Wednesday, January 24, 2007
 | Anatomy of a Rape (Duke Lacrosse Players Pt 2)
Current mood: Right Back in April, I posted a blog (Duke Lacrosse Players, April 19, 2006) about what was going on and how it seemed a little strange how quickly everyone in the country jumped on the bandwagon in being absolutely positive that a heinous rape had occurred in North Carolina.
As background: This rape was allegedly perpetrated by multiple members of the Duke Men's Lacrosse team on an exotic dancer that had performed at a party.
Following the allegations, the firebrand speeches of Mike Nifong, the District Attorney in the case, brought the community in and around Duke to a fever pitch that resulted in demonstrations, racial divides and eventually grand jury indictments on rape, sexual assault and kidnapping charges against several players. These problems were amplified by the fact that there was continuous tension already between a rich, predominately white university that sat adjacent to a poor, mostly black community.
In the months that have passed since, the case has fallen apart. The accuser changed parts of her story, all the DNA evidence came back negative and Mike Nifong is now facing charges himself that he hid evidence and made false statements in court about the case. As for the accuser...she had multiple different dna samples collected from her...none of them matched the team members she accused, nor any of the 46 players on the team.
While the headlines about the rape and the indicted players splashed nationally, the only place I noticed an article about the DA getting charged was on ESPN. All the coverage created the damage, but once the case wasn't sensational anymore, the media dropped it, and for the school, lacrosse program, and the men charged, the damage has been done already.
I noticed in the ESPN article a list of links to all of the articles that had been written about the case since the beginning. I was hoping the links would translate here, but they came out as text so you won't be able to read the full articles. However, read the arc of the headlines from start to finish, and you'll notice that not only were they not considered innocent until proven guilty, but a lot was destroyed in the process.
Here is the link to the page with the list of links in case you actually want to read all of them. I will say that there's some mention in the final lines of the first blog where I mention the separation between church and state. You can ignore that line...on rereading the blog I realized that that had absolutely nothing to do with the case at hand, I was just off on a rant I guess. I'm glad to say that as the initial blog on this subject proves...for me on this story, hindsight wasn't 20/20...foresight was. Nifong...I wish I could have told you so.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=2740966
Related Stories
March '06:
.. Coach resigns, season canceled
.. Garber: Campus, community in turmoil
April 06:
.. Duke accuser involved in prior rape allegation
.. Second dancer tells her story
.. Alumni question Duke president on player suspensions
.. Scoop Jackson: Blame administration
.. Duke to keep selling lacrosse gear
.. Background on Finnerty, Seligmann
.. Two Duke players indicted
.. Race a focal point in Durham
.. Police: Accuser 'passed-out drunk'
.. Whitlock: Men behaving badlyMay 06:
.. Sweatbands of support: Duke women show solidarity
.. Lawyers ask for more evidence
.. Judge won't fast-track trial
.. One of team's captains indicted
.. Defense: DNA tests clear Duke lacrosse players
.. Talks of accuser's credibility overheard
.. Duke report: Police downplayed accuser
.. DA wins Democratic primary
.. Committee: Team can resume play, with monitoring
June 06:
.. Parents of Duke player say son can prove innocence
.. Duke player reinstated
.. Evans guilty of noise violation
.. Police report: Duke accuser nervous, changed story
.. Pessah: Team life after scandal
.. Recruits: Staying Going
.. Coach K breaks silence
.. Defense questions DA's comments
.. Duke professor calls for special prosecutor
.. Second dancer calls allegations a 'crock'
.. Interim coach ready
.. Duke reinstates lacrosse team under watchful eye
.. Almost $23K spent on DNA tests
July:
.. Duke hires Hofstra's Danowski as men's lax coach
.. Judge: Prosecutor has access to uncharged players' addresses
.. D.A. seeks access to uncharged players' ID cards
August 06:
.. AD: School 'will be better'
.. Write-in campaign launched against prosecutor
.. Former Duke coach hired by Bryant
.. Duke player pleads guilty to DUI charge
September
.. D.A.: Assault lasted 5-10 minutes
.. Duke reinstates exotic dancer ban
.. D.A. asks judge to stop polling
.. Duke holds private pep-talk for athletes
.. Duke lacrosse returns to the field
.. Judge to bar cameras from hearings
October:
.. Dancer: Duke rape accuser said to 'put marks on me'
.. D.A. hasn't discussed case with accuser
.. Duke lax coach: Players may return if exonerated
.. Accused players thought DNA testing would end case
.. Accused players, second dancer speak out
.. Duke attorneys again ask for statements
.. Duke lacrosse team back on field for charity event
December:
.. N.C. State Bar files complaint against prosecutor
.. D.A. drops rape charges
.. Legal experts: Why the remaining charges?
.. Judge OKs paternity tests
.. Report: Accuser is pregnant
.. Defense attorneys: No Duke players' DNA found on woman
.. Justice Department asked to investigate Duke case
January:
.. Nifong faces more ethics charges from state bar
.. Nifong gets extension to answer complaint
.. NAACP asks for thorough exam of case
.. Prosecutor's future uncertain
.. Attorney general takes over
.. Prosecutor asks off case
.. Defense: Accuser said one player just watched
.. Judge orders paternity test
.. Duke prez defends decision
.. Ex-player sues over failing grade
.. Lawyer: Players invited back to class |
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