Posted on 04/12/2007 12:47:12 PM PDT by Doctor Raoul
Mike Nifong, the North Carolina prosecutor who pursued a case of rape and kidnapping against three Duke University lacrosse players, has been found to have been reckless and deceitful in the discharge of his duties according to the state's attorney general. He abused the power the people of Durham granted him. Based on the public record of what he did in this case, he may well be properly disbarred.
The accuser in this case has been shown to be either a vicious liar or a troubled fantasist.
The three young men who she accused are truly innocent of the charges brought against them according to the North Carolina Attorney General and the investigation led by his office.
But perhaps the outpouring of sympathy for Reade Seligman, Collin Finnerty and David Evans is just a bit misplaced. They got special treatment in the justice system--both negative and positive. The conduct of the lacrosse team of which they were members was not admirable on the night of the incident, to say the least. And there are so many other victims of prosecutorial misconduct in this country who never get the high-priced legal representation and the high-profile, high-minded vindication that it strikes me as just a bit unseemly to heap praise and sympathy on these particular men.
So as we rightly cover the vindication of these young men and focus on the genuine ordeal they have endured, let us also remember a few other things:
They were part of a team that collected $800 to purchase the time of two strippers.
Their team specifically requested at least one white stripper.
During the incident, racial epithets were hurled at the strippers.
Colin Finnerty was charged with assault in Washington, DC, in 2005.
The young men were able to retain a battery of top-flight attorneys, investigators and media strategists.
As students of Duke University or other elite institutions, these young men will get on with their privileged lives. There is a very large cushion under them--the one that softens the blows of life for most of those who go to Duke or similar places, and have connections through family, friends and school to all kinds of prospects for success. They are very differently situated in life from, say, the young women of the Rutgers University women's basketball team.
And, MOST IMPORTANT, there are many, many cases of prosecutorial misconduct across our country every year. The media covers few, if any, of these cases. Most of the victims in these cases are poor or minority Americans--or both. I would hate to say the color of their skin is one reason journalists do not focus on these victims of injustices perpetrated by police and prosecutors, but I am afraid if we ask ourselves the question honestly, we would likely find that it is. Look for a moment at what James Giles endured:
I hope we all keep him and others in mind, as we cover the celebrated exoneration of well-heeled, well-connected, well-publicized young men whose conduct, while not illegal, was not entirely admirable, either. They aren't heroes. They aren't boys. They are young men who were victimized by a reckless prosecutor--and had the resources the fight him off.
April 12, 2007
The whole point of the article was to carry on the class war.
If Michael Kinsley and David Gregory had a child, it would look (and think) like Terry Moran.
They were part of a team that collected $800 to purchase the time of two strippers.
Gee, Terry... have you ever been at a party where someone hired a stripper? A bachelor party? A "gentlemen's club"?
Their team specifically requested at least one white stripper.
Generally, Terry, at a strip club one gets to give money to the stripper of your choice. Are you suggesting there should be Affirmative Action for strippers and those who pay should not have "Choice"?
During the incident, racial epithets were hurled at the strippers.
Really, Terry? Were you there? Can the testimony of these strippers be trusted in light of the DA's decision not to prosecute? Or do you wish it were true?
Colin Finnerty was charged with assault in Washington, DC, in 2005.
Well, Terry... was he convicted? What ever happened to "Innocent until proven Guilty"? I guess this doesn't apply to affluent college students.
The young men were able to retain a battery of top-flight attorneys, investigators and media strategists.
Would it have been better for them to be poor and unable to purchase such professionals... and end up in jail for crimes they didn't commit? That certainly wouldn't have been a sexy enough story for you to flog for the last year. Seems to me you owe these young men a debt of gratitude for not lying down and accepting the false accusations of people like you.
Oh that’s great! LOL!
I wonder if Terry can say “PUTZ”, as that is what he is. He must have a Mama somewhere, and she should beat some sense into her boy (I’m not sure what he is, but I do know he ain’t much of a man!) What a waste of oxygen this wacko is!
I LIKE WHITE STRIPPERS !!!!
Does that make me a racist?
Is that a hate crime?
More libs trying to cover their ass.
And those women are on full scholarship and going to school at a better school than chances are they wouldn’t be at otherwise because of money.
Most women college athletes do have bright futures. And they are in it for the love of the game.
A few of them might have WNBA or Europe futures as well.
(a note on that women are better off money wise playing in Europe. My sister in law got several offers out of college but a knee injury kept her out)
Ditto. An objective media (which we don’t have) would ask: “What about the Duke professors who declared the defendents guilty without a trial? Why did people who are supposedly very smart jump to a rash conclusion and condemn the students? Are the professors even qualified to teach, given their lack of intellectual honesty and objectivity?”
This is OUTRAGEOUS.
He needs to be fired for this!
Take a look at this, my DukeLax friends!!!
When race baiting doesn’t quite work...
Class war 101: by professor Terry Moran.
So does this mean you have to be dirt poor to be telling the truth? Or doesn’t it matter?
I’m glad this person has a column in which to say these things; the gravel in my bird’s cage is too small to write this stuff on.
Predictable; some yahoo would say it doesn’t matter because they are “rich.”
The faculty at Duke owes those young men an apology, but they won’t give one because they are small people. It’s funny how myopia affects the brain; you never are responsible for anything and you never have to say you’re sorry.
OMG! We’ll have to seek him out on our next trip -— just for the purpose of slapping the “S” out of him.
?
There is no evidence to back up either one of those statements.
> No, they deserve sympathy because they were victims of a
> run-amok DA. They were lucky they could defend themselves.
Certainly. And they deserve sympathy for being out a million bucks. And no one but a class warring socialist pr*** would begrudge them the million bucks to defend themselves.
BUT, isn’t the author at least right that those people who have suffered **actual prison time** as a result of prosecutorial misconduct deserve even more sympathy?
When WAS the last time Texas, for example, disbarred a prosecutor for misconduct in chasing and jailing people like the guys in this article?
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-exonerate9apr09,0,2045894,full.story?coll=la-home-headlines
We need to find this SOBs email address.
He is right about one thing.
These boys were not behaving well but hiring strippers isn’t against the law.
And they are certainly not heroes. They are victims not heroes.
Also
Just because it turns out they had the wrong guy doesn’t mean it was misconduct. Mistakes are made.
This was clearly a case when anyone with an IQ higher than your average treestumps could tell they were innocent.
But innocent mistakes are made.
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