Rape Charges Dropped in Duke Case
Posted on December 22, 2006
This case has never made much sense to me. The DNA doesn’t match, leave the kids alone already!
Prosecutors dropped rape charges Friday against three Duke University lacrosse players accused of attacking a stripper at a team party, but the three still face kidnapping and sexual offense charges, a defense attorney said.
Joseph Cheshire and attorneys for the other players have said for months the woman told several different versions of the alleged assault.Cheshire said Friday that the accuser now says she does not know if she was penetrated, which he said led District Attorney Mike Nifong to dismiss the rape charges.
Nifong did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
The accuser, a 28-year-old student at North Carolina Central University, has said three men raped her in a bathroom at a March 13 team party where she was hired to perform as a stripper.
The players _ Dave Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann _ all say they are innocent. Their attorneys have consistently said no sex occurred at the party and have cited a lack of DNA evidence in the case as proof of their clients’ innocence.
Reactions: Allahpundit:
All I know is that apparently DNA from a number of men was found inside the accuser after the attack; that none of it matches the defendants’; and that D.A. Nifong allegedly conspired to cover up that fact. Susan Estrich calls it an “extreme case of lawlessness by the prosecutors†that warrants Nifong being replaced by the court.
In other words, they’re being railroaded. Anything else I need to know?
But I don’t see what Nifong gains by maintaining the charges of kidnapping and sexual assault. She will stay have to take the stand and testify as to what happened and all her former statements will still be fair game. As will the information revealed last week of the multiple men’s DNA found inside her, none of which matched the three defendants or her purported boyfriend. Her veracity and her ability to identify the men she’s now not certain raped her will still be open to cross-examination. Neither the prosecution nor the defense will be able to depend on the other stripper’s story since she has changed her story and been public about her desire to make money off the story. So, it will all come down to this alleged victim’s credibility. If these defense lawyers can’t raise a reasonable doubt from that, they should turn in their licenses.
If nothing else, this will make the jury, and the public in general, question the credability of the story even more then they currently are. If this charge is false, what about the other charges? Could they be carrying the same amount of credability, none? It is becoming less and less likely everyday that the team members will be serving any time.
Say what?!?
She “initially” believe she’s been penetrated, but “cannot testify with certainty” it actually occurred? Good grief.
Of course not yet dropped are kidnapping and “sexual offenses” charges. However look for that to happen at some point in the near future as this case continues to collapse like a wet paper box.
Leaning Straight Up says the whole case never made sense.
Michelle Malkin has a great roundup.
» Filed Under Uncategorized
Trackback URL
Comments
One Response to “Rape Charges Dropped in Duke Case”
Affiliations
The Giants
-
Advertise
Donate
Steal Me
Our Store
Click the design to visit our store and help Stop the ACLU!
More blogs about the ACLU
You are voicing bias. If the accuser was raped as she claims then she was in a stressful situation. Stress is known to introduce memory loss. The accuser is also undergoing an assault on her character from the defense attorneys and she has been known to crumple under pressure before. The prosecutor has been silent since his initial revelation which means we are getting a one sided and therefore distorted view. The defense team is letting out information the cherry pick and they will not reveal evidence that makes their clients look guilty.