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
You'd think he was talking about the liberal media like himself.
YGBSM. This is why I don’t watch the news or read the MSM anymore. That this IDIOT can make a living writing his trash is a sad statement against our country.
Steven Pargones still gets confronted by people who want to believe he rapes Tawana Brawley. This will always follow them and no one will remember her, until she does it for the third time.
I see, so it would have been better for the “Dukies” if they DID NOT have the resources to fight off Mr. Nifong?
Thank you, Terry Moran, for a sterling piece of pretzel logic.
He was doing fine until he started talking about “privilege and wealth”.
They were targeted in a race- and class- motivated false accusation. Their other behavior be damned. The stripper was getting a pass for being a stripper while she was widely hailed as a victim, so why don't these boys get a pass for being jerks?
As for having the resources to fight off the prosecutor, it's a bloody good thing they did, or they'd be the target of this writer's venom in quite another way, as convicted rapists.
The guy is a racist.
Oh wait, whites don’t qualify as a race worthy of PC protections. Nevermind. :)
Terry Moran was charged with felony stupidity in Washington, DC, in 2000, 20001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007.
I heard that each of them paid up to a million in legal fees. So will they get reimbursed? No, they deserve sympathy because they were victims of a run-amok DA. They were lucky they could defend themselves.
Uh, does terry realize those young women where insulted by a liberal, not charged with a major felony?
Exactly. David is such a sissy boy; he’s an embarrassment to the males in this country.
“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”
“Hate to say” - you just did!!
Why is it liberals who always say they don’t focus on race by always bringing it up in these type of stories?
I don’t feel sorry for the “Dukies”, cuz my spidey sense tells me they’ll own a good portion of Durham before long.
Actually, I feel sorry for the idiot who wrote this column.
What’s his name, “Moron”?
Castration with a dull knife would be a fair reward to the dolt who wrote this piece. Of course the well off have more money, but how is it justified to force them to spend that money to fight false accusations.
I hope these three young men take every penny they can get from each institution that bears any blame for this debacle.
So, is this how the “liberal” white racists can continue to “blame whitey” in this case?
2) Their team specifically requested at least one white stripper.
3) During the incident, racial epithets were hurled at the strippers.
Oh, yeah don't feel sorry for them...
#1 - perfectly legal. #2 - We (yes, even flaming liberals) are more comfortable with people who look similar to us. Not a crime. #3 - Where is this substantiated?
#1, #2, and #3 do not mean threaten to put them in jail for tens of years and falsely accuse them of a crime that they didn't commit, making them spend tens of thousands of dollars on lawyers to defend themselves. Plus have a large section of the morons "teaching" at Duke come out wanting the innocent guy's heads. And many of the emotion driven students as well. What a disgusting bunch of people - the school administration, staff, students, and local authorities.
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