Herald-Sun
Bell:City showed 'true grit' in 2006
by William F. West
Durham Mayor Bill Bell spoke out Sunday on the Duke lacrosse case, expressing compassion for the parents of the three players accused of sexual assault and kidnapping, and saying he believed university President Richard Brodhead and the city have handled the situation well.
"This was an incident that produced a lot of Monday morning quarterbacks," Bell said in remarks at Duke University's 18th annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration service.
Speaking to a mass audience at Duke Chapel, the mayor said he believed the ceremony honoring the late civil-rights leader was an appropriate time to comment on the lacrosse situation.
Bell was quick to show his support for Brodhead, saying, "In my opinion, he has made the right decisions at the right time, given the information that he had."
David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann remain charged with kidnapping and sexual assaulting an exotic dancer at a March 2006 lacrosse team party. The three men have strongly maintained their innocence.
Brodhead became a target of much criticism after canceling the nationally ranked lacrosse team's 2006 season, while others praised him for showing restraint about the criminal cases.
Brodhead started speaking up after the rape charges against Evans, Finnerty and Seligmann were dropped last month.
He called for Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong to step aside as the prosecutor and added that Nifong needed to explain his conduct.
On Friday, Nifong recused himself after weeks of increasing criticism for his alleged mishandling of the probe, including allegedly inflammatory public remarks after the incident, as well as the accuser's constantly changing stories. State Attorney General Roy Cooper on Saturday announced he would turn the probe over to a pair of his veteran prosecutors.
Although Bell didn't speak Sunday about Nifong's handling of the case or the specifics of the accusations and the denials, he emphasized the need for a fair process.
He said that "in our system of justice, a person is presumed innocent until proven otherwise" and "empathized" for the parents involved on both sides.
Bell went on to use the theme of Sunday's event at Duke Chapel, "Come to the Table," to support his belief that Durham is a city that prides itself on racial diversity. At the same, he did rebut critics who believe the city's demographics are a sign of racism.
"Don't get me wrong," he said. "We have our differences. But in Durham, we struggle openly, in a healthy microcosm of citizenship and democracy."
Bell said he reflected on the trials and tribulations of last year in Durham and believed the city faced the challenges and controversies and showed "true grit" in doing so.
Bell, emphasizing King's message of unity, said that regardless of one's attitude, economic class, education, lifestyle, sexual preference or spiritual practices, "You have a home in Durham."
Durham, he said, is a community that "works openly, pinpoints its problems and finds workable solutions" and is a community that "comes to the table."
"I think he's absolutely right that we have to come together in what we do and how we solve our problems," said Dennis Woods of Raleigh, a computer technician.
Gerard A. Morrison of Raleigh, who works in job development, also said he believed Bell's remarks were timely.
But Morrison added, "I think that was a barometer of the temperature of what's going on in America right now, too -- the same with the O.J. [Simpson] case, the same with this."
From Duke Basketball Report:
60 Minutes Eviscerates Nifong, Again 1/15/2007
The previous 60 Minutes piece on the Duke lacrosse case was hard-hitting, but Sunday's was devastating to Mike Nifong and the case he built.
Among the new information revealed:
Brian Meehan, of DNA Security, made it clear that there was no question that Nifong absolutely understood there was exculpatory evidence, saying that he told the prosecutor about the lack of DNA from any lacrosse players, and the DNA found from other men. Nifong is obliged under state law to turn over exculpatory evidence.
The alleged victim (AV) has more extensive psychological problems than has been previously revealed.
The parents of the accused lacrosse players are infuriated and are clearly considering ways to punish Mike Nifong for what they believe to be outrageous abuses.
Duke's James Coleman believes Nifong may have committed obstruction of justice.
President Brodhead was briefly interviewed. He defended the cancellation of the lacrosse season last spring, arguing that with such a cloud over the program that it was not the time to take the field (the same argument he made at the time). He also defended Duke's decision to invite Reade Seligmann and Colin Finnerty back to school, an offer their parents suggested they weren't sure it was wise to accept, given Nifong's re-election and the treatment Durham police have given Duke students.
For Duke, the episode was, to borrow a phrase, a social disaster. It wasn't any better for Durham or the state of North Carolina.
After the lacrosse case, the faked lead tests, the burning landfill, the various police shenanigans, Durham's reputation has taken a major hit.
North Carolina's judicial system has had a harsh light shone on it, and what it's shown is not pretty: a prosecutor pursuing conviction at all costs and utterly disregarding any evidence contrary to his goal.
The case has become a significant controversy in the state, with members of the legislature suggesting that the state take over supervision of prosecutors (currently the bar handles it).
It may well be a wildcard election issue in the state in 2008, with no way to predict its impact.
For Duke, it's going to be an ongoing problem. Brodhead is in a difficult position, because no matter what he does, he's going to offend various constituencies. We can empathize. A modern university is to a certain extent anarchic, and no president, no matter how smart, strong, or capable, can truly be said to run it, other than fundraising and planning facilities or programs. Brodhead cannot control the faculty, nor, generally speaking should he try, except in exceptional circumstances.
But the entire enterprise rests on consistently recruiting new students, and for parents who may not be familiar with Duke, or Durham, the 60 Minutes piece certainly forms a frightening image of what is, basically, a very nice town, albeit a town with issues. Duke has a lot to overcome as a result of this case.
One thing which Brodhead could do, it seems to us, which everyone should agree with, is to make it clear to the city of Durham that Duke students must be treated the same as any other citizens and that Duke will not tolerate any further mistreatment of its students. Certainly parents of students (present and prospective) would wish this to be so.
In the extraordinary, this refers to the defendants in the lacrosse case, who have been handy pinyatas for Nifong to blindly smack around and to knock goodies out of for his various constituencies.
But in a broader sense, Durham police have quite frankly discriminated against Duke students as a class, which is a violation of their civil rights. In particular, Sgt. Mark Gottlieb has arrested a significantly higher number of Duke students than his peers, with some students reporting threats and violence.
Brodhead, like any university president, has limited control over his faculty, and for good reason. But he can certainly address the way the city of Durham and the state of North Carolina have treated Duke students. He has a number of options, from simply advocating for reform, to threatening to limit Duke's cooperation with the city on a number of things, to withholding taxes in protest, to suing the city for violating the civil rights of Duke students.
There is a wide gap between Duke and Durham, as this case has made painfully clear. And as Professor James Coleman has made clear, if you can do what Nifong did to rich people, it's ten times easier to do it to poor ones. Brodhead has an opportunity to let Duke serve Durham, and to build bridges, by having Duke help keep the justice system honest. Perhaps law students could organize themselves and monitor the district attorney's office for any further abuses, particularly against people who can't fight back as the lacrosse families have done.
He could, when the time is right, even advocate for major reform in the state system of justice. Reform is long overdue, and would be one of the few positives to come out of this whole mess. It would give Duke a chance to show some leadership on a very important issue, and given the level of attention the case has drawn, someone needs to step up and address the need for reform.
That would be an impressive legacy for any university president.
Duke did not do right. What they did was NOT deal with the situation as it was. They fueled the lie that the boys were "guilty" just so their campus wouldn't get trashed by the usual "we are the world" mobs. Duke sacrificed fairness and honor on the "reality" alter of saving themselves.
The Duke Gang of 88 exposed how elated and excited they were to have an "opportunity" to present their wares: their wares of racism, classism, and elitist marxist snobbery.
Have you ever noticed that lefties seem to have very nebulous job descriptions?
So Bell thinks they handled it well? How about when the DPD went door to door in the very beginning with petitions that stated AS FACT that a rape HAD occurred in that house?
How about when Nifong met with the Black Panthers and "shared" his evidence with them.
FGS, Duke let the BP ON CAMPUS!!!
Shameful.
Yep, Durham mayor Bell has his point. In Durham black or white, they hate Duke students apparently. So they have the DPD target them.
Durham Mayor Bill Bell
---screwing Duke University
Durham Mayor Bill Bell
---screwing Duke University
Durham Mayor Bill Bell
---screwing Duke University
Durham Mayor Bill Bell
---screwing Duke University
Durham Mayor Bill Bell
---screwing Duke University