Isn’t that sort of condescending to assume that a subset of your consituency would want to see innocent people go to jail? Or phrased another way, was he right? Could he not be reelected without doing this? (Not that this would make it right to do)
From what I have read the election was close, and the timing was such that the holes in the story didn’t really start showing until after the election. Nifong flat out lied, saying that the players refused to cooperate. Some of the comments he made to the press before the election were the subject of a change of venue motion made by the defense and are being covered in his trial before the State Bar.
Most of his supporters have distanced themselves from him now.
Yeah, that’s sort of what it sounds like. Which is why it’s confusing. It sounds like the vast majority of the constituency, while they may have jumped to conclusions about these kids guilt, were willing to change their minds when faced with the actual evidence. I guess you’re right and it was just the really awful timing which gave enough time to rile people up, but not enough time to sit back and see what they actually had.
I’m waiting for a lynch mob of Duke Faculty members to write a big old letter condemning the monster for his abuse of power…as for the picture, that’s a toss-up. People sometimes cradle their chins that way, with the thumb on one side, the index crooked under the chin, abd the middle on the other side. If the angle’s just right, it looks like you’re flipping a bird. Then again, he could actually be flipping a bird.
You’ll be waiting for a long time. That pretentious bunch of pointy-heads had the entire lacrosse team guilty, and were instrumental in getting the coach fired.
Although, ask them about it now, and they say you just misunderstood their position.
Is Nancy Grace covering this?
Yeah, it’s a weak case, but let’s go forward anyway.
From the news coverage I’ve seen, it seemed like the politically expedient response. Not only has history shown that very often, the “victimized” community will support the victim regardless of the merits of the case, there were numerous protests in the Durham community condemning the lacrosse players. wiki:
While it’s nice to see Nifong get his due, I think we can already rest assured that he will be severely punished (either legally, in public opinion, or both). I think this trial, though, is making him into a scapegoat for the entire lynch-mob, particularly distracting from the abhorrent behavior of the Duke professors who knee-jerk condemned the players.
There are many people who take their lead from the DA’s actions. Who would say to themselves “The DA is pressing charges, so there MUST be something to the allegation.” The last thing I would think is that the DA would charge someone when all of the evidence points toward a false accusation.
Nifong could have, should have been a calming influence, especially since he knew the allegations were so faulty. Instead, he stoked the flames for political gain.
The victim community didn’t get to hear how weak the case was (at least early on) because Nifong acted like it was a slam dunk.
I don’t think he is being made a scapegoat at all. He deliberately made a mockery of the court system he was a sworn officer of, and the Bar cannot let that go. I also don’t think this distracts from the lynch-mob “Group of 88” professors - but only Duke can do anything about them and the President of Duke seems unlikely to do anything. If I remember correctly, Duke reached a settlement with the lacrosse coach who had been there for 16 years and was fired because of the untrue allegations.
The only true criminal in this case - Crystal Magnum - is going unpunished.
How many strands of yarn does an effective noose require?
Just askin’…
She should be punished along with the other true criminal in this case - Michael Nifong.
Why did everyone so badly want the story to be true? I just never got that.
If you go back and read the archives of Durham in Wonderland you will see some of the classes offered by the members of the “Group of 88” - most of them have something about race, gender or sexuality in the course title. They desperately wanted the accusation to be true, because it was a poor black woman against wealthy white boys, thereby proving - to them - that “the Man” is still out to get them.
I imagine a few prospective Duke students went to school elsewhere…
And I know I refer to Durham in Wonderland a lot - Professor Johnson is excellent about noting the sources for everything he quotes. I know the Dope in general doesn’t have a lot of respect for blogs in general, but this is a very good one.
My take on it was that the Durham 88 (or whatever they were called) were looking for someone or something to confirm their own biases – that affluent white males are the scourge of the earth and all that. If the lacrosse players were, in fact, guilty, that would serve as proof that they were right all along. Nifong desperately wanted this because it would be a huge feather in his professional cap and make him DA for life or some such.
Now that the truth is coming out, these people look like jackasses. the Duke professors who were so eager to string the boys up and make examples of them for oppressing poor people of color are strangely silent, and in fact, a few of them have had their own skeletons dragged from the closet. Nifong is fighting to keep his license to practice law, which, even if he keeps it, will mean nothing; I don’t see any reputable law firm hiring him any time soon.
Robin
Oh, no no no. I want him to live a long life, immersed in his shame and misery.
Did the Group of 88 ever apologize?
From what I have read, there have been no apologies. They were “misunderstood”.
In my experience, people love to be victims, even if only by proxy.
I’m not going to defend Nifong. He certainly went much too far in condeming the Duke students w/o first considering the evidence, but think of the opposite scenario. If he hadn’t been agressive in pursuing the case there would have been a national hue and cry about the privileged Duke students being given preferential treatment. I think it’s also important to consider the history of the young woman accuser, her history implies possible mental problems. Seems like a set of very unfortunate circumstances.