Monday, January 15, 2007

OFFICIAL OPPRESSION: THE DUKE UNIVERSITY RAPE CASE

When a police officer has sex with a woman he has stopped for a traffic violation, or arrested for a misdemeanor, in return for not issuing her a citation or for not taking her to jail, he has used his police powers to commit the crime of official oppression. When a prosecutor uses his powers to indict a suspect on flimsy evidence for the purpose of political gain, is he any less guilty of official oppression?

Last March, a 28 year old single mother of three alleged that three Duke University lacrosse players gang raped her at an off-campus house where she and another woman were paid to perform as strippers during a team party. The national media jumped on this case like a tiger on its prey: A poor black woman, forced to work as a stripper to provide for her children and her tuition at North Carolina Central University, was sexually ravaged by a bunch of rich white kids from one of the nation's premier universities. Latent racial tensions quickly surfaced in Durham, Chapel Hill and Raleigh, North Carolina.

When black activists and their academic supporters demanded immediate action, a rush to judgement was set in motion. Without awaiting an investigation, 88 politically correct Duke professors took out a newspaper ad condemning the lacrosse players and demanding that they confess. Duke University fired the lacrosse coach, cancelled the rest of the lacrosse schedule, and disbanded the team, eventually expelling the accused from school. Mike Nifong, the local district attorney, who was beginning to campaign for re-election to office, took full advantage of these circumstances. What he did in this case made him the poster boy for all malicious prosecutors out to enhance their reputations at the expense of justice.

The "victim," who was intoxicated claimed that three men at the party had dragged her into a bathroom where they took turns beating, raping and sodomizing her, both with penile penetration and penetration by foreign objects. A hospital examination indicated signs of sexual intercourse, but little else to back up the allegations. The "victim" changed her account on several occasions during the initial stages of the investigation. She could not identify her alleged attackers until she was finally shown a photo lineup only of Duke lacrosse players.

The three players she eventually identified were immediately arrested. Nifong held several press conferences during which he practically tried the three suspects in public. He called them "hooligans" and declared that DNA testing would prove the three guilty. His case soon started to fall apart. The other black stripper disputed the "victim's" allegations and claimed that after they left the house, the accuser wanted to return to the party because there was more money to be made. One of the suspects was seen making a distant ATM withdrawal during the time the alleged rape took place. DNA tests revealed the "victim" had sexual intercourse with several men, none of them members of the lacrosse team.

Despite all of these inconsistencies, Nifong obtained indictments against the three suspects for rape, kidnapping and sexual assault, and he continued to hold press conferences to support his case. He was re-elected to office, receiving the overwhelming majority of an energized black vote. The case continued to fall apart following the election. It was revealed that Nifong had requested that the DNA lab withhold the test results. The accuser continued to change her story and when she said there was no penile penetration, Nifong was forced to drop the rape charges. The kidnapping and sexual assault charges, however, remained in effect.

Finally, the North Carolina State Bar had had enough. It filed ethics charges against Nifong for making prejudicial comments to the news media. The State Bar is also investigating his withholding of exculpatory DNA evidence. The North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys then called on Nifong to recuse himself from the case. Last week, Nifong withdrew from the case, claiming a conflict of interest because of the State Bar charges. The North Carolina Attorney General's office took over the case.

Although it looks like the lacrosse players may have been falsely accused, I don't have a lot of sympathy for these jerks. A bunch of white drunk athletes partying with a couple of black strippers is just asking for trouble. However, I do feel for the parents of the accused who, as victims of Nifong's personsl ambitions, have been subjected to considerable pain and enormous legal bills.

The accuser should face criminal charges if, for whatever reason, she deliberately lied about what happened at the party. As for the real rapist (of justice) in this case, Nifong ought to be tarred and feathered, and ridden out of town on a rail. I hope he will be disbarred, charged with official oppression, and sued for malicious prosecution. Then, justice will have been served.

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