'Rape' Case?

[R. Richard]

This is a follow up to the Duke lacrosse 'rape' case. Comment?

Committee: Duke prosecutor broke rules

RALEIGH, N.C. - Mike Nifong broke several rules of professional conduct during his disastrous prosecution of three Duke University lacrosse players falsely accused of rape, a disciplinary committee ruled Saturday.

The committee must now decide if the longtime prosecutor in Durham County, who has already pledged to resign his post as district attorney, should be stripped of his law license.

The North Carolina State Bar charged Nifong with breaking several rules of professional conduct, including lying to both the court and bar investigators and withholding critical DNA test results from the players' defense attorneys.

This is a breaking news update. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Mike Nifong made "multiple, egregious mistakes" as he pursued charges against three Duke University lacrosse players falsely accused of rape, but not intentionally, his attorney said Saturday in closing statements at the prosecutor's ethics trial.

"It didn't click," Nifong's attorney, Dudley Witt, said as he tried to explain one of his client's errors. "His mind is just his mind. That's the way it works. It just didn't click."

The state bar prosecutor, however, said in his closing that Nifong was a "minister of injustice" who wove "a web of deception."

The North Carolina State Bar charged Nifong, a prosecutor in Durham County for his entire three-decade legal career, with breaking several rules of professional conduct, including lying to both the court and bar investigators and withholding critical DNA test results from the players' defense attorneys.

"How can you possibly explain that away?" disciplinary committee chairman F. Lane Williamson asked about the withheld rest results as he repeatedly interrupted Witt.

"It wasn't just one little oversight," Williamson said later. "This was conduct over an extended period in a very high-profile case."

The DNA tests found genetic material from several males in the accuser's underwear and body, but none from any lacrosse player. Aware of those results, Nifong still pressed ahead with the case and won indictments against Dave Evans, Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty.

State prosecutors later concluded the three players were "innocent" victims of a rogue prosecutor's "tragic rush to accuse."

The committee began deliberations around 12:30 p.m., and didn't expect to reach a verdict before 2 p.m.

Bar prosecutor Douglas Brocker told the disciplinary committee that as Nifong investigated the allegations that a stripper was raped and beaten at a March 2006 party thrown by Duke's lacrosse team, he charged "forward toward condemnation and injustice," weaving a "web of deception that has continued up through this hearing."

"Mr. Nifong did not act as a minister of justice, but as a minister of injustice," Brocker said.

If he is convicted, the disciplinary hearing committee could suspend Nifong's law license or take it away entirely.

Nifong told the panel hearing the case Friday that he would resign from his post as Durham County district attorney over his handling of the rape charges.

"It has become increasingly apparent, during the course of this week, in some ways that it might not have been before, that my presence as the district attorney in Durham is not furthering the cause of justice," Nifong said.

Nifong acknowledged Friday he was likely to be punished by the disciplinary committee for maybe getting "carried away a little bit" when talking publicly about the case. He said he regretted some of his statements, including a confident proclamation that he wouldn't allow Durham to become known for "a bunch of lacrosse players from Duke raping a black girl."

Brocker pounded on such comments Saturday, saying Nifong had to have known he was making improper comments to reporters.

"They (were) clearly going to cause public condemnation of anybody who was charged," Brocker said.

Brocker also focused on when Nifong learned about the full extent of the DNA test results and when he shared that information with the defense.

Nifong gave defense attorneys an initial report on the DNA testing in May 2006 that said private lab DNA Security Inc. had been unable to find a conclusive match between the accuser and any lacrosse players.

But lab director Brian Meehan testified this week that he told Nifong as early as April 10, 2006 — a week before Seligmann and Finnerty were indicted — about the more detailed test results.

"The positive results were the truth," Brocker said. "They just weren't the whole truth."

Nifong testified that when he gave the defense the initial report, he "believed at the time that I had given them everything."

The players' attorneys have pledged to seek criminal contempt charges next week in Durham.

 

[S-Des]

I don't see the point, RR. Everyone who wasn't completely biased commented the first couple of times, and we have been proven 100% right. The people *cough cough* who believe their personal bias is enough to judge individuals they've never met (and who will never understand that is the exact perspective all bigots use to justify their hate) will never be able to see how ridiculous they are. There's just no point. Nifong admitted he was wrong, it's been testified to that he had doubts (even while he was calling the students "hooligans" on TV), he admitted he didn't give DNA evidence to the defense (of course, he just didn't realize that he failed to give over evidence that cleared the suspects ), and he's going to resign (and probably lose his license). All of this will mean nothing to the people who swore that the kids were guilty, even if it couldn't be proven. They'll point to how the three students still graduated, got jobs, and will probably sue Durham county. That will make maliciously prosecuting three innocent people all right.

No hypocracy whatsoever.....

 

[R. Richard]

I don't see the point, RR. Everyone who wasn't completely biased commented the first couple of times, and we have been proven 100% right. The people *cough cough* who believe their personal bias is enough to judge individuals they've never met (and who will never understand that is the exact perspective all bigots use to justify their hate) will never be able to see how ridiculous they are. There's just no point. Nifong admitted he was wrong, it's been testified to that he had doubts (even while he was calling the students "hooligans" on TV), he admitted he didn't give DNA evidence to the defense (of course, he just didn't realize that he failed to give over evidence that cleared the suspects ), and he's going to resign (and probably lose his license). All of this will mean nothing to the people who swore that the kids were guilty, even if it couldn't be proven. They'll point to how the three students still graduated, got jobs, and will probably sue Durham county. That will make maliciously prosecuting three innocent people all right.

No hypocracy whatsoever.....

I wanted to point out what you just summarized, plus another point. Nifong used his position to enrich himself. [Nifong was in a very tough election and he needed the black vote to hold on to his job. He sold the Duke students to buy the black vote.] Now, Nifong will lose his job and, probably, his law license.

The Duke students will probably sue Durham County and will probably win.

The black ladies have no credibility as witnesses and, if they ever are raped, will probably see no justice.

All of this due to one, renegade, fuzz [in effect.] It could happen to you. Worse yet, it could happen to me.

 

[Lisa Denton]

You know, this thing was bizarre from day 1 and continues in its lack of information from the media rather than any reporting of facts.

Then what facts are reported seem to be bizarre and unconfirmed.

I thought that now maybe some of this crap would be figured out and went on a research road trip (out of curiousity mostly) and to seem if some of the contradictory "facts" had ever been confirmed.

But it just gets more confusing.

First arriving police reports woman passed out drunk.

Soon to be charged with rape students told by school not to tell thier parents.

WTF?

Police get search warrant for house .................... 2 freakin days later?

(this part is good) Somewhere in this timeline Nifong says DNA under the womans fingernails matches a suspect. Now, this part is left out of all further investigations and testimony by DNA experts and reports and nobody but me ever asked "WTF?"

Woman changes story repeatedly during questioning.

Neighbor witness heard racial slurs against women.

(few days or weeks later)

Neighbor witness heard racial slurs against women after one of the women called a player a limp****whiteboy (follow up) and saw the women return to the house after racial slurs?

DNA evidence not found from any suspects but from MULTIPLE males in the womans underwear and body.

DA holds news conferences and talk show tours and says evidence is not needed (WTF?) while stirring racial tensions and vowing to charge and convict the (guilty untill proven innocent) hooligans.

DNA (now?) shows no evidence from suspects and only ONE male, confirmed to be the womans boyfriend.

DA says changing accuser stories, and changing and conflicting evidence not important and vows to continue crusade for justice, racial equality, womens rights, homeless shelters and lucrative talk show spots.

All charges dropped.

Rape "victim" drops off the face of earth, never heard from again.

DA Nifong charged and will possibly be disbarred and then possibly face criminal charges.

****************************************************************

I left out some "facts" because there was thousands, and none of them made sense. I kept waiting for them to say the (new?) DNA evidence proved that OJ and Lee harvey Oswald was guilty of the evil crime.

But what happened to that woman? Why, if her story was false, wasn't she charged and convicted. Regardless of the national controversy, and racial tensions ignited, and damaging to the suspects who were charged, why wasn't she charged with filing a false police report, and/or lying to the police during questioning and stuff.

Oh well, Nifong needs to be disbarred, and apparently everyone, including those who stood up and spoke out for the woman, if she was lying, now just want to convict Nifong and pretend the woman had nothing to do with it, and most importantly, forget all unconfirmed, conflicting "evidence" and forget the whole affair.

After my extensive research, I'm gonna forget it all.

See ya, Lisa.

 

[S-Des]

But what happened to that woman? Why, if her story was false, wasn't she charged and convicted. Regardless of the national controversy, and racial tensions ignited, and damaging to the suspects who were charged, why wasn't she charged with filing a false police report, and/or lying to the police during questioning and stuff.

The State's Attorney who took over the case addressed that. He said he believed the woman to be emotionally disturbed and that she believed (at this point) that a crime against her had been committed. There were stories that she told people she was going to "get paid" after the incident, but who knows if that holds any validity (or if the witnesses would be credible).

The original fingernail with DNA was one that had been discarded. It did have the DNA of the person who owned (rented...whatever) the house, however they never said what the nature of the DNA was (blood, skin, snot, whatever). DNA found in a wastebasket wouldn't be usable as evidence anywhere in the US (since practically everything you touch has your DNA on it).

I agree that there was far too much of this in the papers. If the woman's complaint had been legitimate, it would have made the ordeal for her 1000 times worse (as in the Kobe Bryant or Mike Tyson cases). Defense attorneys have been trying these things publicly for too long and it's terrible. In this case it worked, but only because of the specific facts. That's dangerous precedent.

 

[Lisa Denton]

The original fingernail with DNA was one that had been discarded.

Discarded?

Oooooh, I think I know what you mean, they found it in the trunk of a policemans car with OJ Simpson's glove?

 

[S-Des]

Discarded?

Oooooh, I think I know what you mean, they found it in the trunk of a policemans car with OJ Simpson's glove?

I thought Mark Furman discovered it (he's a private investigator now), but I could be mistaken.

 

[R. Richard]

OK, the bat committe said that Nifong's actions involved "dishonesty, fraud, deceit and misrepresentation." However, it is common knowledge that those things are just normal items for a lawyer. So, why did he get disbarred? Comment?


N.C. panel disbars Duke prosecutor

RALEIGH, N.C. - District Attorney Mike Nifong will be disbarred for his disastrous prosecution of three Duke University lacrosse players falsely accused of rape, a disciplinary committee decided Saturday. Even the veteran prosecutor said the punishment was appropriate.

"This matter has been a fiasco. There's no doubt about it," said committee chairman F. Lane Williamson.

Nifong sat motionless, one hand resting over his mouth, as Williamson recounted how he engaged in dishonest and deceitful conduct. He said Nifong's early comments about the case — which included a confident proclamation that he wouldn't allow Durham to become known for "a bunch of lacrosse players from Duke raping a black girl" — were purposefully designed to boost his campaign for district attorney.

"At the time he was facing a primary, and yes, he was politically naive," Williamson said. "But we can draw no other conclusion that those initial statements he made were to further his political ambitions."

Nifong will not appeal the punishment, his lawyer said.

"He hopes this helps restore some of the confidence in the criminal justice system of North Carolina," said attorney David Freedman.

"On one hand, it's very devastating. On the other hand, he's been going through this process for a long time, so you always have some semblance of relief when the process is over with regardless of the outcome."

The North Carolina State Bar charged Nifong with breaking several rules of professional conduct, including lying to both the court and bar investigators and withholding critical DNA test results from the players' defense attorneys.

The committee, after deliberating for a little more than an hour on Saturday, unanimously agreed with the bar on almost every charge — including the most serious allegations — that Nifong's actions involved "dishonesty, fraud, deceit and misrepresentation."

State Bar prosecutor Douglas Brocker told the committee that as Nifong investigated the allegations that a stripper was raped and beaten at a March 2006 party thrown by Duke's lacrosse team, he charged "forward toward condemnation and injustice," weaving a "web of deception that has continued up through this hearing."

"Mr. Nifong did not act as a minister of justice, but as a minister of injustice," Brocker said.

The verdicts and the punishment did not appear to surprise Nifong, who acknowledged during sometimes tearful testimony Friday that he would likely be punished for getting "carried away a little bit" when talking about the case.

During Saturday's closing arguments, Williamson repeatedly interrupted Nifong's attorney, Dudley Witt, as he discussed the DNA testing.

Williamson questioned why it took several months for the defense to get DNA test results that found genetic material from several men in the accuser's underwear and body, but none from any lacrosse player.

"It wasn't just one little oversight," Williamson said later. "This was conduct over an extended period in a very high-profile case."

Aware of those test results, Nifong pressed ahead with the case anyway and won indictments against Dave Evans, Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty. State prosecutors later concluded the three players were "innocent" victims of a rogue prosecutor's "tragic rush to accuse."

Nifong made "multiple, egregious mistakes" as he pursued the charges, but not intentionally, his attorney said in closing statements.

"It didn't click," Witt said as he tried to explain one of his client's errors. "His mind is just his mind. That's the way it works. It just didn't click."

Brocker said Nifong had to have known he was making improper comments to reporters. Nifong said he regretted some of his statements, including a confident proclamation that he wouldn't allow Durham to become known for "a bunch of lacrosse players from Duke raping a black girl."

He also focused on when Nifong learned about the full extent of the DNA test results and when he shared that information with the defense.

Nifong gave defense attorneys an initial report on the DNA testing in May 2006 that said private lab DNA Security Inc. had been unable to find a conclusive match between the accuser and any lacrosse players.

But lab director Brian Meehan testified this week that he told Nifong as early as April 10, 2006 — a week before Seligmann and Finnerty were indicted — about the more detailed test results.

Nifong testified that when he gave the defense the initial report, he "believed at the time that I had given them everything."

The disciplinary hearing committee had the choice of suspending Nifong's law license or taking it away entirely.

Nifong told the panel hearing the case Friday that he would resign from his post as Durham County district attorney over his handling of the rape charges.

The players' attorneys have pledged to seek criminal contempt charges next week in Durham.

 

[R. Richard]

But what happened to that woman? Why, if her story was false, wasn't she charged and convicted. Regardless of the national controversy, and racial tensions ignited, and damaging to the suspects who were charged, why wasn't she charged with filing a false police report, and/or lying to the police during questioning and stuff.

Oh well, Nifong needs to be disbarred, and apparently everyone, including those who stood up and spoke out for the woman, if she was lying, now just want to convict Nifong and pretend the woman had nothing to do with it, and most importantly, forget all unconfirmed, conflicting "evidence" and forget the whole affair.

As to the woman, it is obvious that she is so screwed up that nothing she says makes any sense. Thus, she has the insanity defense if they tried to charge her with filing a fake police report. Now, the stupid son-of-a-bitch who TOOK the false police report, he/she/it should be immediately dismissed from the force.

The only thing that the woman really had to do with the case is that Nifond needed votes and, since the woman was black, Nifong figured that he could buy votes by trashing the innocent white Duke boys. [This last is normal procedure for the fuzz. Enforcement depends upon political, not legal considerations.]

 

[Diamond_Girl]

The only thing that the woman really had to do with the case is that Nifond needed votes and, since the woman was black, Nifong figured that he could buy votes by trashing the innocent white Duke boys. [This last is normal procedure for the fuzz. Enforcement depends upon political, not legal considerations.]

Sounding in from Durham...

Last year, Nifong came up for re-election. Since the city/county has a LARGE Black voting population, he did everything he could to raise up the Black woman who was working her way through school at a predominantly Black state university (never mind that she was doing so by exploiting herself). At the same time, here you've got a group of White boys, indulging in underage drinking and carousing with the tacit blessing of their coach. The boys were (if I remember correctly) from out of state, athletes, plus either priviledged enough to get scholarships to Duke or rich enough to pay out-of-pocket (Duke's tuition is HIGH). It came to be Black vs. White, poor vs. rich, have-nots vs. privledged. It's all about the underdog during election year.

 

[Eluard]

As to the woman, it is obvious that she is so screwed up that nothing she says makes any sense. Thus, she has the insanity defense if they tried to charge her with filing a fake police report. Now, the stupid son-of-a-bitch who TOOK the false police report, he/she/it should be immediately dismissed from the force.

The only thing that the woman really had to do with the case is that Nifond needed votes and, since the woman was black, Nifong figured that he could buy votes by trashing the innocent white Duke boys. [This last is normal procedure for the fuzz. Enforcement depends upon political, not legal considerations.]

But how long will the lessons of all this last in the public mind? Undoubtedly it has all been wiped even now by attention on Paris Hilton's latest hysterics.

The thing about this case that hasn't been mentioned is the terrible role played by supposedly high quality broadsheets like the New York Times. That paper also used this atrocious prejudice against white students to further its own crusade.

And what of the shameful behaviour of Duke University's faculty, who also came out against the white students before they had been found guilty of anything and when the evidence against them must have already been suspect.

The desire to fabricate the existence of white rapists of a black woman, a desire conjured out of the flight from reality that characterises American public thought has produced this injustice and will continue to produce many more such cases until the news media stops pressing its fantasies as though they were reality.

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

I see this Duke Rape/Mike Nifong mess like this -

1) These kids may have actuall raped this girl or some other. We will never know. The problem is, Nifong so prejudiced the case a conviction would have been nearly impossible even if the N.C. Attorney General had proceeded.

2) Nifong did break the professional ethics rules. Even his own attorney related Nifong as saying the disbarment was correct. Nifong threw ethics out the window in this case and used it as a tool to get himself reelected.

3) After Nifong's twenty year tenure as public prosicutor, I can imagine he was involved in potentially hundreds of criminal cases which landed the suspect in prison. I can see each and every one of these cases having to be reviewed and/or retried on appeal due to Nifong's inappropriate actions in the Duke Rape case. That will tie up the North Caroline court system like a grid lock traffic jam for years to come.

Just my two cents.

 

[Lisa Denton]

I can imagine he was involved in potentially hundreds of criminal cases which landed the suspect in prison. I can see each and every one of these cases having to be reviewed and/or retried on appeal due to Nifong's inappropriate actions in the Duke Rape case. That will tie up the North Caroline court system like a grid lock traffic jam for years to come.

Just my two cents.

Crap, I hadn't even thought of that.

 

[Boxlicker101]

I see this Duke Rape/Mike Nifong mess like this -

1) These kids may have actuall raped this girl or some other. We will never know. The problem is, Nifong so prejudiced the case a conviction would have been nearly impossible even if the N.C. Attorney General had proceeded.

2) Nifong did break the professional ethics rules. Even his own attorney related Nifong as saying the disbarment was correct. Nifong threw ethics out the window in this case and used it as a tool to get himself reelected.

3) After Nifong's twenty year tenure as public prosicutor, I can imagine he was involved in potentially hundreds of criminal cases which landed the suspect in prison. I can see each and every one of these cases having to be reviewed and/or retried on appeal due to Nifong's inappropriate actions in the Duke Rape case. That will tie up the North Caroline court system like a grid lock traffic jam for years to come.

Just my two cents.

It has been pretty well established that no rape happened. The lack of DNA of anybody at the party proves that. I'm not only referring to semen; I am also referring to skin cells and pubic hair and other things that would have been shed by anybody during intimate contact. There was none, except from four other men who had nothing to do with this case.

There is no particular reason to think Nifong did this before, This was the first time he ran for election. Even so, some who are in prison now might start complaining, and they will have to be listened to.

Hopefully, he will be recalled or impeached. I doubt that he can be a DA with no law license.

 

[Eluard]

It has been pretty well established that no rape happened. The lack of DNA of anybody at the party proves that. I'm not only referring to semen; I am also referring to skin cells and pubic hair and other things that would have been shed by anybody during intimate contact. There was none, except from four other men who had nothing to do with this case.

There is no particular reason to think Nifong did this before, This was the first time he ran for election. Even so, some who are in prison now might start complaining, and they will have to be listened to.

Hopefully, he will be recalled or impeached. I doubt that he can be a DA with no law license.

Not only that, one of these guys was provably somewhere else (at a teller machine) when this alleged rape happened.

I just hope that in punishing Nifong all of the other scumbags who abetted in this travesty don't get off scott free. Sue them all, I say!

 

[Boxlicker101]

Not only that, one of these guys was provably somewhere else (at a teller machine) when this alleged rape happened.

I just hope that in punishing Nifong all of the other scumbags who abetted in this travesty don't get off scott free. Sue them all, I say!

I wonder about the lynch-mob professors who signed a petition castigating the suspects before any actual evidence had been presented. Do you think any of them have apologized for it? Personally, I doubt it.

 

[Eluard]

I wonder about the lynch-mob professors who signed a petition castigating the suspects before any actual evidence had been presented. Do you think any of them have apologized for it? Personally, I doubt it.

Not only will they not have apologised I doubt if even one has learned anything from this case. The insanity that sits behind this travesty goes so deep that if it were all looked at honestly American public life would completely crumble.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Not only will they not have apologised I doubt if even one has learned anything from this case. The insanity that sits behind this travesty goes so deep that if it were all looked at honestly American public life would completely crumble.

They will probably justify themselves, as have some on this forum, by saying something like: "Well, maybe these guys might not have done anything, but a lot of white men have raped a lot of black women, so we still stand by what we said."

It is true that a lot of white men have raped a lot of black women, but that has nothing to do with this case.

 

[S-Des]

I wonder about the lynch-mob professors who signed a petition castigating the suspects before any actual evidence had been presented. Do you think any of them have apologized for it? Personally, I doubt it.

They are still maintaining that the guys "probably" did it (at least some of them were a month ago). Jenny, you are demonstrating the reason this is so serious (while others try to laugh it off). If you pass a well-dressed, decent looking guy on the street, you don't immediately think, "He may or may not have raped a girl..." These guys did not rape this dancer. There is no proof that suggests they could have, and even she is saying now she isn't sure if anything happened (and there's plenty of evidence showing they didn't touch her). There will be suspicion following them for the rest of their lives, no matter what happens from now on. It's a heavy price to pay, whether they win a lawsuit over this or not.

On another note, this situation is just the tip of the iceberg in these kinds of cases. If you've been following the news, you might have heard about Genarlow Wilson, a young man who was found guilty of consensual oral sex with a 15 year-old. The problem is, he was only 17 at the time. His sentence....10 years. It was so excessive that the legislature got together and changed the law so that no one else could be treated like him. A judge overturned the sentence (after he'd served 2 years), saying it was cruel and unusual punishment, but the DA has appealed and the young man is staying in jail while it's fought further. Why he is so hot to trot to keep this person in jail is a total mystery. Genarlow was a promising athlete who was a sure bet to get a college scholarship, and some people felt had the talent to be a pro. His life is irrevocably damaged because of this, and there will be no lawsuit for him, because he is "guilty" (even if it's utter bullshit).

Sex crimes are such a hot button issue, that they are always going to be subject to abuses by attorneys and judges. When the victim is legitimate, it's the defense attorney's job to try to discredit them at all costs (even spreading lies and gossip in the media). When the actual victim is the person accused, he faces the righteous anger of people who have been victims of abuse, or have seen it first hand, so are short on pity. DAs get elected on their reputation for winning these types of cases and judges often have their arm twisted to hand out stiff sentences, even if the evidence is shaky at best. Honestly, it's such a mess that I can't imagine anything that could be done to improve it at this point. It's a terrible situation for anyone who gets caught up in it.

 

[Eluard]

They will probably justify themselves, as have some on this forum, by saying something like: "Well, maybe these guys might not have done anything, but a lot of white men have raped a lot of black women, so we still stand by what we said."

It is true that a lot of white men have raped a lot of black women, but that has nothing to do with this case.

Yup, that's just the kind of insanity I had in mind.

 

[Weird Harold]

I wonder about the lynch-mob professors who signed a petition castigating the suspects before any actual evidence had been presented. Do you think any of them have apologized for it? Personally, I doubt it.

The University administration has "apologized" in a way: they have petitioned the NCAA to extend an additional year of elgibility to the entire Duke Lacrosse team because the university wrongly forfeited the entire lacrosse season and suspended the entire lacrosse team.

Theoretically, the suspensions and forfeits weren't related to the rape charges; the team was supended for sponsoring and attending an after-hours party on university property where alcohol was served and paid strippers performed.

The request for an additional year of elgibility would seem to put the lie to the official justification for punishing the entire lacrosse team. It also raises the specter of a "sports fixing" scandal gone wrong when Niphong blew the whole situation out of proportion.

 

[R. Richard]

On another note, this situation is just the tip of the iceberg in these kinds of cases. If you've been following the news, you might have heard about Genarlow Wilson, a young man who was found guilty of consensual oral sex with a 15 year-old. The problem is, he was only 17 at the time. His sentence....10 years. It was so excessive that the legislature got together and changed the law so that no one else could be treated like him. A judge overturned the sentence (after he'd served 2 years), saying it was cruel and unusual punishment, but the DA has appealed and the young man is staying in jail while it's fought further. Why he is so hot to trot to keep this person in jail is a total mystery. Genarlow was a promising athlete who was a sure bet to get a college scholarship, and some people felt had the talent to be a pro. His life is irrevocably damaged because of this, and there will be no lawsuit for him, because he is "guilty" (even if it's utter bullshit).

I am aware of the case of Genarlow Wilson. The DA is appealing the overturning of the sentence because the jurisdiction could be sued if the case is overturned. When the jurisdiction says to the dog, "Bark!" the dog barks.

 

[Pure]

there are many fuckups and injustices in the US system; at worst, wrongful exections, including of teens. many require years to sort out, and where a "settlement" is given, one can ask, will $100,000 compensate for 10 years wrongfully spent in prison. elections of DA's, a US practice, is often a factor; he wants some feathers in his cap, as one 'tough on crime.'

it is good that these boys were cleared, and their families' wealth and access to legal services (and unlimited budget) helped that happen.
one is already working on wall street. not one spent a day in jail (pre trial), and no one went to trial.

a DA will resign and has been disbarred. he may be civilly sued also. the city (of Charleston, I believe) and maybe the state will have to ante up.
the injustice to the boys will be remedied in spades, and punishments handed out.

i needn't remind you that with many injustices, the new DA, or state Attorney General, says 'sorry' and shakes the man's hand, and the old (fuck up) DA or AG is not around. settlements, esp. in the past, have sometimes been paltry, even where years are spent in prison.

so as the saying goes, "there is justice for the rich, and justice for the poor." the same applies to remedy of injustice.

 

[Lisa Denton]

Yes, the whole thing was a total fustercluck.

The accused tried and convicted in the media, the prosecuter took the spotlight and was at least a legend in his own mind, the police could have used some help from the keystone cops.

Of the lasting repercussions, perhaps one of the most important is that this case will come to mind when a woman says she was raped. Many will be sympathetic and consoling while really thinking "yea, right" and others will be direct and tell her to "walk it off" or to quit wearing suggestive clothing. Of those many will be the police, prosecuters and judges who will be her only help after being physically and emotionally assaulted.

JMO

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

Yes, the whole thing was a total fustercluck.

The accused tried and convicted in the media, the prosecuter took the spotlight and was at least a legend in his own mind, the police could have used some help from the keystone cops.

Of the lasting repercussions, perhaps one of the most important is that this case will come to mind when a woman says she was raped. Many will be sympathetic and consoling while really thinking "yea, right" and others will be direct and tell her to "walk it off" or to quit wearing suggestive clothing. Of those many will be the police, prosecuters and judges who will be her only help after being physically and emotionally assaulted.

JMO

One of the great failings in the legal system, Lisa, concerns rape cases. It seems as though the prosicution of rape has swung back and forth like a pedulum for years. Some girl screams, "Rape" and the first guy available gets convicted. I can recall when it was almost always the first black guy. Then things swung the other way and the woman had a prove with DNA evidence and physical damage the rape even occured while the law enforcement people made only a half hearted effort to find the perp.

It almost seemed like we had come to a reasonable middle ground when this cluster-fuck took place. Now I see things swinging towards making proof of crime and arrest and conviction much more difficult.

It's sad for everyone, not just the victims.