"... these three individuals [David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann,] are innocent of these charges."
North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, Apr. 11, 2007
__________________________________________
Last spring when the Duke students who played on the Men’s lacrosse team came under fire by much of the media and many at Duke after which three were picked by the disgraced Mike Nifong for indictment and trial, Duke President Richard Brodhead acted in ways that even many of his defenders say were inept, and his critics say were shameful.
Brodhead excuses himself for what he did and didn’t do by telling people it was a “confusing time” in which“[t]he facts kept changing. Every day we learned new things that no one knew the day before.”
Well, last April 19, the day after Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann were arrested, hand-cuffed and taken to the county jail, and nine months before Brodhead could ever bring himself to say anything critical of the disgraced Nifong, well-known defense attorney Roy Black wasn’t confused.
USA Today columnist Jon Saraceno reported:
Black told me Tuesday that the prosecution of the Duke players is "beyond difficult." An attorney for one of the accused told reporters his client wasn't even at the party at the time of the alleged rape.Now why couldn’t Brodhead have figured that out and at least have whispered it in the ears of people like Durham Herald Sun editor Bob Ashley, Duke Professor Peter Wood and Raleigh News & Observer columnist Ruth Sheehan?
"It almost reaches the level of absurdity," Black said. "I think it's driven more by local politics, race and class. How often do you see prosecutors give 30 press conferences before charges are filed?
Based upon what we know, the lack of physical evidence (beyond a hospital exam that cited injury consistent with rape), corroboration and conclusive DNA argue against a strong case here.
What you have here is her word, one certainly subject to serious credibility questions."
6 comments:
Is this a rhetorical question about Brodhead?
I am a Rudy G. democrat. Edwards has never interested me, but if you got the dough - spend it.
As I wrote elsewhere, chutzpah is often defined as killing your parents and then throwing yourself on the mercy of the court because you're an orphan.
Brodhead has given us a new definition: helping to set your own house on fire and then asking everyone to understand why you had no choice but to throw your kids out a second story window.
Above comment is mine. Forgot to fill in the blank.
The week of the potbangers' first protests, Duke alumnus Thomas Inman '74 wrote in to the Duke Chronicle about the perils of the Rush To Judgement. The reprinted letter and links to the Chronicle can be seen among the first 20 comments to the D-i-W post Cassese to Lehigh.
Yet another person who could look at the then-rape case through the prism of ethics and common sense. Without benefit of a time machine, X-Ray vision, ESP, or other superhuman powers.
Another reminder to those in positions of power and authority who chose to take the easy and dishonorable route that what they did was bad enough.
Why??? Because he is a gutless, spineless administrator who is governed, manipulated and controlled by the Gang of 88.
Post a Comment