Duke lacrosse case a disgraceful moment in U.S. jurisprudence

Editorial Duke lacrosse case a disgraceful moment in U.S. jurisprudence

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Friday, April 13, 2007

It had all the elements of a quintessential American tragedy.

A young, black exotic dancer, victimized by three white youths at an elite southern university. Power and privilege. Sex and race.

It was the biggest story for weeks. The prosecutor rode it as a campaign issue. Except that the story was a textbook case of injustice masquerading under the color of law.

North Carolina's top prosecutor dropped all charges against the former Duke lacrosse players Wednesday. The three men, he said, were victims of a "tragic rush to accuse" by a district attorney who faces disbarment as a result of his mishandling of the case.

Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong is accused of withholding evidence, lying to a court and making inflammatory statements about the players. But Nifong was abetted by a gullible tabloid media culture that dismisses objectivity as a quaint notion of a bygone era.

The coverage was numbing. Duke was named in 33,000 stories the month after charges became public.

One of the vindicated young men said the case opened his eyes to how easily an innocent person can be railroaded in America. Were it not for a multi-million-dollar legal defense campaign mounted by the young men's families, the truth might not have come to light.

It's beyond flip to say that, in the end, the system worked. The system didn't work.

For the young men and their families, this was 13 months trapped in a Kafkaesque nightmare. For Duke, it was a stain that will never be erased.

Innocent until proven guilty: It used to be the hallmark of American justice.

Reader comments

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Howard of NEW YORK, NY

Apr 13, 2007 2:58 PM

sandwr1, are you kidding me? They were at an off campus house the hired strippers who happened to be black, they argued w/ them and we still don't know if racial slurs were used by the black dancers or the white players. so by your accounts the duke team is at fault? They had a party w/ strippers bad call yes but you are something special if you feel what happen was their fault. I hope you have children and I hope they are never put in the situation these players were put in. Were these kids angels? Maybe not but they weren't rapist either. You and people of your ilk are whats wrong w/ America today,you jump to conclusion faster than Nifong can hold a press conference. What I enjoy most is hearing people back track and still try to put the blame on Duke and the team. To anyone who is hiring a stripper please make sure she is not crazy make sure you are not white and attend a good school because accroding to this hump you are guilty of something. I'd love to see the view from your glass house you herbie handcock.

VOTE FOR SANJAYA!

sandwr1 of Portland, ME

Apr 13, 2007 12:02 PM

Duke Lacrosse and Duke University were not innocent bystanders, struck by a lightning rod. The Duke Lacross Team is still guilty of racist and sexist attacks on these two young women, even if a sexual assault did not take place. Witnesses heard the Duke men yelling racial slurs and the other dancer confirms the team threatend them. They also specifally requested Black dancers. All of this took place in campus owned housing. While these three young men have been unfairly treated by Nifong, the lacrosse team as a whole is most at fault for creating the situation.

Howard of NEW YORK, NY

Apr 13, 2007 11:58 AM

When do the duke players go Oprah? When do Al and Jesse apolgize?

It's America love it or leave it?

The 1 thing that I have faith in is that Nifong is done and the 3 young men are backing up the Brinks trucks as wee speak.

Justice is now LAWSUIT!!!!

Reverb of Haverhill, MA

Apr 13, 2007 11:36 AM

The degree of public and media outrage over this Duke case versus what Don Imus said about the Rutgers women B-ball players is truly appalling. What happened to these Duke kids is 1000 times worse than what happened to the Rutgers women, but you wouldn't know that from the media coverage, and the feigned outrage by the media execs and the racial arsonists known as Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson.

The woman in this rape case falsely accuses 3 men of rape, ruins their reputations (at least for now) and SHE KNEW it was a lie, and she will get off scott free.

Don Imus makes a stupid, racial/sexist derogatory comment, and his 30+ radio career is over just like that. And then you can turn on your local urban hip-hop, rap/crap station and hear stuff that is worse than that, but that is OK as long as no one feels to "offended" by it.

What is worng with this country?

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