'Innocent' declaration angers local activists [Duke Lacrosse Hoax]

DURHAM -- State Attorney General Roy Cooper "wrote off a whole section of Durham" last week when he declared three former Duke University lacrosse players "innocent" of accusations they sexually assaulted and kidnapped a woman, community activist Theresa El-Amin told a group of about 15 supporters of their discredited accuser Monday.

At a meeting at The Know Bookstore And Cultural Center at 2520 Fayetteville St., El-Amin and fellow activists Victoria Peterson and Lavonia Allison aired their opposition to Cooper's vindication of the former Duke players.

Peterson, an ardent supporter of the exonerated players' accuser, said Cooper circumvented the justice system when he declared the former defendants innocent on all counts.

"I don't really care what you think, if you think that the girl was lying or telling the truth, but what happened to the judicial system we have in this country where the jury is the only one who can say if someone is innocent?" Peterson said. "If he thought there wasn't enough evidence, he could dismiss the charges, but this man [Cooper] took it a step further, he said 'We believe these three are innocent.' "

"People on death row get exonerated [all the time] and did you ever hear an attorney general come out and say [the exonerated individual] is innocent? It's a scandal," El-Amin said.

Community member Beverly Jenkins said the fact that the accuser had not been charged with making false accusations proves Cooper has something to hide.

Activist Dannette Sharpley, who is working with El-Amin to plan an April 28 march against sexual violence, said the charges were dismissed because society undervalues women of color and women who work as exotic dancers and strippers.

"To them, this woman was unrape-able. [To them] she asked for it. [To them] she doesn't dignify the process. That's why they're 'innocent,' " Sharpley said.

Peterson said she felt the African American community in Durham failed to rally around the accuser because the woman was employed as a stripper.

El-Amin, who said she wanted to get Durham's black churches to offer the accuser financial support, got about five people to agree to help her provide the accuser with food and rent money. She added that she was not in contact with the victim but hoped she would be soon.

Jesse Jackson to Pay False Accuser’s College Tuition

April 14, 2007

Reverend Jesse Jackson said that his Rainbow/Push Coalition will pay the college tuition for a black stripper who made false rape allegations against white members of Duke University’s men’s lacrosse team. Jackson said that his organization is committed to making sure the 27-year-old divorced mother of two will be able to “convert her considerable creative skills into a more lucrative and less demeaning career.”

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper has declared all charges against the Duke players will be dropped. DNA tests on all 46 of the lacrosse team’s white members failed to match any evidence taken from their accuser. Cooper characterized Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong, the originator of the case, as a “rogue prosecutor.”

Nifong defended his actions, saying he based his case on both history and instinct. “Look, white men have been raping black women for centuries,” Nifong explained. “If President Jefferson did it, why should I doubt that these college punks would do it? Why, I was tempted to do it myself when she reenacted the dance she did at the team’s party. My gut told me they were guilty. I just didn’t have enough time to produce the evidence I needed to complete the case.”

Jackson said that the “rush to exonerate the innocent has caused nearly everyone to overlook this woman’s tremendous talent.” “Despite considerable exonerating forensic evidence, this woman was able to convince a white prosecutor to accept her allegations and prosecute these white boys,” Jackson pointed out. “She also got 88 members of the Duke faculty to make a public statement condemning the lacrosse team. I’m telling you, she’s one persuasive mutha. There’s a future for her in my orgasm if she wants it.”

The woman, Crystal Gail Mangum (alias: Janette Rivers), is currently a student at North Carolina Central University. Mangum says she appreciates Rev. Jackson’s tuition offer and hopes to use it to pursue a major in “the performing arts or maybe creative writing.”