Posted on 04/14/2007 9:10:54 AM PDT by freespirited
RALEIGH - An attorney for former Duke lacrosse player Collin Finnerty said Friday that the state attorney general made the right decision not to prosecute the woman who falsely accused Finnerty and two other players of raping her.
"I really don't feel in my gut any need to go charge Crystal Mangum," lawyer Wade Smith of Raleigh said. "I understand the philosophy that people shouldn't be able to just do this and get away with it. On the other hand, I'm not sure that it enhances our society any, our civilization any, to now bring the power down upon her."
Mangum, he said, "is just one human being." The reason the prosecution moved forward, he said, was because Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong failed to investigate the case. Smith said Nifong did not look into Mangum's history of alcohol abuse and psychological instability.
Smith made the remarks during a taping of the television program "Headline Saturday," a collaboration of The News & Observer and WRAL-TV. The program will air at 7:30 p.m. today on WRAL.
During the taping, Smith said the players could not accept Nifong's apology to them this week.
"I think that it's a very weak, tepid, Kool-Aid kind of apology, coming a year after these people started to endure the things they endured," he said. "It's just very difficult for them to accept it, to believe it's real. It doesn't seem real. It seems conditional."
He said it was too soon to know whether the players would file a civil lawsuit against Nifong, who faces ethics charges before the State Bar. "These people have got to get their breath and make a decision," Smith said.
Smith echoed Attorney General Roy Cooper, who said that Nifong rushed to prosecute despite a lack of evidence. He said he and other lawyers had met once with Nifong before the three players were indicted and before the district attorney's election.
He said the group encouraged Nifong to slow down because the rush to prosecute, as the election approached, appeared "unsavory."
"He was cordial. He was pleasant to us, courteous in every way," Smith said. "But he didn't listen. And he didn't stop."
Ridiculous. Alcohol abuse is not a defense to false accusation, especially when someone has a rap sheet like this gal. Isn't it obvious that she made up the story when the police told her they were taking her to the drunk tank? By being a quick thinking liar she got herself taken to the hospital instead.
False accusations should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, whatever the race of the accuser.
I so disagree. Women have got to be held accountable. These men almost went to prison.
If this chick has mental problems so serious that they don’t want to prosecute her, then she should not be in charge of raising her children. Take them away immediately. She is either sane enough to be prosecuted or insane enough to be in an institution.
She should be institutionalized to get some mental health and dry her out to rid her of her alcohol dependence and then give her some job training.....but Nifong needs to be punished HARSHLY!
That’s how it is today. Too many black people are not held to account. Why’s that? Because somehow, because of their “victimization” the rules don’t apply to them.
Baloney.
It is the man, Nifong and the police persons who directly aided his false charges, who “The Power” should be brought to bear in full against.
Said attorney should keep his mouth shut while the legal processes continue.
Nifong’s early statements were part of what got him in trouble. This attorney should take have learned from that.
Yeah, let’s have more people sent to prison on false accusations. That will really help the credibility of the legal system. And protect law-abiding citizens, as well.
Again, I'm not pinning medal on the woman; she lied and made a false crime report. But she was careful not to get an innocent black man arrested. Meanwhile, CGM accused three innocent men, and all 3 men were not only named, they were put through 13 months of hell (and legal expenses). And the end result for the two liars? The white liar has an arrest record, while the black liar gets her college expenses paid and no prosecution.
This double standard sickens me.
And this apparently was not the first time she had made false rape accusations.
She has a pattern of behavior. She either needs to be in a mental health facility or face the criminal justice system.
I kinda agree with Smith on this one. Nifong should have been investigating two crimes here—kidnapping/rape and a false allegation of kidnapping/rape. If Nifong had done that he could have prosecuted Magum with little fanfare. As it was, Nifong did what he did and perhaps coerced Magum into going along with his delusional charade. Who knows; that has to be investigated, and investigated correctly this time.
Nifong and the police persons who directly aided his false charges
TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 13 > § 241
§ 241. Conspiracy against rights
If two or more persons conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States.............They shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both;
CC&E
You know, I thought this guy’s name (wade smith) sounded familiar. Finally it dawned on me. This is the former law partner of one John Edwards.
Now it makes sense I guess. Miss Crystal is from the other America so she gets a pass.
People haven’t spoken about what the really BIG story here is...and that’s false claims of rape where the women’s word is taken as gospel. Many men are wrongly imprisoned and/or have had their lives ruined because of the mental instability of some women. It’s an issue that needs to be openly spoken about.
She gets a pass because she’s black and a loser and they don’t want to seem like they are piling on.....HOWEVER...she is really no different than what Al Charlatan Sharpton did with Tawana Brawley!!
Give her some job training? WHY? Why would we owe her that luxury? If she wants to be trained in a specific field, she should have to pay for that type of education, same as the rest of society. We don’t owe her anything... she and Nifong already wasted the taxpayer’s money enough.
Uhm, it's not a "philosophy," Mr. so-called Attorney. It's a LAW.
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