Duke Lacrosse Case- A Lesson For Us All
| 12
|
by user Tylersarticles
Last March, allegations that members of the nationally ranked Duke University men’s lacrosse team raped an African American woman shook up the city of Durham, North Carolina and the entire nation. An exotic dancer hired to perform at an off campus party told authorities that she was forced in to a bathroom where she was raped and sexually assaulted. In the following weeks, now infamous Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong made a barrage of comments stating that he was one hundred percent sure a rape occurred and that the lacrosse players were “a bunch of hooligans.” (Stix, 13) Later in the spring, David Evans, Collin Finnerty, and Reade Seligmann were indicted on charges of rape, kidnapping, and sexual assault.
Nifong’s comments created a fury of outrage and the railroading of every member of the lacrosse team soon followed. Hundreds of protesters marched their way to the house on 610 Buchanan Boulevard where the alleged rape took place. Some signs read “Castrate” and “Get a conscience, not a lawyer” and chants of guilty were shouted while other protesters could be seen banging pots (Stix, 21). Soon after the protests, 88 members of the Duke University faculty endorsed an advertisement in the Duke Chronicle that many people have interpreted as a rush to judgment all but convicting the entire lacrosse team in the process. The ad titled “We Are Listening” stated in part “ "This is a social disaster.” “No one is really talking about how to keep the young woman herself central to this conversation. Regardless of the results of the police investigation, what is apparent everyday now is the anger and fear of many students who know themselves to be objects of racism and sexism." (O’Reilly, 1) The ad also thanked protesters for speaking up and not waiting to be heard. ESPN has reported that document author Wahemeena Lubiano went ahead with the ad even though she knew some would interpret it as “a stake through the collective heart of her own students.” Immediately after the protests and ad, students on the lacrosse team received death threats, were called racial slurs, and were harassed on their way to class each day. Several of the professors who endorsed the ad publicly denounced members of the team and told them they should be ashamed for being accomplices to a rape.
'
'Apparently, the presumption of innocence is something that is new to Duke ' University and the city of Durham . People seemed to forget and ignore that in the United States , you are innocent until it is proven that you are guilty.
What a difference a year makes! What everyone that rushed to judgment in this case forgot to do was wait for the facts. The accuser has now changed her story over ten times and DNA evidence that was supposed to exonerate all innocent suspects according to Nifong came back negative. The results should have exonerated every member of the Duke lacrosse team like Nifong said they would, but the exculpatory results did not exonerate anyone. (Stix, 14) In fact, DNA results have shown that the woman had DNA inside of her from about every male in Durham (reports have indicated five other men) except students from the Duke University lacrosse team. In December, a court hearing even revealed that Nifong deliberately withheld this exculpatory evidence by conspiring with DNA expert Brian Meehan. Meehan, a DNA specialist at a private lab, was Nifong’s own witness and was hired to conduct more DNA tests after the first series came back negative. (Stix, 13) Little did he know, hiring Meehan would backfire more than anyone could have ever imagined. A few days later after the hearing, the accuser once again changed her story and said “she can no longer be certain a rape occurred”. Nifong then dropped the rape charges, but the charges of kidnapping and sexual assault still remain.
Nifong’s obvious prosecutorial misconduct that was evident as early as last May does not stop there. Defense attorneys have said they he refused to review exculpatory evidence for accused student Reade Seligmann. Seligmann has video footage that he was at a Wachovia ATM branch at the time of the alleged rape. I can’t imagine having an alibi stronger than the one Seligmann was able to produce. Also, the lineup used for the accuser to pick her attackers featured only members of the lacrosse team. Duke University professor of law, James Coleman, has stated that the accuser “simply had a multiple choice test with no wrong answers.” (Thomas, 1) With the dishonesty, fraud, and inflammatory comments Nifong made in over seventy interviews with every major news organization tainting any potential jury pool, you have a perfect example of a rogue prosecutor. Trusting Nifong’s word, the media assisted in condemning the lacrosse team at Duke.
Karma always finds a way of catching up with people and Mike Nifong is learning this as we speak. Nifong currently faces a series of ethics charges that accuse him of withholding DNA evidence and tainting a potential jury pool by making inflammatory and derogatory comments about the case. If these charges are proven in court, Nifong could be disbarred and also may face potential civil lawsuits from the accused lacrosse players and their families. He has since recused himself from the case saying there is a conflict of interest due to the charges brought against him. Nifong wanted this case to define his career and it will certainly do just that. He will go down in history as one of the most unethical and corrupt prosecutors in the history of North Carolina.
Why Would Nifong act in such an overzealous and unethical manor? Nifong was up for re-election for DA in Durham and saw this case, the biggest case in the history of Durham, as an opportunity to be a hero and increase his chances for re-election. He also needed the African American vote for any chance to win the primary election last May and this case pushed him over the top. That’s why he ignored exculpatory evidence from Seligmann’s attorney and went forward with a case where the only evidence available points towards the innocence of the defendants. As a prosecutor, his job is to ensure justice and his main focus should not be on winning cases, but ensuring justice is carried out. Unfortunately for the accused, Nifong does not know the meaning of the word justice.
As it appears the accused are victims of a grave injustice more and more everyday, not one of the original professors in the ad has taken back their signature or apologized. Furthermore, they recently posted another ad saying that they believe in the presumption of innocence and did not rush to judgment. The new advertisement, which can viewed at www.concerneddukefaculty.org also states that members reject all calls to apologize. They fail to realize that they allowed a mindset that it was acceptable for students at their school to be harassed based on their group affiliation, race, sex, and social status. After all, who cares about wealthy white males, right? That is a feeling that was evident all across the campus and even Durham. Chan Hall, a student at North Carolina Central University where the accuser was a part time student, said that “the accused should be convicted whether it happened or not. It would be justice for things that happened in the past.” (Stix, 24 )
Several critics see the new faculty ad as a ploy to get out of any legal liability for violating their fiduciary duties to their students and allowing students to be harassed on their campus. In January, former Duke Lacrosse player Kyle Dowd filed the first of what appears to be many civil lawsuits against the school. The basis of the lawsuit is the Duke professor Kim Curtis, one of the 88, unfairly gave him an F solely because he was a member of the team Ms. Curtis despised. (Associated Press, 1) Records have indicated that his statistical grade was not an F, but she gave one to him out of pure spite. She publicly accused members of the team of being accomplices to rape and openly created a hostile environment in her classroom for Dowd and his teammates. Ms. Dowd deserves the presumption of innocence and due process even though she did not show respect for either when it came to the lacrosse team. Considering that, the evidence against her is very strong contrary to the evidence against Evans, Finnerty, and Seligmann. It is amazing that Duke administrators are still letting her teach at the school while the charges are pending and even more surprising, they are not conducting an investigation of their own.
In fact, the administration has done little to support the students who were the targets of a corrupt district attorney. Duke President Richard Brodhead did not comment on the injustice for months, but recently opened the door to Finnerty and Seligmann to come back to campus if they wish. Brodhead is taking a lot of heat right now for how he handled the case. Several critics wonder how canceling the lacrosse season last spring and firing former lacrosse coach Mike Pressler did not signify a rush to judgment on his part. The biggest criticism directed towards him is for allowing the rush to judgment on the Duke campus in March and for not speaking out against individuals (including faculty) who harassed members of the lacrosse team daily. Several alumni are currently demanding for his resignation and with a barrage of civil suits on the way, it may come soon.
Nifong ruined the reputations of three overwhelmingly innocent men forever for his own political agenda. I fear that Nifong, the media, and members of the Duke faculty truly wanted the allegations to be true for their agendas as well. Too bad the truth got in the way in what would have been the perfect crime in their eyes.
The lesson this case has taught us all is never rush to judgment. Never pre-judge someone based on their group affiliation, race, sex or social status. Do something that Nifong did not; wait for facts and evidence to come out before reaching harsh conclusions. The remaining charges will be dropped soon and we can only hope that the accused and their families will receive a little bit of justice in this fiasco. I predict that Nifong will be disbarred and the state of North Carolina will be forced to pay a huge portion of the legal fees for the accused which have reportedly reached over five million dollars. Rape is a serious crime and we can only hope that future rape victims will not be taken less seriously in the future because of one woman’s fantastic lies.
Bibliography
O'Reilly, Bill. "Fairness and Justice at Duke." www.foxnews.com. 23 Jan. 2007. 5 Feb. 2007 .
Thomas, Evan, and Meadows, Susan. "http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13392547/site/newsweek/page/4/." Newsweek. 29 June 2006. 5 Feb. 2007 .
Associated Press. "LAX Player Files Lawsuit Against Duke University." ABC News. 4 Jan. 2007. 5 Feb. 2007 .
Stix, Nicholas. "Nicholas Stix’ Absolutely Definitive Account of the Incredible Disappearing Duke Rape Hoax." 23 Jan. 2007. 5 Feb. 2007 .
