# The Tawana Brawley case **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 23, 2004, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tawana-brawley-case/251752 "2004-06-23T03:35:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tawana-brawley-case/251752/1 "2004-06-23T03:35:51Z")
I was reading something earlier, and [Tawana Brawley](http://www.courttv.com/archive/legaldocs/newsmakers/tawana/) was mentioned. Now, I’ve never really read much about it before, but a google search brought up several sites-the most technical and factual appears to be one from Court TV (I confess to not knowing much about the credibility of CTV, but the article looked decent, with very little opinions stated, sticking mostly to the facts. The facts appear to be: Ms Brawley was found in the woods, covered in feces, in tattered and torn clothing, with her hair hacked off, racial slurrs written on her body. She claimed to have been abducted and raped by six white police officers and held for four days. Forensic evidence put her allegations in doubt. Her cause was later taken up by, among others, Rev. Al Sharpton, a rather controversial figure, to put it mildly. Today, Tawana Brawley still insists she was raped, and there have been charges of a cover up. Who to believe? What’s the “straight dope?” (I hope **Great Debates** is okay for this question. I was going to put it in **General Questions** , but then I figured that this subject is a rather controversial one, and it might be easier to determine the facts if I put it here). ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tawana-brawley-case/251752/2 "2004-06-23T04:40:03Z")
Conventional wisdom suggests that whatever she was doing, it wasn’t being raped by six police officers. I don’t have any better information than the CTV site, but it seems more than accurate. The case is mostly notable for the stink and hue raised by a Reverend Al Sharpton. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tawana-brawley-case/251752/3 "2004-06-23T04:59:30Z")
I think this case was put to bed years ago as utter made up bullshit, and not even good bullshit. It was an obvious tissue of outrageous lies from the beginning. [Here’s a good (and fairly short) synopsis - The Tawana Brawley Hoax](http://eightiesclub.tripod.com/id315.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tawana-brawley-case/251752/4 "2004-06-23T05:58:37Z")
I live near where it all happened. She wasn’t found in the woods, she was found in a plastic trash bag behind a building in the apartment projects where she lived. For me, this blew the whole case right from the start: An eyewitness, a completely credible woman with absolutely no reason to lie who lived in the same development, watched from her window as Brawley walked behind the building, climbed into the trash bag, and lied down and waited to be discovered. She testified as such. Brawley was a troubled teen girl who stayed out all weekend and didn’t want to get smacked around by her step-father for it. So she made up this ridiculous story and Sharpton, Mason & Maddox ran with it. One of the assistant DAs whom Sharpton accused of covering things up sued Sharpton for libel and won. Sharpton wound up paying him a hundred grand or so I think. To this day Brawley maintains her story. But she’s, how shall I put this, not a very bright person. She was easily convinced that she was going to be some kind of modern day Martin Luther King or something. All in all, political correctness gone absolutely amuck. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tawana-brawley-case/251752/5 "2004-06-23T06:11:56Z")
Political correctness nothing – this was someone who screwed up (Tawana was out late, IIRC, and feared getting in trouble with her mom), and decided to cover it up with a lie that would play to people’s worst expectations. It’s similar to the [Susan Smith](http://www.statementanalysis.com/smith/) case (woman drowns her two boys in a car, then lies about being carjacked by a black man), albeit on a smaller scale. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tawana-brawley-case/251752/6 "2004-06-23T12:28:04Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > It’s similar to the [Susan Smith](http://www.statementanalysis.com/smith/) case (woman drowns her two boys in a car, then lies about being carjacked by a black man), albeit on a smaller scale. On a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 would be the maximum in injustice, abuse of racial politics and dragging innocent people through the mud, the Brawley case would be a 10. The Susan Smith case would draw about a 2 (the Charles Stuart affair in Boston might get a 7). ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tawana-brawley-case/251752/7 "2004-06-23T13:43:33Z")
> [@Hail Ants](#): > > One of the assistant DAs whom Sharpton accused of covering things up sued Sharpton for libel and won. Sharpton wound up paying him a hundred grand or so I think. It was worse than that. He named one of the county officials as one of the “rapists.” He sued Sharpton (along with his advisors C. Vernon Mason and Alton Maddox) for defamation and won. Sharpton paid out verrrrrrry slowly, and in the end, some friends ended up paying the judgement for him. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tawana-brawley-case/251752/8 "2004-06-23T14:16:35Z")
> [@astro](#): > > I think this case was put to bed years ago as utter made up bullshit, and not even good bullshit. It was an obvious tissue of outrageous lies from the beginning. Beg to differ, **astro** You’re completely wrong in your facts here. Not that Brawley and Sharpton weren’t lying, mind. Just that it was dogshit. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tawana-brawley-case/251752/9 "2004-06-23T14:53:48Z")
Don’t have the title on the tip of my tongue any more, but I read a book that pretty much nails Sharpton and Co. to the wall as being well aware, very early on, that this incident had not happened, and that they decided to proceed with the circus anyhow. I was at SUNY/Old Westbury and editor of the school newspaper at the time, and my best reporter who had some extended family in the Wappinger Falls area wrote a story and an editorial excoriating the continued presence of disgusting white racism, only to pull both pieces (before publication) the next day. She said word had filtered back from family and neighbors that something wasn’t quite right about this. By the end of the week, the media was getting publicly skeptical. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tawana-brawley-case/251752/10 "2004-06-23T16:29:03Z")
FYI, The name of the man falsely accused by Sharpton et al was Steven Pagones. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tawana-brawley-case/251752/11 "2004-06-23T17:45:59Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > On a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 would be the maximum in injustice, abuse of racial politics and dragging innocent people through the mud, the Brawley case would be a 10. The Susan Smith case would draw about a 2 (the Charles Stuart affair in Boston might get a 7). Not to hijack this thread on a wholly subjective topic, but I’d rate the Susan Smith fiasco a bit worse, if only because we ended up with two dead boys in the process. I also find it a bit telling that her imaginary carjacker was a black man, as if an imaginary _white_ carjacker was less plausible… ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tawana-brawley-case/251752/12 "2004-06-23T18:07:27Z")
Don’t know how relevant this is, but I know some people who knew Tawana in college. To put it mildly, the young woman was (is) fucked up in the head. The Charles Stuart fiaso and the Tawana Brawley fiasco are neck-to-neck in their awfulness, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tawana-brawley-case/251752/13 "2004-06-23T18:58:07Z")
IMHO, the Freddy’s Fashion Mart case is worse yet. Of course, Sharpton was ass-deep in that one too. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tawana-brawley-case/251752/14 "2004-06-23T19:19:05Z")
> [@Mr. Moto](#): > > IMHO, the Freddy’s Fashion Mart case is worse yet. > > Of course, Sharpton was ass-deep in that one too. What’s the Freddy’s Fashion Mart case? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tawana-brawley-case/251752/15 "2004-06-23T19:37:23Z")
Freddie’s Fashon Mart was a white Jewish owned business in Harlem. After their rent was raised, they raised the rent on their subtenant, a black owned record store. Sharpton led protests and pickets against the Fashon Mart, claiming that they were outsiders who were trying to force the record store out so that a white business would move. As the protests went on, picketers clashed with store customers, and the whole business ended when somebody went into the store one night with a gun and a flammable liquid, started shooting, then torched the place and either killed himself or was killed by police. Here’s a link to the NYT article reporting the story. [http://www.pulitzer.org/year/1996/spot-news-reporting/works/freddies.html](http://www.pulitzer.org/year/1996/spot-news-reporting/works/freddies.html) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tawana-brawley-case/251752/16 "2004-06-23T19:57:11Z")
The ironic thing is, Freddy’s Fashion Mart was a tenant themselves. Their rent was being raised by their landlord, a black church. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tawana-brawley-case/251752/17 "2004-06-24T05:14:58Z")
Hmmm, so she’s still claiming she was raped? Was there ever any investigation of her family situation-that she was abused? I can’t imagine being so afraid of getting in trouble that I’d actually smear myself with dog shit, hack off my hair and burn my clothes and sleep in a plastic bag in the trash! ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tawana-brawley-case/251752/18 "2004-06-24T06:29:22Z")
Brawley’s mother was just as bad. For awhile she dodged a subpoena by staying in a church someplace. I read an interview with her while she was staying there and, my god, it was like something out of an Amos & Andy sketch. She went on about how, “I’s be treated like a queen here. I don’ts got to go out for nothin’, everything is brought to me.” She had no regard for anything she or her daughter were doing. She thought she was a celebrity now… ---
**Author:** ![MidnightRadio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@MidnightRadio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MidnightRadio)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tawana-brawley-case/251752/19 "2004-06-24T15:50:30Z")
Who was Charles Stuart? ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tawana-brawley-case/251752/20 "2004-06-24T16:22:44Z")
> [@MidnightRadio](#): > > Who was Charles Stuart? This is from the [crimelibrary.com](http://crimelibrary.com) story on [Susan Smith](http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/famous/smith/confess_8.html?sect=7). I can’t find a decent site on just Stuart. > [@](#): > > In some of the editorials, the Smith case was compared to the 1989 case of Charles Stuart. Stuart was a Boston man who shot and killed his pregnant wife in a parked car and then called 911 to report that he and his wife had been attacked by a black man. Stuart’s 911 call was broadcast repeatedly in the days after the crime took place. Stuart claimed that the black man robbed Stuart and his wife of their wallets and jewelry and then shot Mrs. Stuart in the head and Stuart in the stomach. During their investigation, the Boston police aggressively questioned a large number of black men in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston. Roxbury has a large African American population. Gradually, investigators became suspicious of Stuart and his story. Stuart, fearing that the truth was about to emerge, committed suicide by jumping off a bridge. Boston’s African American community was outraged by the treatment that the young men in their community had received during the Stuart investigation and leaders staged rallies and demanded the resignation of several policemen and an apology from city officials. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tawana-brawley-case/251752.md?page=2)