Duke Rape Case Closed
North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper just finished his new conference in which he announced he will petition for all charges to be dropped in the Duke rape case. In what is a bit of a surprise, Cooper declared Reade Seligmann, Dave Evans, and Collin Finnerty innocent. In speaking of Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong, Cooper used the term "rogue prosecutor." With that, this chapter of an ugly situation is closed. But I suspect this is not the final chapter.
It seems the evidence in this case was so lacking, that Cooper suggested the state Supreme Court be given the power to look over the shoulder of prosecutors. (For the record, we need to be very careful before putting such laws in place.) This might be the start of a full examination of the conduct in of our nation's district attorney offices. But they should not be the only ones whose conduct should be examined.
Where do the people involved in this case go from here? Seligmann, Evans, and Finnerty can take a deep breath knowing their names are cleared in the legal arena, but will the public arena and the media declare their innocence as strong as did Atty. Cooper? Nifong will now face the state bar. What is the appropriate punishment for his actions and will he, in the long run, simply write a book or find some other way to profit from his gamble. What about the accuser?
This woman has taken a year of life away from three young men. We may never really know why she made her accusations, Cooper hinted she may believe the charges are true, but we do know she has benefited from this case with undeserved sympathy from the black community and from some Duke professors. She has also benefited with a scholarship from the Rainbow/Push Coalition. At the time this scholarship was announced, I asked if it had the potential to send the wrong message to the black community. (See previous post.)
With today's announcement I repeat my original question. How do we convince black kids to maintain the moral high ground when this woman has been rewarded for destroying the lives of young white men? Add this to the message of rap music and of what appears to be an inner city culture of no hope, and the slippery slope just got a little steeper.
The Duke rape case now moves its focus to Nifong. The N.C. bar will deal with him, but will the nation address the issues revealed in the background noise associated with this case?
Ms. LaShawn Barber has written several blogs on this case, including today's post.
Independent Conservative is also asking questions about the accuser, wondering if she is getting a free pass "...Because She's..."
It seems the evidence in this case was so lacking, that Cooper suggested the state Supreme Court be given the power to look over the shoulder of prosecutors. (For the record, we need to be very careful before putting such laws in place.) This might be the start of a full examination of the conduct in of our nation's district attorney offices. But they should not be the only ones whose conduct should be examined.
Where do the people involved in this case go from here? Seligmann, Evans, and Finnerty can take a deep breath knowing their names are cleared in the legal arena, but will the public arena and the media declare their innocence as strong as did Atty. Cooper? Nifong will now face the state bar. What is the appropriate punishment for his actions and will he, in the long run, simply write a book or find some other way to profit from his gamble. What about the accuser?
This woman has taken a year of life away from three young men. We may never really know why she made her accusations, Cooper hinted she may believe the charges are true, but we do know she has benefited from this case with undeserved sympathy from the black community and from some Duke professors. She has also benefited with a scholarship from the Rainbow/Push Coalition. At the time this scholarship was announced, I asked if it had the potential to send the wrong message to the black community. (See previous post.)
With today's announcement I repeat my original question. How do we convince black kids to maintain the moral high ground when this woman has been rewarded for destroying the lives of young white men? Add this to the message of rap music and of what appears to be an inner city culture of no hope, and the slippery slope just got a little steeper.
The Duke rape case now moves its focus to Nifong. The N.C. bar will deal with him, but will the nation address the issues revealed in the background noise associated with this case?
Ms. LaShawn Barber has written several blogs on this case, including today's post.
Independent Conservative is also asking questions about the accuser, wondering if she is getting a free pass "...Because She's..."
Labels: culture, culture wars, government
posted by Dennis | 2:57 PM
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