PART ONE
PART TWO
Word count: 1,112
Instead of “equal justice for all,” North Carolina follows a tenet of “selective justice based on Class and Color.” This is manifested by the fact that it is broken, corrupted, and hijacked.
That the system is broken is undeniable in lieu of the numerous incidents of innocent individuals being unjustly incarcerated for months and years, only later to be exonerated. Of few of North Carolina’s wrongly incarcerated include Erick Daniels, James Arthur Johnson, Floyd Brown, Alan Gell, Carletta Alston, and Kenneth Kagonyera.
Distinguished UNC-Chapel Hill law professor Rich Rosen, in a recent paper, cited that the Tar Heel state lagged only behind the states of Illinois and Louisiana in the number of death row inmates found later to be innocent of committing capital crimes.
Of those innocents who have been wrongfully sentenced to death or life include Darryl Hunt, Glen Edward Chapman, Levon “Bo” Jones, Gregory Taylor, and Joseph Sledge… all of whom have been deprived of precious decades of freedom… lost years in the prime of their lives for which no amount of money can compensate.
That the system is corrupted is plainly evidenced by the facts surrounding the trumped up criminal charges against Duke Lacrosse victim/accuser Crystal Mangum. Incarcerated for 689 days prior to making bond to await trial for first degree murder in the death of her boyfriend Reginald Daye, Ms. Mangum was the true victim of a vendetta prosecution as payback for her role in the Duke Lacrosse case.
The events surrounding Daye’s death clearly show that Mangum was physically assaulted in a domestic violence incident and that she stabbed Daye in self-defense. Facts point out that the prosecutors, in charging Mangum in Daye’s death, used a false and fraudulent autopsy report produced by the North Carolina Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Clay Nichols.
Discrepancies in the medical findings are readily apparent between the autopsy report and all of the other medical records, including the operative report, orthopedic consultation
report, EMS records and other documents found in prosecution discovery.
Comparisons can be made on the following directory which includes the autopsy report as well as other medical records. Clicking the “Notation” button will highlight important passages. Clicking the “Clear notes” button will return to the previous directory where another selection can be made. After completion of viewing the documents, click the “Proceed” button to continue with the flog.
Another problem with the autopsy report is its conclusion that Daye died due to “complications of a stab wound to the chest.” This is not merely misleading or disingenuous, but an outright lie… but a lie that Prosecutor Kelly Gauger required in order to charge Crystal Mangum with murder following Daye’s death. No nexus is presented by Dr. Nichols between the stab wound and Daye’s death.
All indications are that the emergency surgery, for the wound that was not considered to be life-threatening, went well with Reginald Daye’s prognosis for a full recovery.
Dr. Nichols conveniently omitted the events that contributed to Daye’s death that included delirium tremens, an esophageal intubation that precipitated cardiac arrest and brain death, a weeklong comatose state, and the elective removal from life support by the medical staff at Duke University Hospital that resulted in Daye’s demise.
The autopsy report can be compared with other medical records and documents in order to support the premise that the true cause of Daye’s death had nothing to do with the stab wound, but rather the errantly placed endotracheal tube.
That the North Carolina justice system has been hijacked is realized by the fact that the mainstream media, politicians, civil rights organization, and community leaders, despite having full knowledge of the significant problems with the autopsy report and prosecution’s case against Mangum, have elected to remain mute and idle… acting as enablers or conspirators after the fact. No one has Nifongian courage to challenge the blatant and disparate legal mistreatment of Crystal Mangum by the state.
This is the same thing that happened to then Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong six years ago when he prosecuted the Duke Lacrosse case. The state worked with the media in disparaging Mr. Nifong and raining in public contempt against a man who was merely doing his job, but in a dedicated and independent manner.
The subsequent persecution of Mr. Nifong pulled a shroud over the state’s justice system, and it is therefore no wonder that Dr. Clay Nichols would rather commit a criminal act than go against the wishes of the Powers-That-Be… those who have stolen from Tar Heelians the reins of justice.
North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper and former Governor Bev Perdue were made aware of allegations of fraudulence in the autopsy report by Dr. Nichols. The state’s Medical Board was notified about Dr. Nichols’ fabricated autopsy report and has determined not to take action against him. The North Carolina State Bar received complaints against Durham Prosecutors Gauger and Charlene Coggins-Franks and it, likewise, decided not to proceed.
Currently North Carolina is a state where those in positions of power and those with a voice feel compromised because of the example made of Mr. Nifong. The State, the media, and even the defense attorneys for Mangum have as their number one priority to protect the medical examiner and Duke University Hospital… even if it means an unlawful felony conviction and years of imprisonment for an innocent African American mother of three… Mangum.
All avenues at the state level to rectify the injustice against Mangum have been extensive and have been exhausted. It is time for the Federal government to get involved because the state is the problem.
Consider the following for example: this state absolutely adores former Senator Jesse Helms, an unrepentant racist. The media refers to him in glowing terms while ignoring his bigoted past… Congresswoman Renee Elmers wants to name a Federal Building in downtown Raleigh after him. Not only that, but the General Assembly nearly unanimously paid tribute to him (one negative vote), however, this same body cannot drum up enough votes to grant a pardon to former Governor William Wood Holden who had the audacity to confront the Ku Klux Klan and prevent its lynching of African Americans in the 19th century.
Furthermore the state is tossing out the Racial Justice Act and rushing forward to actions necessary to commence executions of the African American majority of death row inmates.
The case against Crystal Mangum is clearly one that represents the state’s justice system of one which acts selectively based on Class and Color.
