Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Comparing Duke Lacrosse to Scottsboro: Blasphemy!

The Trial of the Scottsboro Boys is widely held to be one of the worst cases of court room injustice in the history of the United States. It occurred in the southern state of Alabama during the height of Jim Crow and the Great Depression of the early thirties. In that case, nine black boys, the youngest being twelve, were rounded up by a gun toting posse after an altercation on a freight train in which they forced several whites off. One of the white women on the train, was a prostitute and was concerned about possible criminal charges she would face for traveling across state lines to provide service, so she convinced another white woman to divert attention from themselves by accusing the black boys of gang raping them. Of the nine boys rounded up on the freight train that night, they were confined in prisons and jails that were essentially hell holes, for many years, during numerous trials and re-trials. Outcome of almost all of the trials, despite evidence pointing to the innocence of the boys, was a conviction and death sentence. The last Scottsboro boy to be released, was released fifteen years later. It was a miracle that the boys even survived their incarceration, as the National Guard was called in to prevent their lynching by a mob shortly after they were first arrested and charged.

Now some individuals, such as Bill Anderson, want to compare the three Duke Lacrosse defendants to the Scottsboro boys and suggest a close kindred bond between the two. The purpose of trying to link the two is to try and convince people that the alleged injustice suffered by the Duke boys was of the same magnitude as that of the Scottsboro boys. Such an analogy is nonexistent, and to attempt to force such a relationship in the minds of people is blasphemous. There is definitely no comparison, other than both groups were charged with sexual assault. That is where the similarities end. Differences are as follows:
1) the Scottsboro boys were hitching a ride on a freight train in search of work when an altercation broke out with white riders on the freight. In the Duke Lacrosse case, the defendants were at a raucous party (ala “Animal House”) where their was under-aged drinking, drugs, and strippers. These parties were notoriously rowdy, and the Lacrosse coach had even been warned by the Duke administration to curb them, something he was unable to accomplish.
2) the Scottsboro boys were nearly lynched after charges were brought, and they faced the death penalty. Duke Lacrosse defendants’ safety was never an issue and they surely were not submitted to the stress of facing capital punishment.
3) the Scottsboro boys’ initial two defense attorneys were no dream team. One was so drunk that he couldn’t walk a straight line, and the other was in his 70’s and hadn’t been in the courtroom for decades. They didn’t call outside witnesses, didn’t effectively cross examine those on the stand, and made no closing statement. The Duke Lacrosse defendants families retained several prestigious law firms to represent their sons (which they claim charged them millions of dollars).
4) the Scottsboro boys were confined in small, squalid rat-infested cells, under the most deplorable conditions imaginable for many years. They were subjected to physical and psychological horrors routinely while incarcerated. None of the three Duke Lacrosse defendants spent any time in jail… the only one serving time as a result of the Duke Lacrosse case was prosecutor Mike Nifong.
5) although wrongfully charged and incarcerated, none of the Scottsboro boys receive compensation. The Duke Lacrosse defendants received seven million dollars ($7,000,000) each in an out of court settlement with Duke University, and they are avariciously suing the city of Durham for ten million dollars ($10,000,000) each.
6) the Scottsboro boys were not proclaimed innocent, however, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper took it upon himself to rule that the three Duke Lacrosse defendants were “innocent!”
7) many years after their ordeal, one of the Scottsboro boys wrote about the terrible experience. In the Duke Lacrosse case, a myriad of books, all favorable to the Duke Lacrosse defendants, have hit the market, and television and news programs, such as “60 Minutes” have produced stories about the case. At least one movie about the Duke Lacrosse case is already in the works.
8) the events that transpired with the Scottsboro boys are accepted and undisputed. However, what happened at the Duke lacrosse house party will never be known with certainty because Attorney General Roy Cooper saw to it that the case was shut down. No ensuing trial was held which would be able to bring clarity to what happened at the house on Buchanan Street in Durham on a night in March 2006. We will never know about the conversations the father of defendant Reid Seligmann had with the taxi cab driver and its effect on his changing testimony.

The aforementioned are just a few of the reasons that the Duke Lacrosse case doesn’t even come close to the standard of injustice set by the Scottsboro boys case. To suggest or insist that the two are comparable is a ploy used to steer the minds of those individuals who are not used to exercising theirs to think for themselves. The misguided followers and supporters of the Duke Lacrosse defendants have allowed the families of the defendants, the NC Attorney General’s Office, and the media (locally and nationally) to persecute Mr. Nifong, a dedicated prosecutor with 27 years of service to the state of North Carolina, who followed the principle of “equal justice for all” in prosecuting the Duke Lacrosse case. By doing so, these North Carolinians supporting the Duke Lacrosse defendants are enabling the carpetbagger families of the Duke Lacrosse defendants to further rape the state (the city of Durham alone has spent well over a million dollars in defending itself against the frivolous lawsuits of these families of wealth, status, privilege, greed, and vindictiveness).

A final analysis: The rape of the state of North Carolina by the carpetbagger families of the Duke Lacrosse defendants more closely approaches the magnitude of injustice associated with the Scottsboro boys than the pitiful alleged "injustice" suffered by the Duke Lacrosse defendants, which doesn’t even merit a blip on the scale of injustice.

12 comments:

Walt said...

Just for the record, I have never used, or accepted the Scottsboro analogy. The Duke lacrosse case stands on its own as a modern day glaring example of prosecutorial abuse. However, it does not come close to Scottsboro in terms of prosecutorial abuse. I would like to think that something like the Duke lacrosse case could not happen in our era. But, sadly it can and did. We are fortunate that the lacrosse case was stopped before it went too far.

Walt-in-Durham

SouthernGirl2 said...

Walt,

I emphatically disagree! We don't know what happened in the duke lacrosse case because it never went to trial. Ms Mangum is still claiming a sexual assault happened.

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3800813/



Spare me about the unqualified innocent proclamation given by Roy Cooper. There is no such thing as a "Declaration of Innocence" in the Judicial System. It's either guilty or not guilty at trial. There was no trial!!!!!!!!




Mr. Nifong was doing his job that he was elected to do!



A final analysis: The rape of the state of North Carolina by the carpetbagger families of the Duke Lacrosse defendants more closely approaches the magnitude of injustice associated with the Scottsboro boys than the pitiful alleged "injustice" suffered by the Duke Lacrosse defendants, which doesn’t even merit a blip on the scale of injustice.


Well stated! I concur!

Walt said...

We don't know what happened in the duke lacrosse case because it never went to trial.

Well, we know that Mike Nifong has twice said that the lacrosse defendants did not assault or rape Crystal Gail Mangum. While he was not the best prepared lawyer in the world, or even the best prepared lawyer on the case, he is in a unique position to know that nothing happened.

Further, the special prosecutors and the DPD did thoroughly investigate the case and came to the conclusion that not one of Mangum's versions of events was supported by any evidence, physical or testimonial. We also know that she could not reliably identify any suspects. Finally, we know that there was no DNA evidence to support her claims of rape or sexual assault by the lacrosse players.

I think it is safe to say that absent the incessant drum beat of publicity this case would and should have been dropped as soon as the SBI lab tests came back.

Ms Mangum is still claiming a sexual assault happened.

I was present on one occasion when she claimed a rape happened. I heard her and saw her. She was careful and deliberate when she made that claim and she never mentioned any of the lacrosse players or even a time frame. I suspect that she is telling the truth that she was raped. I happen to think she was raped by one of her previous sex partners and for whatever reason she does not want to implicate them. (There is some modest degree of evidence to support that theory. DNA from five (5) different individuals was recovered. If we eliminate the boyfriend and the driver, that still leaves three (3) potential suspects. To the extent that a rape/sexual assault took place, I think those are the only viable suspects.)

Walt-in-Durham

Justice4Jack said...

Who cares what Walt or anybody from Lieblobbers have to say? They ARE HYPOCRITES, and the daily feeding frenzy about this case 4 years later is just appalling!
And YES Nifong is GUILTY of trying to fabricate a case for his own political agenda, this is nothing new!
AND, Crystal is/was an ADMITTED PROSTITUTE! The ONLY reason she cried rape was because they wanted the $800 back for "services not rendered!"
Give me a break! The FACTS are just that simple, now how about moving FORWARD with OTHER cases where REAL crimes were committed against law abiding citizens!
How about the corrupt law enforcement, and the judicial system?! WHY have they escaped scrutiny?!
I am here BECAUSE I am STILL seeking JUSTICE for my MURDERED BROTHER, do any of you honestly care more about a bunch of college jerks and whores than you do INNOCENT people who are DEAD?!
Who killed my brother? Who killed Janet Araboa? Who did the Durham Sheriff's Deputy Mike Owens "ADMIT" to murdering for hire?! What about Philip Guyett, you know, the BODY SNATCHER?! And let us not forget the Satanist city council members that kept a man in a dogs cage for sex!
THESE are REAL HORROR stories, so instead of wasting so much time discussing Fong & crew, WHY NOT ADDRESS THESE REALITIES?!
Rhonda Fleming
Justice4Jack

Justice4Jack said...

Who cares what Walt or anybody from Lieblobbers have to say? They ARE HYPOCRITES, and the daily feeding frenzy about this case 4 years later is just appalling!
And YES Nifong is GUILTY of trying to fabricate a case for his own political agenda, this is nothing new!
AND, Crystal is/was an ADMITTED PROSTITUTE! The ONLY reason she cried rape was because they wanted the $800 back for "services not rendered!"
Give me a break! The FACTS are just that simple, now how about moving FORWARD with OTHER cases where REAL crimes were committed against law abiding citizens!
How about the corrupt law enforcement, and the judicial system?! WHY have they escaped scrutiny?!
I am here BECAUSE I am STILL seeking JUSTICE for my MURDERED BROTHER, do any of you honestly care more about a bunch of college jerks and whores than you do INNOCENT people who are DEAD?!
Who killed my brother? Who killed Janet Araboa? Who did the Durham Sheriff's Deputy Mike Owens "ADMIT" to murdering for hire?! What about Philip Guyett, you know, the BODY SNATCHER?! And let us not forget the Satanist city council members that kept a man in a dogs cage for sex!
THESE are REAL HORROR stories, so instead of wasting so much time discussing Fong & crew, WHY NOT ADDRESS THESE REALITIES?!
Rhonda Fleming
Justice4Jack

Justice4Jack said...

The ONLY legitimate comparison is RACE & MONEY!
I am quite sure that if this had happened at a "private home of working class young men," instead of "a university with 3 stooges of wealthy parents," this case would probably have ended with convictions, and most certainly not have had the public, or media attention this case has!
They are not alter boys, and she is not Snow White, so WHY are so many of you WASTING your life and time to follow a masquerade?!
As I have said, UNSOLVED MURDERS TRUMPS the "farce," and WHY in the world would ANYBODY want to see Nifong get his law license back, so he can go back and wallow in his quagmire of insidiousness?!
AND, where the Hell is the DOJ?!
Do you know WHY they have NOT come forward?! BECAUSE they do NOT want the public made aware of just how vile our entire judicial, and political systems are! AND it would cost MILLIONS of dollars, of which there is no need for, BECAUSE they already KNOW how deeply entrenched the corruption reaches, and they will NOT do anything UNTIL the PUBLIC DEMANDS a FEDERAL INVESTIGATION!
Well, my family, friends, and I have made HUNDREDS of requests to the DOJ over the past 4 years to investigate the corruption involved in covering up my brother's MURDER!
You want to talk about rights?! What if this was your loved one?! And instead of answering our requests, they have deleted our letters and e-mails! It was OURS that Easley deleted last year, as have the Durham Sherrif's Department, and the NC OCME!
I finally have had enough of being berated and ignored, so I decided to tell the WORLD using MySpace, and have publicly named his wife as being suspected of having him murdered for hire, including her name and address, and have I received ANY response from her or her lawyer?! NO!
And we have also filed complaints to the NC State Bar to investigate the lawyer she used to further rob him of his BODY, and his estate of nearly 2 million dollars, and have heard NOTHING from ANYBODY!
This is truly a case of "silence speaking louder than words!"
We are now working with Parent's Of Murdered Children, and getting "second opinions" by "forensic specialists." I CANNOT wait to make these findings public, THEN we are going to pursue JUSTICE & CONVICTIONS for CONSPIRACY to ALL of those "involved" in the coverup!
And again let me end my statement by saying once more that OUR SILENCE WILL NOT BE BOUGHT BY "SETTLEMENTS OUT OF COURT!"
OUR concern is NOT ABOUT MONEY, but is ALL ABOUT TRUTH AND JUSTICE FOR JACK!
Rhonda Fleming
Cleveland, Ohio
Justice4Jack
Justice4All2005@yahoo.com

Justice4Jack said...

The ONLY legitimate comparison is RACE & MONEY!
I am quite sure that if this had happened at a "private home of working class young men," instead of "a university with 3 stooges of wealthy parents," this case would probably have ended with convictions, and most certainly not have had the public, or media attention this case has!
They are not alter boys, and she is not Snow White, so WHY are so many of you WASTING your life and time to follow a masquerade?!
As I have said, UNSOLVED MURDERS TRUMPS the "farce," and WHY in the world would ANYBODY want to see Nifong get his law license back, so he can go back and wallow in his quagmire of insidiousness?!
AND, where the Hell is the DOJ?!
Do you know WHY they have NOT come forward?! BECAUSE they do NOT want the public made aware of just how vile our entire judicial, and political systems are! AND it would cost MILLIONS of dollars, of which there is no need for, BECAUSE they already KNOW how deeply entrenched the corruption reaches, and they will NOT do anything UNTIL the PUBLIC DEMANDS a FEDERAL INVESTIGATION!
Well, my family, friends, and I have made HUNDREDS of requests to the DOJ over the past 4 years to investigate the corruption involved in covering up my brother's MURDER!
You want to talk about rights?! What if this was your loved one?! And instead of answering our requests, they have deleted our letters and e-mails! It was OURS that Easley deleted last year, as have the Durham Sherrif's Department, and the NC OCME!
I finally have had enough of being berated and ignored, so I decided to tell the WORLD using MySpace, and have publicly named his wife as being suspected of having him murdered for hire, including her name and address, and have I received ANY response from her or her lawyer?! NO!
And we have also filed complaints to the NC State Bar to investigate the lawyer she used to further rob him of his BODY, and his estate of nearly 2 million dollars, and have heard NOTHING from ANYBODY!
This is truly a case of "silence speaking louder than words!"
We are now working with Parent's Of Murdered Children, and getting "second opinions" by "forensic specialists." I CANNOT wait to make these findings public, THEN we are going to pursue JUSTICE & CONVICTIONS for CONSPIRACY to ALL of those "involved" in the coverup!
And again let me end my statement by saying once more that OUR SILENCE WILL NOT BE BOUGHT BY "SETTLEMENTS OUT OF COURT!"
OUR concern is NOT ABOUT MONEY, but is ALL ABOUT TRUTH AND JUSTICE FOR JACK!
Rhonda Fleming
Cleveland, Ohio
Justice4Jack
Justice4All2005@yahoo.com

Justice4Jack said...

And then there is silence! You all have so much to go on about, so why do you not respond to my comments?
The TRUTH hurts, and AGAIN, let me say that Nifong is NOT off of the hook with my brother's murder either! I hope I have them all running scared, and am sure they are as I am NOT intimidated by "them" or his wife!
If you want to investigate a REAL crime, go look for yourself! It is "public record" since his case was closed, let's see if you can learn anything I have not!
Any takers?!
Rhonda Fleming
Justice4Jack
Justice4all2005@yahoo.com

greg said...

Nifong and the Duke University administration desperately need to have their financial bodies flayed to the marrow. The four men (I include the ex-lacrosse coach as a victim) should be esteemed examples of what happens when unrestrained agenda and slobbering devotion to the bottom feeders of Sharpton and Jackson are given full rein and encouragement to flout evidence, law, ethics, common decency, and, even, the lowest common denominator of morality, a congressional member. These four men should never have to be forced to earn another moment's pay for the remainder of their lives and should do so while enjoying a decadently opulent existence. Crime should pay: to its victims; Duke and Nifong should foot the bill - FOREVER!

Justice4Jack said...

Oh, to Hades with all you Lieblobbing whiners! You want to talk about "bone and marrow" well, that is EXACTLY what was done to my BROTHER!

The STATE told us he WAS an "Organ Donor" then 2 years and 3 DA's later, that they did not?!

We have been BEGGING to know if my BROTHER'S BODY was one of the MANY found in Philip Guyett's freezer, and HOW did it get there?!

NOT TO MENTION A MURDER CONSPIRACY! You ALL need to pull your heads out your bums and FOCUS on the CORRUPTION!

PAY the 3 Stooges MORE, are you SERIOUS!
Rhonda Fleming
Cleveland, Ohio
Justice4Jack
Justice4All2005@yahoo.com

SouthernGirl2 said...

Greg,

Jessie Jackson & Al Sharpton didn't make the lacrosse team have such a disgusting party nor did they encourage the guys to hurl racial slurs, underage drinking, or to steal Ms Mangum's money. The lacrosse team brought all these things upon themselves. They need to take responsibility for themselves.

Your anger should be directed at the lacrosse team for trying to make Durham their sandbox. These guys made their bed so they need to own it.

Justice4Jack said...

I agree with you 58 on that one! They ALL brought it on themselves, and to say give them MORE money is just PATHETIC!
If they had to do this all over, would they? IMO, probably YES!

4 years, and millions of dollars later, the FACT remains that the 3 Stooges WERE expecting "something to happen!"

They paid $800 for lap dances from prostitutes! This is more of a comedy than a tragedy! And the JOKE is on DURM!

The supporters of the "Stooges" are pretty much white, college educated people, who only have their "eyes on the prize!" DISGUSTING!

Had the "Stooges" been poor and black, and if the hookers were white, this case would have had a very different ending, and my guess is that you Lieblobbing whiners would then be on the side of the hookers!

Truly a fat bunch of bigoted hypocrites! You are no better than Fong, and this farce has been milked for more than it is worth!

I am trying to solve a MURDER, and have a Federal Investigation into Durm, THESE crimes have gone by without a whisper, ask yourselves WHY?!

But, none of you honestly CARE to truly seek JUSTICE, and IMO are just "bottom feeders!"
Rhonda Fleming
Justice4Jack
Sister Of Allen Jackson Croft Jr
Murdered May 11, 2005 in Durham
Justice4all2005@yahoo.com
www.myspace.com/Sinnderrella