse players Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann moves forward.
Barber said the allegations against the pair "suggest a downward spiral from privilege and advantage to decadence and deviance."
Both Finnerty and Seligmann were charged with first-degree rape, first-degree sex offense and kidnapping. They were released under $400,000 bonds.
But Barber echoed other community leaders in saying that the important thing now is to ensure that the players -- and their accuser -- receive a fair hearing from the court system.
"This case cannot be decided between the front page and the sports page of a newspaper," Barber said. "It must be decided, after careful presentation of all the evidence, by a judge and jury."
Other National Association for the Advancement of Colored People activists said they believe Durham authorities had handled the initial investigation well.
Duke officials were slow to respond, said Al McSurely, a Chapel Hill lawyer who serves as the state NAACP's legal redress chairman.
"[But] my sense is that the district attorney and his investigative arm, the Police Department, have done a good job," he said.
Others disagreed.
John Bennett, a local minister who's organized weekly protests outside the North Buchanan Boulevard house that was the scene of the alleged rape, said he believes the arrests came weeks later than they would have with black suspects.
But like Barber and several members of the City Council, Bennett said people have to let the legal process play out.
"We're glad that it's at least in the hands of the law, where the proper procedures can take place," he said.
The important thing now, he said, is to ensure that "the trial is fair, that they're honest, and that the law would be just on both sides."
Another minister and activist, Melvin Whitley, joined Bennett in criticizing the pace of the lacrosse investigation.
"The search for the truth was hindered by the desire to do damage control," said Whitley.
Though critical of the Police Department's initial delay in obtaining a search warrant for the house, McSurely said he was satisfied with the pace of the investigation.
"Nobody wanted any mistakes to be made," said McSurely, who will join N.C. Central University law professor Irving Joyner in organizing an NAACP panel to monitor the subsequent proceedings in the case. "If I were the DA, I wouldn't have arrested anybody as long as [players] were cooperating."
Meanwhile, elected officials and neighborhood activists said they doubted the arrests would ease the pressure and tensions that have built over the past month.
"The No. 1 feeling is overall sadness for everyone here," said City Councilman Eugene Brown, who lives at 410 N. Buchanan Blvd. "There are no winners in this. Hopefully the only winner will be justice, however long that will take."
Brown and fellow Councilman Mike Woodard both said Durham's image has taken a hit because of the incident, and that Duke officials have to take a bigger role in curbing an off-campus party scene that many neighbors of the campus believe contributed to whatever happened inside 610 N. Buchanan Blvd.
Woodard, who's also a Duke administrator, said the university has to insist that students, whether on campus or off, uphold an Honor Code that demands that they conduct themselves "responsibly and honorably" at all times.
Whatever occurred the night of March 13-14 at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd. surely violated that standard, Woodard said.
Councilman Thomas Stith said the city has handled a trying situation well.
"We've come together as a community, and held frank discussions about the challenges that face our community," he said. "I'm sure that dialogue will continue as we in our community continue to heal from this ordeal."
The Buchanan Boulevard house lies in the Trinity Park neighborhood near East Campus. Neighborhood association president John Dagenhart said the arrests highlighted for many residents of his neighborhoods a sense that they, Duke officials and the city had missed chances to address a festering problem.
"It's sad that it had to come to this," Dagenhart said. "I wish there had been a way we could have gotten a handle on past situations in some way [so] we could have avoided this. I think we were doing all we could do. It's sad that this situation had to develop the way it did. Now it's going to have to play out."
Dagenhart echoed Brown in saying that the incident will do lasting damage, especially to the people most directly involved.
"If these young men fight this and they win it, they'll forever have this hanging over their heads," he said. "And the young lady, however this turns out, she has things to deal with the rest of her life also. There are no winners in this."
NCCU Chancellor James Ammons said he and his staff also would "do everything we can to support" the 27-year-old alleged victim, who's a student there.
Ammons said a student group -- VOX: Voices of Planned Parenthood of NCCU -- intends to establish a fund to support students victimized by sexual assault or violence.
Like the NAACP and city officials, the chancellor stressed the need to let the legal process unfold.
"We urge students and the community to be patient and to let the judicial system resolve this matter," he said.
The mood of students interviewed Tuesday on campus was unsettled. It ranged from relief about the arrests, to resentment that the charges took so long, to frustration that the two accused players quickly were released on bond.
Many students said the arrests strengthened their belief that a rape occurred and that justice finally -- some said belatedly -- was being served.
Some said that, until Tuesday, they didn't think charges would be filed at all.
"I think it proves something was done and she [the alleged victim] didn't lie," said sophomore Christine Anyanwu. "When these two guys were charged, I think it made people relax a bit because they know the case will still go on."
Freshman Nakeesha Massey said many students think the arrests would have been made much earlier if racial roles had been reversed. The alleged victim is black; the alleged attackers are white.
"If she was white, they probably would have arrested the black boys by now," Massey said.
The issue, she said, is more social than racial.
"It'd be about the school she was from," she said.
Several students were unhappy the suspects were already out on bond.
"They haven't gotten punished," Anyanwu said.
"For them to be out on bond now is crazy," said sophomore Matthias Copeland. "It's not safe."
At Duke, president Richard Brodhead issued a statement urging people to allow the legal process to run its course.
"Many lives have been touched by this case," he said. "It has brought pain and suffering to all involved, and it deeply challenges our ability to balance judgment with compassion. As the legal process unfolds, we must hope that it brings a speedy resolution and that the truth of the events is fully clarified.
Duke students who know the accused lacrosse players spoke out in support of them.
Sophomore Emily Wygod wore a shirt with "innocent" written in blue marker on the back to support Reade Seligmann.
In a nearby window a sign read, "We support Duke LAX," the abbreviation for lacrosse, and "Innocent until proven guilty."
If she is lying and it all comes out, either we will NEVER hear about it, or it will be a 2 line blip buried on pg. 9 of your local fishwrapper.
I understand one of the arrested is the son of an NYFD member. Hardly the stuff of privledge. But, alas, still a white guy and that trumps all.
ping
That guy drives me nuts and I've heard him state that several times.
What, she was supposed to be raped by all 47 of them in the bathroom??
Probably give them free abortions too. Great folks.
I agree with talk show host Dennis Prager that a false accusation of rape is as heinous a crime as rape itself.
Brother Jesse needs to talk to all the Black athletes that have White, Blond, Trophy wives.
>>If the alleged victim is lying, there is going to be a lot of egg on a lot of peoples' faces.
You think this crowd cares? They'll just be on to the next "bash whitey" opportunity.
Like that egg all over Al Sharpton's face?
Outside the stats showing blacks disproportionately committing more crimes (oh those racist cops, racist system); a story.
In the San Francisco Area of which I am from, something as simple as driving. Finding myself muttering "dumb clucks" at bad drivers. Most were white, Asian or Latino.
Since I've moved here to NC, I realized I was uttering the same "dumb cluck" comment in re bad drivers of cars who were black.
I asked myself: Am I acquiring a "racial attitude"? Did some digging into stats.
Bottomline, there are SO MANY MORE BLACKS here in NC than in the SF Bay Area. Therefore, hardly surprising I'd be running across more black "bad" drivers.
Every single night on the news? More black perps than white perps.
Is this institutional racism, or statistically, are there more just "bad" people who commit crimes and also happen to be black in skin color.
This, was a highly relevatory thought to me.
I really despise how the snapshot image of "racism" everywhere happens via MSM -- as tho the same demographic composites exist EVERYWHERE throughout the US.
They don't.
Go to Utah, Idaho -- mostly white perps on the news.
This is how MSM has been doing their aiding and abetting of the "screen shot" image of "mass racism by whites" for over 30 years. Show what goes down in a town like Durham or Atlanta.. and assert that blacks are always arrested "MORE" than whites; when the demographic stats SHOW there are more of "skin color X" in that specific location.
The libbies use quotas based on statistical "demographics" in order to support the use of preferential affirmative action policies. But when it comes to certain other issues, oh my.....
Does their inconsistency show or what? Balderdash.
Heh. These idiots aren't doing much for the value of an NCCU diploma.
At a morning news conference, state NAACP President William Barber said his group would monitor the work of race-bait and exploit "white guilt" of race-pandering investigators and prosecutors as the case against lacrosse players Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann moves forward.
But Barber echoed other community leaders in saying that the important thing now is to ensure that the players -- and their accuser -- receive a fair hearing racially-motivated conviction from the court system.
Other National Association for the Advancement of Colored People activists said they believe Durham authorities had handled the initial investigation well are pleased that the D.A. is buying votes in a way that advances their agenda.
etc...
***This is Nifong's first race***
I dont live there but I hope the voters make it his last.
I personally think this whole thing is a farce. I dont believe for one minute that she was raped at that party.
I would bet a prety sum that if she is lying she will never be prosecuted for it.
One of the boys was not at the party at all. The other guy has electronic receipt from a nearby bank showing a bank transaction at the time that the alleged rape was happening.
They will never admit she was lying, even if she says she was. They will come up with some other excuse.
"They will never admit she was lying, even if she says she was. They will come up with some other excuse."
Why not have the accuser submit to a polygraph if she is telling the truth? My understanding is that the players offered to take polygraphs.
They did request white strippers, didn't they?, and for whatever reason they didn't get 'em. Knowing what they know now, I'm sure they would've refused to let Crystal & Kim in the house once they saw a "wrong order" was sent to them.
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