Showing posts with label Chris Shella. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chris Shella. Show all posts
Sunday, January 4, 2015
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Plea deal effort made in order to keep exculpatory evidence from Mangum
Word count: 1,461
It is obvious that Woody Vann, the defense attorney appointed to represent Crystal Mangum, is leading a full-court press in his attempt to pressure his client into accepting a plea deal… one that would be to her detriment and a salvation to Orange County Medical Examiner Clay Nichols, Duke University Hospital, the city of Durham, and prosecutors Kelly Gauger and Charlene Coggins-Franks.
Mangum, the Duke Lacrosse victim/accuser, has been incarcerated since April 3, 2011 on an initial charge of assault with a deadly weapon for the stabbing of Reginald Daye. An alcoholic, Mr. Daye was heavily intoxicated when in a jealous rage he began physically abusing Ms. Mangum by repeatedly punching her in the face and head, spitting on her, pulling out her hair, and kicking in the bathroom door in order to get at her. It was Daye who brought a set of steak knives from the kitchen into the bedroom, where most of the horrific abuse took place, and began throwing them at her. According to Mangum, he was choking her with both hands when she desperately grabbed a knife lying around and stabbed him once.
Prosecution photographs recorded the injuries sustained by Mangum at Daye’s hands, displays the clumps of her hair lying on the floor at the scene, and shows the battered locked bathroom door that Daye had kicked off its hinges.
These photographs have been turned over by prosecution to Ms. Mangum’s defense attorneys (Chris Shella and Mr. Vann), but they have withheld them from her despite her requests to have copies. Her requests for this specific prosecution discovery have been denied by her defense counsel for more than a year.
After Reginald Daye was taken to Duke University Hospital with the non-life threatening wound, he underwent successful emergency surgery by the trauma team and was on his way to a full recovery. On the third postoperative day, however, complications from alcoholic withdrawal led to his transfer to the Surgical Intensive Care Unit. It was then that a decision to intubate him was made in order to administer concentrated oxygen and protect his airway… but, unfortunately the esophagus was intubated instead of the trachea, and the lungs were deprived of oxygen for an extended period of time. This medical malpractice by Duke University staff resulted in Daye’s brain death, and after a week in which no improvement was observed, he was removed from life support and died.
The following day, Orange County Medical Examiner Dr. Nichols performed an autopsy and dictated an Autopsy Examination Report dated April14, 2011. This report, which was released to the public four months later, contained findings of injuries that were not supported by the operative report and other medical records… and many of the reports findings were contradicted by the other documents. Nichols’ narrative omitted mention of problems with delirium tremens which were manifested in Daye, omitted mention of problems with the intubation and re-intubation during CPR, omitted mention of Daye’s weeklong coma, omitted mention of the fact that Daye died after he was taken off life support, and the omission of other pertinent and important facts.
Along with the myriad of false findings and glaring omissions, Dr. Nichols then somehow magically reached the conclusion that Daye died due to “complications of a stab wound to the chest.” No where in the document does the medical examiner even attempt to construct a nexus to support his conclusion. A reasonable person with full knowledge of the facts would immediately realize that Nichols’ conclusion in the autopsy report was reached for the sole purpose of allowing Durham prosecutors to charge Crystal Mangum with Daye’s death… to shift the true responsibility for Daye’s demise from Duke University Hospital staff where it belongs onto Crystal Mangum.
After reviewing the autopsy report by Dr. Nichols, I knew immediately that it was impossible for Daye to have sustained all of the injuries listed (perforations to the left lung, diaphragm, left kidney, fundus of the stomach, spleen, and splenic flexure of the colon) with just a single stab wound with a steak knife. At some point, the State Bureau of Investigation began doing some mysterious experiment that I have been led to believe had to do with the entry wound and its trajectory within Daye’s body. I am not sure what its intention was to prove or to disprove. But, if conducted objectively and scientifically, it would undoubtedly conclude that it was impossible for a single stabbing with a steak knife to inflict the injuries reported by Nichols.
From what I have been told, this mysterious report by the SBI (which has been under scrutiny for many of its unorthodox testing, i.e. markings on bullets, blood spatter, etc.) was conducted over an approximate twelve month period. Crystal Mangum has repeatedly requested to have a copy of this report, as well, but her attorney, Woody Vann has refused.
On May 24, 2012, I showed Mr. Vann the faults within the Nichols autopsy report, and the many discrepancies between it and other medical records. This motivated Mr. Vann to consider having an independent forensic pathologist review the April 14, 2011 autopsy report, and around June 16, 2012, a judge ordered payment for such an expert witness… Dr. Christena L. Roberts.
Crystal Mangum told me that Mr. Vann had received the report from Dr. Roberts but that he would not allow her to see it or give her a copy until after she was released from the Durham County Detention Center. He gave no reason to her for his decision. This important document will undoubtedly refute the determination made by Orange County M.E. Clay Nichols that Reginald Daye died due to complications of a stab wound to the chest. The report by Dr. Roberts would effectively take the murder charge off consideration and destroy the prosecution’s case against Mangum. Crystal Mangum has repeatedly asked Mr. Vann for this document, and he as consistently refused.
Crystal Mangum has been denied the opportunity to see these vital pieces of documents which represent exculpatory evidence. The prosecution is prohibited from withholding such evidence from the defendant, but in this peculiar situation, the defense attorney is the impediment.
As I have said for some time, the truth will set Ms. Mangum free, despite the obstructionist and counterproductive activities of Mangum’s counsel to undermine the strength of her defensive position. Woody Vann, along with prosecutor Charlene Coggins-Franks, is working in conjunction with the mainstream media to keep the truth under wraps. Mr. Vann has no intention of ever allowing these pieces of evidence to ever see the public light of day. The photographs, for example, would heavily lean towards Mangum’s claim that she had been abused and acted in self-defense. The report from the SBI would cast doubt on the numerous injuries listed in the Nichols’ autopsy document, and the report by Dr. Roberts would poke huge holes into the April 14, 2011 report’s findings and conclusion about the cause of Daye’s death. The very credibility of the Nichols autopsy report would be irreparably damaged.
With the annihilation of the Nichols’ report, the prosecution’s case against Mangum would go up in flames as well. As a result of this revelation, Crystal Mangum would be viewed by the public as a victim of Reginald Daye, and a victim of a conspiratorial justice system with heavy collusion from the biased mainstream media. Reputations of the medical examiner, Duke University Hospital, Durham prosecutors, and defense attorneys would also take a beating if the truth were known.
Mr. Vann’s objective now is to keep the truth from being known. To achieve that, he has been seeking to get a plea deal with Ms. Mangum… for her to plea to a felony assault charge in exchange for time served. This would allow the true criminals in this intrigue to escape from the hook, and for the damning prosecution discovery to be disposed of, unseen.
What is truly sad and unfortunate is that Mr. Vann is using his position of trust as attorney for defendant Mangum, to her disadvantage and to the benefit of the prosecution… and he is doing it with the blessing of the North Carolina State Bar. (It seems as though the State Bar is more interested in going after laypersons trying to assist – within the bounds of the law – Ms. Mangum.)
The desperation by the prosecution and its surrogate Vann is evident when he tells Mangum that if she does not accept the plea deal, she is unlikely to get into court before April 2013. This is just one of the scare tactics used by Vann in his bid to protect the prosecutorial conspirators, shield the exculpatory evidence, and really put the screws to the Duke Lacrosse accuser.
It is obvious that Woody Vann, the defense attorney appointed to represent Crystal Mangum, is leading a full-court press in his attempt to pressure his client into accepting a plea deal… one that would be to her detriment and a salvation to Orange County Medical Examiner Clay Nichols, Duke University Hospital, the city of Durham, and prosecutors Kelly Gauger and Charlene Coggins-Franks.
Mangum, the Duke Lacrosse victim/accuser, has been incarcerated since April 3, 2011 on an initial charge of assault with a deadly weapon for the stabbing of Reginald Daye. An alcoholic, Mr. Daye was heavily intoxicated when in a jealous rage he began physically abusing Ms. Mangum by repeatedly punching her in the face and head, spitting on her, pulling out her hair, and kicking in the bathroom door in order to get at her. It was Daye who brought a set of steak knives from the kitchen into the bedroom, where most of the horrific abuse took place, and began throwing them at her. According to Mangum, he was choking her with both hands when she desperately grabbed a knife lying around and stabbed him once.
Prosecution photographs recorded the injuries sustained by Mangum at Daye’s hands, displays the clumps of her hair lying on the floor at the scene, and shows the battered locked bathroom door that Daye had kicked off its hinges.
These photographs have been turned over by prosecution to Ms. Mangum’s defense attorneys (Chris Shella and Mr. Vann), but they have withheld them from her despite her requests to have copies. Her requests for this specific prosecution discovery have been denied by her defense counsel for more than a year.
After Reginald Daye was taken to Duke University Hospital with the non-life threatening wound, he underwent successful emergency surgery by the trauma team and was on his way to a full recovery. On the third postoperative day, however, complications from alcoholic withdrawal led to his transfer to the Surgical Intensive Care Unit. It was then that a decision to intubate him was made in order to administer concentrated oxygen and protect his airway… but, unfortunately the esophagus was intubated instead of the trachea, and the lungs were deprived of oxygen for an extended period of time. This medical malpractice by Duke University staff resulted in Daye’s brain death, and after a week in which no improvement was observed, he was removed from life support and died.
The following day, Orange County Medical Examiner Dr. Nichols performed an autopsy and dictated an Autopsy Examination Report dated April14, 2011. This report, which was released to the public four months later, contained findings of injuries that were not supported by the operative report and other medical records… and many of the reports findings were contradicted by the other documents. Nichols’ narrative omitted mention of problems with delirium tremens which were manifested in Daye, omitted mention of problems with the intubation and re-intubation during CPR, omitted mention of Daye’s weeklong coma, omitted mention of the fact that Daye died after he was taken off life support, and the omission of other pertinent and important facts.
Along with the myriad of false findings and glaring omissions, Dr. Nichols then somehow magically reached the conclusion that Daye died due to “complications of a stab wound to the chest.” No where in the document does the medical examiner even attempt to construct a nexus to support his conclusion. A reasonable person with full knowledge of the facts would immediately realize that Nichols’ conclusion in the autopsy report was reached for the sole purpose of allowing Durham prosecutors to charge Crystal Mangum with Daye’s death… to shift the true responsibility for Daye’s demise from Duke University Hospital staff where it belongs onto Crystal Mangum.
After reviewing the autopsy report by Dr. Nichols, I knew immediately that it was impossible for Daye to have sustained all of the injuries listed (perforations to the left lung, diaphragm, left kidney, fundus of the stomach, spleen, and splenic flexure of the colon) with just a single stab wound with a steak knife. At some point, the State Bureau of Investigation began doing some mysterious experiment that I have been led to believe had to do with the entry wound and its trajectory within Daye’s body. I am not sure what its intention was to prove or to disprove. But, if conducted objectively and scientifically, it would undoubtedly conclude that it was impossible for a single stabbing with a steak knife to inflict the injuries reported by Nichols.
From what I have been told, this mysterious report by the SBI (which has been under scrutiny for many of its unorthodox testing, i.e. markings on bullets, blood spatter, etc.) was conducted over an approximate twelve month period. Crystal Mangum has repeatedly requested to have a copy of this report, as well, but her attorney, Woody Vann has refused.
On May 24, 2012, I showed Mr. Vann the faults within the Nichols autopsy report, and the many discrepancies between it and other medical records. This motivated Mr. Vann to consider having an independent forensic pathologist review the April 14, 2011 autopsy report, and around June 16, 2012, a judge ordered payment for such an expert witness… Dr. Christena L. Roberts.
Crystal Mangum told me that Mr. Vann had received the report from Dr. Roberts but that he would not allow her to see it or give her a copy until after she was released from the Durham County Detention Center. He gave no reason to her for his decision. This important document will undoubtedly refute the determination made by Orange County M.E. Clay Nichols that Reginald Daye died due to complications of a stab wound to the chest. The report by Dr. Roberts would effectively take the murder charge off consideration and destroy the prosecution’s case against Mangum. Crystal Mangum has repeatedly asked Mr. Vann for this document, and he as consistently refused.
Crystal Mangum has been denied the opportunity to see these vital pieces of documents which represent exculpatory evidence. The prosecution is prohibited from withholding such evidence from the defendant, but in this peculiar situation, the defense attorney is the impediment.
As I have said for some time, the truth will set Ms. Mangum free, despite the obstructionist and counterproductive activities of Mangum’s counsel to undermine the strength of her defensive position. Woody Vann, along with prosecutor Charlene Coggins-Franks, is working in conjunction with the mainstream media to keep the truth under wraps. Mr. Vann has no intention of ever allowing these pieces of evidence to ever see the public light of day. The photographs, for example, would heavily lean towards Mangum’s claim that she had been abused and acted in self-defense. The report from the SBI would cast doubt on the numerous injuries listed in the Nichols’ autopsy document, and the report by Dr. Roberts would poke huge holes into the April 14, 2011 report’s findings and conclusion about the cause of Daye’s death. The very credibility of the Nichols autopsy report would be irreparably damaged.
With the annihilation of the Nichols’ report, the prosecution’s case against Mangum would go up in flames as well. As a result of this revelation, Crystal Mangum would be viewed by the public as a victim of Reginald Daye, and a victim of a conspiratorial justice system with heavy collusion from the biased mainstream media. Reputations of the medical examiner, Duke University Hospital, Durham prosecutors, and defense attorneys would also take a beating if the truth were known.
Mr. Vann’s objective now is to keep the truth from being known. To achieve that, he has been seeking to get a plea deal with Ms. Mangum… for her to plea to a felony assault charge in exchange for time served. This would allow the true criminals in this intrigue to escape from the hook, and for the damning prosecution discovery to be disposed of, unseen.
What is truly sad and unfortunate is that Mr. Vann is using his position of trust as attorney for defendant Mangum, to her disadvantage and to the benefit of the prosecution… and he is doing it with the blessing of the North Carolina State Bar. (It seems as though the State Bar is more interested in going after laypersons trying to assist – within the bounds of the law – Ms. Mangum.)
The desperation by the prosecution and its surrogate Vann is evident when he tells Mangum that if she does not accept the plea deal, she is unlikely to get into court before April 2013. This is just one of the scare tactics used by Vann in his bid to protect the prosecutorial conspirators, shield the exculpatory evidence, and really put the screws to the Duke Lacrosse accuser.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
The jig is up on the widespread corrupt 2011 conspiracy against Mangum
Word count 2,720
The pieces have been in place for some time… the puzzle is complete and it exposes a conspiracy so broad in scope as to be mind-boggling… a scenario that is acceptable to all reasonable individuals, even those who are not bona fide conspiracy theorists. This 2011 murder/larceny conspiracy is much broader and more serious than the 2010 arson intrigue that put the Duke Lacrosse victim/accuser Crystal Mangum in jail for three months… but they are both similar in motive and structure.
The first degree murder charge and the “larceny of chose in action” charge against Crystal Mangum related to Reginald Daye’s death on April 13, 2011, are without doubt bogus and baseless… charges which should never have been brought against Mangum, and charges that were inspired by an unquenchable thirst by prosecutors and the misguided to exact payback for her role in the Duke Lacrosse case. The ability to bring these charges was due to complicity of many actors sharing a common desire to inflict severe grief upon Mangum. However, the lynchpin holding the conspiracy against Mangum together was the mainstream media, both local and national… for their job was most important. The media was charged with keeping the public ignorant of the misdeeds and malfeasances being perpetrated by the prosecutors, the medical examiner, and the defense attorneys. The media was also in position to try and discredit supporters of Mangum as being unstable, lawless, and irresponsible.
Since 2007, media-types prepared for this 2011 conspiracy by pulling a Jedi mind-trick on the masses of Durhamians, cultivating an irrational antipathy towards Crystal Mangum while lionizing the three Duke Lacrosse defendants (who never spent a day in jail, shook down Duke University for $20 million each, and are avariciously seeking $10 million more from the cash-strapped city of Durham). So, the culture in the Bull City is one which adores the privileged party-going student athletes from Duke, and despises the African American single mother of three who was enrolled in a graduate program at North Carolina Central University before the city took, without provocation, the liberty of trumping up a series of charges against he in 2010.
In the 2011, as in the 2010 case, Mangum was the victim of domestic physical abuse, and Durham Police and prosecutors in both cases ignored the abusers and arrested the victim. Specifically in 2011, Mangum’s abuse at the had of Daye was documented by photos showing her with a swollen lower lip, cuts around her eye, a lesion to the back of her left hand, clumps of her hair at the scene, and a bathroom door that had been kicked in by Daye as he attempted to get at her. According to Mangum, it was only after Daye was choking her with both hands that she stabbed him with a steak knife that was lying nearby… inflicting a nonfatal wound, and one that most probably saved her life. After Daye sustained the injury, Mangum as able to escape his grasp, grab her purse and flee.
Prosecutors and Durham Police need to be held accountable as to why they refused to arrest Reginald Daye and charge him with domestic violence, assault on a female, and false imprisonment, especially in lieu of the fact that Daye was intoxicated and an alcoholic, and that he had a past history of violence toward women. Instead they elect to arrest and charge Mangum for assault with intent to kill, when it is reasonable to conclude that she was physically beaten, her hair pulled out, and the bathroom door kicked in prior to Daye being stabbed. It is clearly a case of self-defense.
Even had Daye died as a direct result of the stab wound, Mangum should not have been charged with his murder due to the fact that she acted in self-defense. However, facts show that Daye’s postoperative prognosis was for a full recovery, and it is without doubt that Daye died secondary to complications of a misplaced endotracheal tube used to treat Daye for delirium tremens.
The most critical and inflammatory part of the 2011 conspiracy against Mangum is the fraudulent Autopsy Examination Report of April 14, 2011, by Orange County Medical Examiner Clay Nichols, M.D. His report contains findings not corroborated by other medical records, but some that are even contradicted. Furthermore, the conclusion reached by Dr. Nichols that Daye died due to “complications of a stab wound to the chest” is unsubstantiated and there is no nexus established with Daye’s demise.
Without doubt, Durham Prosecutor Kelly Gauger, and her replacement, Charlene Coggins-Franks, knew or should have known that the autopsy report was corrupt and not a reliable document. Abandoning their roles as “ministers of justice” these prosecutors used the fraudulent autopsy document as the basis for charging Mangum with murder. Prosecutors were driven by two motives in charging her with Daye’s death… first, to inflict severe punishment upon Mangum as a vendetta for her role in the Duke Lacrosse case, and second, to protect the reputation of Duke University Hospital whose staff was truly responsible for Daye’s death.
Prosecutor Gauger, when bringing the indictment for murder against Mangum, also were granted indictments on two counts of “larceny of chose in action,” one for each cashier’s check allegedly “stolen” by Mangum. Truth be told, Reginald Daye gave both cashier’s checks to Mangum, and they were both filled out so that she could not convert them for her profit. In addition, she made no attempt and there was no intent for her to illegally convert them… both requisites for the “larceny of chose in action” being absent. This charge was blatantly trumped up, but was necessary in order to impose the “felony-murder rule” to upgrade the charge to first degree murder. When Prosecutor Gauger got the grand jury indictments on April 18, 2011, her ambitious goal was to convict Mangum, who she knew to be innocent of any crime, and have her sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
In order for the prosecution team to pull off such a flagrant injustice, it needed not only the cooperation of the medical examiner, which it had, but even more importantly, the cooperation of Mangum’s defense attorney. They needed an unscrupulous lawyer who would pretend to make an effort to represent his client while selling Mangum down the river at the same time. There is no doubt in my mind that the defense attorneys had assurances from the Powers-That-Be that they would have immunity from the ineffective representation they provided… that such a complaint would never even see the light of an appeal. H. Wood Vann was initially selected to represent Mangum, and I strongly believe that there was a reason for his selection… that it wasn’t purely arbitrary. Then for circumstances unknown to me, Ms. Mangum replaced Mr. Vann with defense attorney Chris Shella. To my knowledge, Mr. Shella conducted no investigation, withheld prosecution discovery photographs from Mangum, and only filed several motions for bail reduction. One was heard by Duke Lacrosse Judge Osmond Smith III who should have recused himself due to conflict of interest… but he didn’t in swiftly denying bail in March 2012. Mr. Shella never challenged Smith’s being on the bench for that hearing.
Mr. Shella’s abrupt departure came after nearly a year with him sitting on the case and accomplishing nothing as his client remained in jail. It was provoked because of action taken by members of the Committee on Justice for Mike Nifong who exposed problems with the prosecution’s case. Mr. Shella wisely removed himself from the case after complaining that Mangum compromised her case by giving some prosecution discovery to me, which I posted online and used to backup my claims of prosecutorial misconduct… in other words, for enlightening the public about problems with the case. The court then re-installed its initial choice to represent Ms. Mangum, Woody Vann.
Mr. Vann followed the same playbook as the prosecution, which was to keep everything about Mangum’s case hidden from the public. The reason for that is simply to conceal the great injustices that were taking place to deprive Mangum of justice. Like Shella, Vann kept important discovery away from his client Mangum… including photographs which visually support that Crystal Mangum was abused, the report by Dr. Christena L. Roberts that evaluates the autopsy report of April 14, 2011 by Clay Nichols, and the mysterious yearlong SBI wound entry trajectory study pertaining to Daye’s wound. Unlike Shella, Vann did not file any motions with the court, and he refused to even consider the possibility of filing a motion to dismiss the charge of “larceny of chose in action.” The few times that Mr. Vann came to visit Mangum was just prior to her giving interviews to the media. (Although the media is markedly prejudiced against her, having the forum to get her story out to the public outweighed the risks of the probable skewed reporting that was to follow.)
One thing that has always been consistent about Mangum’s representation is that it moves at the pace of cooled molasses flowing uphill. There never has seemed to be any urgency, with defense attorneys taking their sweet time while Mangum, under a ridiculously high bail, serves out a sentence… an acceptable practice for use against African American defendants… consider the cases of James Arthur Johnson and Carletta Patrice Alston just to name a few.
Joining the ranks of the conspirators, which includes the Durham prosecution, the Orange County Medical Examiner Nichols, and Mangum’s defense attorneys, is the largest conspirator, the mainstream media. The media’s involvement is a vital one, and necessary for the prosecution to get away with its charges against Mangum. Acting to conceal important information, the media has adroitly acted to cover-up the gross unfairness and bias in the charges and court proceedings against Mangum. It has also played a diversionary role by placing its focus on Mangum supporters. For example, “more than one journalist” was responsible for prodding the North Carolina State Bar into investigating me for the unlawful practice of law. To hide the identities of these activist media-types, the Bar elected to own the complaint and listed itself as the complainant. The “investigation into this Mangum supporter” was given more coverage that the important issues about Mangum’s unjust charges and her ineffective defense.
The media definitely excelled in keeping the people ignorant of the truth about Mangum’s case and spinning it to her disadvantage. Specifically, the media barely mentioned that Daye was heavily intoxicated, that he was an alcoholic, and that he had a past history of abusing women. The media was quick to erroneously state that Daye was stabbed repeatedly, and kept quiet about any alleged “motive” for Mangum to stab Daye… not giving credence to self-defense. A self-imposed media blackout on Daye occurred during his weeklong coma, and his unconscious state was only mentioned after his death. In reporting his death, I only found one source that said he was on life-support and that its removal precipitated his death. The local media, which has been consumed with obtaining copies of former UNC football coach Butch Davis and uncovering the names of the UNC football players whose parking tickets were forgiven, have shown no interest when it comes to problems with the autopsy report and its significant discrepancies with other medical records. A media apathy also swirls around issues concerning Daye’s death and its real cause which was medical malpractice (although a hospital homicide cannot be ruled out).
To an objective and reasonable observer with full knowledge of the facts of the media coverage of Crystal Mangum’s case, it is obvious that its goal was to shift blame for Daye’s death from Duke University Hospital to Mangum, and to work with their co-conspirators by keeping crucial information from the people… a grand large scale nationwide cover-up. Let there be no doubt that the orders dictating how this case was to be handled came from the higher echelons of the media sources as they had an understanding that their reporting was to help determine the case’s outcome.
Now that you have the major conspirators revealed (Durham prosecutor, Orange County Medical Examiner, Mangum’s attorneys, and the mainstream media – both local and national), the final ingredient for this perfect recipe of injustice is the enablers. The enablers are individuals and organizations with the clout, prestige, influence and power to make a difference, but remain idly by and say nothing. This group I find most frustrating… but to an extent, I understand their reluctance to get involved. Simply put, they lack courage. After witnessing what happened to former Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong when he followed his conscience and proceeded with an unpopular prosecution of the three Duke Lacrosse players in 2006, politicians learned of the harsh consequences that oft-times accompany supporting a politically incorrect position. Siding with Mangum is a taboo proposition that is analogous to juggling vials of unstable nitroglycerin… do so at your own risk, and may politicians, attorneys and other professionals are not willing to sacrifice their reputations and careers in an attempt to seek justice for a media maligned African American single mother who is held in contempt by an overwhelming number of Durhamians and Tar Heelians.
Members of the Durham City Council and the North Carolina General Assembly were made aware of the injustices and ignored pleas to get involved… even those in Durham who represented her, such as Senator Floyd McKissick, and Representatives Larry Hall and Mickey Michaux, and Congressman David Price. The NAACP, likewise, has remained silent as a dormouse about Crystal Mangum being deprived of her civil rights, as has the ACLU. The North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence has once again refused to lift a finger or utter a word about Mangum’s double mistreatment by her abuser and the justice system (this group had previously failed to take any action about the 2010 domestic violence against Mangum).
Had these individuals and organizations gotten involved, the broad 2011 conspiracy against Mangum would not have become so entrenched. Because of their silence and inactivity, the enablers share the culpability of the great injustice against Crystal Mangum.
Yes, the jig of injustice against Mangum is up, and the Durham prosecution should drop all criminal charges related to the 2011 incident and release Mangum from jail. Failing that, the following steps, at a minimum, should be taken:
(1) dismiss the “larceny of chose in action” charge as it lacks credible evidence and probable cause;
(2) force Mr. Vann to turn over all prosecution discovery and evidence to Mangum;
(3) remove Mr. Vann as the defense attorney for Mangum;
(4) release Mangum on her own recognizance;
(5) investigate the discrepancies in the autopsy report and other medical records and police reports; and
(6) investigate circumstances of Daye’s death to rule out hospital homicide.
The above actions will not only accrue to the benefit of justice, but help reduce the city of Durham’s running tab for the prosecutorial civil liability for the malicious prosecution and unjust incarceration of Mangum. As it is, the county has already wasted taxpayer dollars to pay for the sham prosecution on bogus charges, and for Mangum to be held at the Durham County Detention Center.
Today marks the five hundredth day of Mangum’s wrongful incarceration on bogus and trumped up charges. Consider that the Duke Lacrosse defendants are suing the city of Durham for $10 million each, and they never spent a single day in jail… plus they have no credible evidence that they were maliciously charged by the state. The Duke Lacrosse players have no explanation for their demands for money from the city other than an overblown sense of entitlement that often accompanies those who come from families of wealth, power, and privilege… such as their carpetbagger families. If anyone is deserving of ten million dollars from the city, it is Crystal Mangum.
Conspirators need to give it up and cut their losses. The jig is up, and although the media continues to try to keep the truth about Mangum’s prosecution hidden from all, with the help of the courageous members of the Committee on Justice for Mike Nifong, the truth will see the light of day, sooner rather than later, and at long last justice will prevail.
The pieces have been in place for some time… the puzzle is complete and it exposes a conspiracy so broad in scope as to be mind-boggling… a scenario that is acceptable to all reasonable individuals, even those who are not bona fide conspiracy theorists. This 2011 murder/larceny conspiracy is much broader and more serious than the 2010 arson intrigue that put the Duke Lacrosse victim/accuser Crystal Mangum in jail for three months… but they are both similar in motive and structure.
The first degree murder charge and the “larceny of chose in action” charge against Crystal Mangum related to Reginald Daye’s death on April 13, 2011, are without doubt bogus and baseless… charges which should never have been brought against Mangum, and charges that were inspired by an unquenchable thirst by prosecutors and the misguided to exact payback for her role in the Duke Lacrosse case. The ability to bring these charges was due to complicity of many actors sharing a common desire to inflict severe grief upon Mangum. However, the lynchpin holding the conspiracy against Mangum together was the mainstream media, both local and national… for their job was most important. The media was charged with keeping the public ignorant of the misdeeds and malfeasances being perpetrated by the prosecutors, the medical examiner, and the defense attorneys. The media was also in position to try and discredit supporters of Mangum as being unstable, lawless, and irresponsible.
Since 2007, media-types prepared for this 2011 conspiracy by pulling a Jedi mind-trick on the masses of Durhamians, cultivating an irrational antipathy towards Crystal Mangum while lionizing the three Duke Lacrosse defendants (who never spent a day in jail, shook down Duke University for $20 million each, and are avariciously seeking $10 million more from the cash-strapped city of Durham). So, the culture in the Bull City is one which adores the privileged party-going student athletes from Duke, and despises the African American single mother of three who was enrolled in a graduate program at North Carolina Central University before the city took, without provocation, the liberty of trumping up a series of charges against he in 2010.
In the 2011, as in the 2010 case, Mangum was the victim of domestic physical abuse, and Durham Police and prosecutors in both cases ignored the abusers and arrested the victim. Specifically in 2011, Mangum’s abuse at the had of Daye was documented by photos showing her with a swollen lower lip, cuts around her eye, a lesion to the back of her left hand, clumps of her hair at the scene, and a bathroom door that had been kicked in by Daye as he attempted to get at her. According to Mangum, it was only after Daye was choking her with both hands that she stabbed him with a steak knife that was lying nearby… inflicting a nonfatal wound, and one that most probably saved her life. After Daye sustained the injury, Mangum as able to escape his grasp, grab her purse and flee.
Prosecutors and Durham Police need to be held accountable as to why they refused to arrest Reginald Daye and charge him with domestic violence, assault on a female, and false imprisonment, especially in lieu of the fact that Daye was intoxicated and an alcoholic, and that he had a past history of violence toward women. Instead they elect to arrest and charge Mangum for assault with intent to kill, when it is reasonable to conclude that she was physically beaten, her hair pulled out, and the bathroom door kicked in prior to Daye being stabbed. It is clearly a case of self-defense.
Even had Daye died as a direct result of the stab wound, Mangum should not have been charged with his murder due to the fact that she acted in self-defense. However, facts show that Daye’s postoperative prognosis was for a full recovery, and it is without doubt that Daye died secondary to complications of a misplaced endotracheal tube used to treat Daye for delirium tremens.
The most critical and inflammatory part of the 2011 conspiracy against Mangum is the fraudulent Autopsy Examination Report of April 14, 2011, by Orange County Medical Examiner Clay Nichols, M.D. His report contains findings not corroborated by other medical records, but some that are even contradicted. Furthermore, the conclusion reached by Dr. Nichols that Daye died due to “complications of a stab wound to the chest” is unsubstantiated and there is no nexus established with Daye’s demise.
Without doubt, Durham Prosecutor Kelly Gauger, and her replacement, Charlene Coggins-Franks, knew or should have known that the autopsy report was corrupt and not a reliable document. Abandoning their roles as “ministers of justice” these prosecutors used the fraudulent autopsy document as the basis for charging Mangum with murder. Prosecutors were driven by two motives in charging her with Daye’s death… first, to inflict severe punishment upon Mangum as a vendetta for her role in the Duke Lacrosse case, and second, to protect the reputation of Duke University Hospital whose staff was truly responsible for Daye’s death.
Prosecutor Gauger, when bringing the indictment for murder against Mangum, also were granted indictments on two counts of “larceny of chose in action,” one for each cashier’s check allegedly “stolen” by Mangum. Truth be told, Reginald Daye gave both cashier’s checks to Mangum, and they were both filled out so that she could not convert them for her profit. In addition, she made no attempt and there was no intent for her to illegally convert them… both requisites for the “larceny of chose in action” being absent. This charge was blatantly trumped up, but was necessary in order to impose the “felony-murder rule” to upgrade the charge to first degree murder. When Prosecutor Gauger got the grand jury indictments on April 18, 2011, her ambitious goal was to convict Mangum, who she knew to be innocent of any crime, and have her sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
In order for the prosecution team to pull off such a flagrant injustice, it needed not only the cooperation of the medical examiner, which it had, but even more importantly, the cooperation of Mangum’s defense attorney. They needed an unscrupulous lawyer who would pretend to make an effort to represent his client while selling Mangum down the river at the same time. There is no doubt in my mind that the defense attorneys had assurances from the Powers-That-Be that they would have immunity from the ineffective representation they provided… that such a complaint would never even see the light of an appeal. H. Wood Vann was initially selected to represent Mangum, and I strongly believe that there was a reason for his selection… that it wasn’t purely arbitrary. Then for circumstances unknown to me, Ms. Mangum replaced Mr. Vann with defense attorney Chris Shella. To my knowledge, Mr. Shella conducted no investigation, withheld prosecution discovery photographs from Mangum, and only filed several motions for bail reduction. One was heard by Duke Lacrosse Judge Osmond Smith III who should have recused himself due to conflict of interest… but he didn’t in swiftly denying bail in March 2012. Mr. Shella never challenged Smith’s being on the bench for that hearing.
Mr. Shella’s abrupt departure came after nearly a year with him sitting on the case and accomplishing nothing as his client remained in jail. It was provoked because of action taken by members of the Committee on Justice for Mike Nifong who exposed problems with the prosecution’s case. Mr. Shella wisely removed himself from the case after complaining that Mangum compromised her case by giving some prosecution discovery to me, which I posted online and used to backup my claims of prosecutorial misconduct… in other words, for enlightening the public about problems with the case. The court then re-installed its initial choice to represent Ms. Mangum, Woody Vann.
Mr. Vann followed the same playbook as the prosecution, which was to keep everything about Mangum’s case hidden from the public. The reason for that is simply to conceal the great injustices that were taking place to deprive Mangum of justice. Like Shella, Vann kept important discovery away from his client Mangum… including photographs which visually support that Crystal Mangum was abused, the report by Dr. Christena L. Roberts that evaluates the autopsy report of April 14, 2011 by Clay Nichols, and the mysterious yearlong SBI wound entry trajectory study pertaining to Daye’s wound. Unlike Shella, Vann did not file any motions with the court, and he refused to even consider the possibility of filing a motion to dismiss the charge of “larceny of chose in action.” The few times that Mr. Vann came to visit Mangum was just prior to her giving interviews to the media. (Although the media is markedly prejudiced against her, having the forum to get her story out to the public outweighed the risks of the probable skewed reporting that was to follow.)
One thing that has always been consistent about Mangum’s representation is that it moves at the pace of cooled molasses flowing uphill. There never has seemed to be any urgency, with defense attorneys taking their sweet time while Mangum, under a ridiculously high bail, serves out a sentence… an acceptable practice for use against African American defendants… consider the cases of James Arthur Johnson and Carletta Patrice Alston just to name a few.
Joining the ranks of the conspirators, which includes the Durham prosecution, the Orange County Medical Examiner Nichols, and Mangum’s defense attorneys, is the largest conspirator, the mainstream media. The media’s involvement is a vital one, and necessary for the prosecution to get away with its charges against Mangum. Acting to conceal important information, the media has adroitly acted to cover-up the gross unfairness and bias in the charges and court proceedings against Mangum. It has also played a diversionary role by placing its focus on Mangum supporters. For example, “more than one journalist” was responsible for prodding the North Carolina State Bar into investigating me for the unlawful practice of law. To hide the identities of these activist media-types, the Bar elected to own the complaint and listed itself as the complainant. The “investigation into this Mangum supporter” was given more coverage that the important issues about Mangum’s unjust charges and her ineffective defense.
The media definitely excelled in keeping the people ignorant of the truth about Mangum’s case and spinning it to her disadvantage. Specifically, the media barely mentioned that Daye was heavily intoxicated, that he was an alcoholic, and that he had a past history of abusing women. The media was quick to erroneously state that Daye was stabbed repeatedly, and kept quiet about any alleged “motive” for Mangum to stab Daye… not giving credence to self-defense. A self-imposed media blackout on Daye occurred during his weeklong coma, and his unconscious state was only mentioned after his death. In reporting his death, I only found one source that said he was on life-support and that its removal precipitated his death. The local media, which has been consumed with obtaining copies of former UNC football coach Butch Davis and uncovering the names of the UNC football players whose parking tickets were forgiven, have shown no interest when it comes to problems with the autopsy report and its significant discrepancies with other medical records. A media apathy also swirls around issues concerning Daye’s death and its real cause which was medical malpractice (although a hospital homicide cannot be ruled out).
To an objective and reasonable observer with full knowledge of the facts of the media coverage of Crystal Mangum’s case, it is obvious that its goal was to shift blame for Daye’s death from Duke University Hospital to Mangum, and to work with their co-conspirators by keeping crucial information from the people… a grand large scale nationwide cover-up. Let there be no doubt that the orders dictating how this case was to be handled came from the higher echelons of the media sources as they had an understanding that their reporting was to help determine the case’s outcome.
Now that you have the major conspirators revealed (Durham prosecutor, Orange County Medical Examiner, Mangum’s attorneys, and the mainstream media – both local and national), the final ingredient for this perfect recipe of injustice is the enablers. The enablers are individuals and organizations with the clout, prestige, influence and power to make a difference, but remain idly by and say nothing. This group I find most frustrating… but to an extent, I understand their reluctance to get involved. Simply put, they lack courage. After witnessing what happened to former Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong when he followed his conscience and proceeded with an unpopular prosecution of the three Duke Lacrosse players in 2006, politicians learned of the harsh consequences that oft-times accompany supporting a politically incorrect position. Siding with Mangum is a taboo proposition that is analogous to juggling vials of unstable nitroglycerin… do so at your own risk, and may politicians, attorneys and other professionals are not willing to sacrifice their reputations and careers in an attempt to seek justice for a media maligned African American single mother who is held in contempt by an overwhelming number of Durhamians and Tar Heelians.
Members of the Durham City Council and the North Carolina General Assembly were made aware of the injustices and ignored pleas to get involved… even those in Durham who represented her, such as Senator Floyd McKissick, and Representatives Larry Hall and Mickey Michaux, and Congressman David Price. The NAACP, likewise, has remained silent as a dormouse about Crystal Mangum being deprived of her civil rights, as has the ACLU. The North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence has once again refused to lift a finger or utter a word about Mangum’s double mistreatment by her abuser and the justice system (this group had previously failed to take any action about the 2010 domestic violence against Mangum).
Had these individuals and organizations gotten involved, the broad 2011 conspiracy against Mangum would not have become so entrenched. Because of their silence and inactivity, the enablers share the culpability of the great injustice against Crystal Mangum.
Yes, the jig of injustice against Mangum is up, and the Durham prosecution should drop all criminal charges related to the 2011 incident and release Mangum from jail. Failing that, the following steps, at a minimum, should be taken:
(1) dismiss the “larceny of chose in action” charge as it lacks credible evidence and probable cause;
(2) force Mr. Vann to turn over all prosecution discovery and evidence to Mangum;
(3) remove Mr. Vann as the defense attorney for Mangum;
(4) release Mangum on her own recognizance;
(5) investigate the discrepancies in the autopsy report and other medical records and police reports; and
(6) investigate circumstances of Daye’s death to rule out hospital homicide.
The above actions will not only accrue to the benefit of justice, but help reduce the city of Durham’s running tab for the prosecutorial civil liability for the malicious prosecution and unjust incarceration of Mangum. As it is, the county has already wasted taxpayer dollars to pay for the sham prosecution on bogus charges, and for Mangum to be held at the Durham County Detention Center.
Today marks the five hundredth day of Mangum’s wrongful incarceration on bogus and trumped up charges. Consider that the Duke Lacrosse defendants are suing the city of Durham for $10 million each, and they never spent a single day in jail… plus they have no credible evidence that they were maliciously charged by the state. The Duke Lacrosse players have no explanation for their demands for money from the city other than an overblown sense of entitlement that often accompanies those who come from families of wealth, power, and privilege… such as their carpetbagger families. If anyone is deserving of ten million dollars from the city, it is Crystal Mangum.
Conspirators need to give it up and cut their losses. The jig is up, and although the media continues to try to keep the truth about Mangum’s prosecution hidden from all, with the help of the courageous members of the Committee on Justice for Mike Nifong, the truth will see the light of day, sooner rather than later, and at long last justice will prevail.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
While the Tar Heel justice system burns, the courts, politicians, and the media fiddles
The defendant, Crystal Mangum, was not present for her hearing, which lasted (I have been told) about three minutes, at most. To date, Mr. Vann has been twiddling his thumbs, without any sign of urgency, while his client continues to languish in jail… this posting date being day 494 of her unjust incarceration.
Since the March 2012 hearing before Duke Lacrosse Judge Osmond Smith III, in which he quickly denied Chris Shella’s request for Mangum’s bond to be lowered from a ridiculously high $200,000.00, there has been no further motion for bail reduction. This is problematic in light of the fact that Judge Osmond Smith, who a reasonable person with full knowledge of the facts, would not consider him capable of being impartial when it comes to Crystal Mangum. Since Mr. Vann has taken over Mangum’s case, he has done essentially nothing for his client. His inaction is making his predecessor Shella look like Perry Mason in comparison.
Also, on Tuesday, August 7th, I filed two petitions with the court in Mangum’s case, but as a Pro Se petitioner… therefore, not lawyering. One was a Petition for Writ of Mandamus for petitioners Durham District Attorney Leon Stanback and Durham prosecutor Charlene Coggins-Franks, requesting that the Courts issue a writ of mandamus instructing the respondents to dismiss the Larceny of Chose in Action charge against Crystal Mangum due to lack of credible evidence and lack of probable cause. To begin with the two cashier’s checks at the heart of the issue were given to Mangum, having been filled out by Reginald Daye, and she was listed as neither the payee nor remitter. Secondly, she made no attempt or showed any intent to illegally convert them for her benefit. Thirdly, no where in the police reports that I had access to did Reginald Daye or his nephew Carlos Wilson claim that Mangum took cashier’s checks… they only referred to money, or rent money. For example, Wilson did not say to officers that he heard Daye shout, “Give me back my cashier’s checks” or “Give me back my money orders.” The Larceny of Chose in Action requires that cashier’s checks, money orders, bank notes and other certificates other than money or currency be stolen… and this did not happen.
Finally, a look at the timeline will confirm that had the larceny charge been serious, Mangum would have been indicted for it a day or two following the self-defense stabbing incident… it would not have taken prosecutors a couple of weeks later before making the charge against her. The fact that the larceny of chose in action charge was attained by a grand jury at the same time as the first degree murder charge makes it plain that the charge was trumped up in order to kick in the “felony-murder rule” to upgrade the murder charge to first degree. (Note: this is the same tactic that Andrew Curliss of The News & Observer criticized former Durham D.A. Tracey Cline of employing in his biased and scathing series about her just months ago… yet when it comes to Prosecutor Coggins-Franks using them on Mangum, the newspaper is conveniently muzzled… no complaints… no outrage.)
I believe that prosecutors initially planned to use the first degree murder charge to railroad through a life sentence for Mangum. However, due to the backlash of Mangum supporters, including members of the Committee on Justice for Mike Nifong, the prosecution is now going to try and use it to eventually wring out a plea deal for “time served in order to let the prosecutors and the city of Durham off the liability hook for malicious prosecution and unjust incarceration.” (Similar to what happened in the James Arthur Johnson case.)
In order for the prosecutors to force a plea deal from Mangum, it will be necessary for them to have the cooperation of her defense attorney, and they are counting on Mr. Vann to come through for them, in my opinion. There is no doubt in my mind that Mr. Vann’s priorities are in the following order: (1) Protect the reputation of Duke University Hospital, which was responsible for Daye’s death – not Mangum; (2) Protect the city of Durham from any civil liability for its malicious prosecution of Mangum; and lagging a distance behind (3) Possibly trying to see that Mangum doesn’t spend too long in jail.
The second petition filed on Tuesday was against respondent H. Wood Vann, requesting the Court to issue a writ of mandamus for him to turn over the entire prosecution discovery and all evidence to his client Mangum. Since her incarceration on April 3, 2011, she has never seen photographs from prosecution discovery, despite repeatedly asking her attorneys for them. Ms. Mangum has also not seen the report from Dr. Christena L. Roberts who reviewed the autopsy report of Reginald Daye that was submitted by Orange County Medical Examiner. By depriving Ms. Mangum of access to discovery and evidence, she is being denied the ability to best help in her own defense. It is bad enough when prosecutors withhold evidence from the defense, but when the defense attorney withholds it from his client, that is the height of professional misconduct.
Because of the aforementioned acts of withholding evidence from Ms. Mangum and his propensity to ignore Mangum’s request to see him, I filed a complaint with the North Carolina State Bar against Mr. Vann on Wednesday, August 8, 2012. Needless to say, I do not expect it to take any action.
I can understand why politicians, such as Congressman David Price, State Senator Floyd McKissick, Jr., and State Representatives Mickey Michaux and Larry Hall are mum on this great injustice… it is because they learned from the example that was made of Mike Nifong by the state and the media. They saw what happened when a man of integrity took a stand on principles and acted independently on moral conscientiousness regarding a justice issue that was contrary to the position held by the Powers-That-Be… Mr. Nifong was horrendously persecuted by the state and crucified in the media. For the same reason, civil rights organizations such as the NAACP and the ACLU have shied away from the injustice towards Ms. Mangum… it’s certainly not due to ignorance of what has been sadly transpiring.
It takes courage to take a stand against an unpopular position, and even though the cause in support of Mangum is one of justice and is sound morally, community leaders, members of the North Carolina General Assembly, and clergy, are afraid to take a stand. It is a rare courage that only Mangum and Nifong supporters are bringing against a justice system that is selectively and overtly bias, racist, cruel, and inhumane in its treatment of Ms. Mangum… Joan of Arc received better treatment by the British courts.
What I find most disheartening about all of this injustice towards Crystal Mangum is the fact that the mainstream media is actively involved in the corruption and conspiracy swirling around this case. The media’s priorities are not unlike Vann’s… to first protect Duke University (which heavily advertises, especially on WRAL and The News & Observer), secondly to protect the city of Durham from civil liability due to its misdeeds and malfeasance, and finally, to carry out the Carpetbagger Jihad agenda to destroy everyone considered by the Powers-That-Be to be on the wrong end of the Duke Lacrosse case (that includes Mangum, Nifong, and their supporters… and yours truly).
Despite the best efforts of the media (using its selective, skewed and one sided reporting) to keep the gross wrongdoings against Mangum hidden from the public, the stench is starting to leak out… and the cover-up in this case can not go on in perpetuity. It’s time for the media to start questioning and investigating the following:
(1) the problems with the autopsy report by Dr. Clay Nichols;
(2) what grounds does Durham prosecutors have for their larceny charge against Mangum;
(3) why is Mr. Vann keeping discovery and evidence from his client Mangum;
(4) why has a judge not been assigned to Mangum’s case;
(5) what role did Duke University have in Reginald Daye’s death; and
(6) why is Governor Bev Perdue and Attorney General Roy Cooper standing on the sidelines.
I believe that if Durhamians and Tar Heelians knew the truth about the injustices against Crystal Mangum, they would not allow it to continue… the truth will set Crystal Mangum free. The question I have is how long will the mainstream media attempt to keep it hidden from the people.
LINK: http://www.justice4nifong.com/legal/cgm/manusAB/masMen.htm
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Flog 18: Charges against Crystal Mangum - corruption, conspiracy, and cover-up
http://www.justice4nifong.com/direc/flog/flog18.html
Flog 18: Crystal Mangum – corruption, conspiracy, and cover-up
Word count: 3,109
In the beginning of March 2011, Reginald Daye, a man in his mid-forties, was back on the job after having been recently laid off work as a painter. Mr. Daye had seemed to have turned his life around from his earlier days of misdemeanor crimes. A couple of the crimes for which he was charged included assault… one assault on a female.
In addition to traffic violations and petty crimes, Reginald Daye had a history of drug use which he managed to kick over time… however, his addiction to alcohol was one which he had not been able to beat. According to Crystal Mangum, the Duke Lacrosse victim/accuser, he would consume a case of beer on weekdays and down a gallon of whiskey on weekends.
These drinking habits of Daye were observed by Crystal Mangum because around the beginning of March 2011, she and her three young children moved into Reginald Daye’s apartment at his invitation. Months prior to their cohabitation, Daye, attracted by Mangum’s notorious celebrity, sought a relationship with her, and around the middle of January 2011 he introduced himself to her.
After living together during the month of March 2011, their platonic relationship became an intimate one. According to Ms. Mangum, she brought some clothes along with a washing machine and dryer to the arrangement, and helped pay the rent.
It was after she had moved in with Daye that Crystal noticed his jealous nature as he confiscated her cell phone to monitor who she communicated with and for his own personal use.
Crystal Mangum noted that Reginald Daye had a pair of brass knuckles, and he admitted to her that he owned a gun, although she states that she never saw it. Daye also acknowledged to her that in the past he had been physically abusive with his girlfriends, but up until the morning of April 3, 2011, he never laid a hand on her.
On March 25, 2011, Reginald Daye purchased a cashier’s check for $300, and on April 1, 2011, he purchased a cashier’s check for $400, both checks totaling $700 to cover the rent. On both checks the payee was listed as the apartment’s owner and Reginald Daye’s name was down as the remitter.
On the days they were purchased, March 25th and April 1, 2011, Mr. Daye gave both cashier’s checks to Crystal. Because he was scheduled to be at work during the apartment office hours on Monday, April 4, 2011, he instructed Crystal to visit the office and deliver the April rent in the form of the two cashier’s checks. Crystal placed both checks in her purse for safekeeping at the time she received them.
In the late evening of Saturday, April 2, 2011, Reginald and Crystal attended a birthday party. Daye drank prior to their arrival at the party at 11:00 pm, and imbibed alcohol while at the party. Ms. Mangum’s alcoholic consumption consisted of two Jell-o shots (Jell-o made using gin), and a drink containing gin. After an hour or so, the two left the party and returned to the apartment they shared.
At the apartment, Crystal Mangum saw a police officer she knew who was on the apartment grounds. They greeted each other and began to chitchat. Reginald Daye became angry with the attention Mangum was giving the officer and began demanding that she leave and accompany him into the apartment. When Mangum stalled, Daye became enraged, and proceeded to engage her in a heated argument.
Crystal became frightened and concerned about Daye’s behavior and went to the officer and asked him to drive her to her aunt’s house. The officer refused and told Mangum and Daye to take their argument inside of their apartment.
While Daye was forcibly dragging Mangum up the stairs, she sustained a cut on her right knee.
Once inside the apartment, the terror for Crystal Mangum would begin and last approximately an hour, from around two to three in the morning. In the living room, he punched her in the face and spit on her. When she ran to the master bedroom, he pursued; tackling her with the two of them on the bed. Mangum clung tight to the mattress as Daye lifted her and it up and deposited them on the floor.
After Crystal managed to free herself from Daye she ran to the bathroom in the master bedroom and locked the door behind her. Daye proceeded to kick in the door knocking it off its hinges, and he grabbed Crystal by her hair and drug her back into the bedroom… clumps of her hair being deposited by the bathroom door and on the mattress.
Mangum tried to grab her purse in order to flee, but Daye blocked her. Sometime thereafter he demanded that Crystal get up and leave the apartment. Anxious to comply, Daye held her down and told her, “You’re not going anywhere.”
After a period of time, Daye went to another part of the apartment momentarily leaving her alone in the bedroom. He later returned with a pot of boiling water and then left again. When Daye returned minutes later, he had a set of steak knives and began to throw them at her as she tried to shield herself with the mattress.
Crystal stated that Reginald Daye then began eerily having a conversation with himself discussing whether or not to kill her and finally concluding to do so.
With steak knives strewn around the bedroom, Daye got on top of Crystal and he gouged at her left eye with his fingernails, leaving small lacerations. She tried to push him off but to no avail. He then put both of his hands around her neck and began to choke her.
Crystal’s head throbbing with the strangulation, she grabbed a steak knife that was lying about and stabbed Daye once in the left side of his torso. Daye then got up and yelled, “You stabbed me, Bitch!”
Crystal got up grabbed her purse, which contained the two cashier’s checks, and fled the apartment. Daye gave pursuit as Crystal ran for her life into the woods nearby the housing complex. She did not know exactly when Daye gave up the chase. Once free of imminent danger, Crystal Mangum began walking to her aunt’s residence.
Reginald Daye went to the apartment in the same complex in which Carlos Wilson, his nephew, lived and told him that Crystal had stabbed him. Evidently they both told police and investigators that Crystal took his money, then stabbed him and fled … the only version presented by the mainstream media.
Daye, who was walking around his apartment when EMS arrived, was instructed to sit down while the paramedics administered to his wound.
Meanwhile, Ms. Mangum arrived at her aunt’s house at 4:00 a.m., and according to her aunt’s statement to police, upon opening the door Crystal was crying and said, “He beat me.”
Police were directed to Crystal’s aunt’s house by Reginald Daye’s nephew as a place at which Ms. Mangum may have fled. Officers found Crystal lying on the floor and in enough distress to request their assistance in helping her stand up. Crystal was then arrested and taken to headquarters.
According to police notes, Crystal Mangum was cooperative in signing a consent to photograph her injuries and wanted to give a statement to police. However, after she was told that she was under arrest for assaulting Daye and read her Miranda Rights, and without any legal counsel present, Ms. Mangum wisely refused to say anything to the officer.
In other words, Ms. Mangum was placed under arrest before any investigating officer or police even took a statement from her about what had transpired. She was arrested without having a chance to give her side of the story, and placed under a $300,000 bail.
Two days later, on Tuesday, April 5, 2011, a police officer went to the apartment of Crystal’s aunt and retrieved from her the two cashier’s checks that Crystal had carried in her purse.
Confiscation of these two cashier’s checks would become the basis for the two count charge of larceny against Ms. Mangum.
After Reginald Daye’s arrival at the hospital by ambulance on Sunday, April 3, 2011, he was assessed to be stable enough for an abdominal CAT scan prior to rushing him into surgery. Contrast confirmed a perforation in the colon at the splenic flexure. A chest x-ray showed no sign of a pneumothorax or other lesion to the left lung.
In his preoperative orthopedic consultation, the doctor found that all four extremities were normal without any breaks in the skin or lacerations.
Reginald Daye underwent an emergency abdominal laparotomy the morning of April 3, 2011, during which a laceration to the colon was noted and repaired with sutures while a minor lesion to the spleen was observed and repaired with electrocautery and surgi-cel.
The operative report specifically states that the stomach was normal and that there was no bleeding or lesions in the left kidney bed. There was no mention of the diaphragm or left lung in the surgical report.
In addition to the stab wound, Daye was also noted to have an extremely high blood alcohol level of 296 mg/dL… which would put a non-alcoholic adult male in a stupor. To ward off any signs or complications of delirium tremens, Daye was begun on a regimen of benzodiazepine sedatives soon after his admission to the hospital.
Surgery for the stab wound was uneventful and Daye was expected to make a full recovery.
During the days immediately following surgery, Daye was noted to have episodes of agitation, which were attributed to his withdrawal from alcohol, and he received sedatives to treat them.
On Wednesday, April 6, 2011, Daye was noted to have some respiratory distress and a diagnostic procedure was ordered which required oral contrast. The contrast agent was introduced through a tube from the nose leading into the stomach and sometime thereafter, it triggered emesis.
Concern about protecting the airway and providing high concentrations of oxygen led to the decision to intubate. Daye was then intubated with an 8 mm diameter tube, however the confirmatory EtCO2 test for its proper placement was negative. This resulted in a visual inspection of the tube’s placement, which was deemed to be properly positioned, and the tube was left in place.
In actuality the tube was not in the trachea and the lungs were deprived of oxygen. Subsequently, the blood cells were unable to carry life-requiring oxygen to the cells of the body.
Cells of the brain are the most sensitive to oxygen deprivation, and they died relatively quickly. When the muscles and tissues of the heart were denied oxygen, a cardiac arrest ensued.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was begun at this time and the endotracheal tube that had been mis-positioned was removed, and a smaller 7.5 mm tube inserted. This time the confirmatory EtCO2 test for placement was positive. With oxygenated blood flow restored, most of the cells throughout the body began to recover, and as a result the heart was resuscitated. Unfortunately, the brain cells had been without oxygen too long… the outcome being that Daye was brain dead with a grim prognosis that he would never awaken from a comatose state.
Reginald Daye was placed on life support and kept alive for a week, during which time the media remained silent about his condition… never informing the public that Daye had lost consciousness and had been in a coma since April 6, 2011.
On Wednesday, April 13, 2011, after seven days of monitoring his comatose condition while on life support, the family of Reginald Daye consented to have him electively removed from procedures which had sustained his life for a week, and shortly thereafter he expired.
The media coverage of Daye’s death was vague, superficial, and did not go into specifics. Only one source even mentioned that his removal from life support preceded his death. In addition, the media lacked any curiosity about the nuts and bolts of Daye’s death.
Lacking an official autopsy report specifying the exact cause of death, Durham prosecutor Kelly Gauger got a grand jury to indict Crystal Mangum for the first degree murder of Reginald Daye. Mangum was also indicted on two counts of larceny, one for each of the two cashier’s checks that Daye had given to her and were in her possession following the incident of April 3, 2011… cashier’s checks which she could not have possibly converted to money for her own use.
Her bail was increased from $300,000 to $500,000 with the upgraded charge of murder. However, in June 2011, Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson reduced Mangum’s bail from half a million dollars to $200,000 after reasonably questioning whether the stab wound actually caused Daye’s death.
Although the single mother of three, Crystal Mangum was the victim of domestic violence, unlawful imprisonment by Daye, and a victim of malicious prosecution by the Durham prosecutor, the mainstream media portrayed her as a villain who was incapable of telling the truth, was mentally unstable, and preyed upon men, especially boyfriends.
Without exception, media accounts related to the April 3, 2011 incident devoted significant portions of their reports to the rehashing the Duke Lacrosse case and making false and misleading statements about the Duke Lacrosse defendants being exonerated and claiming as fact that Ms. Mangum lied about being sexually assaulted at the Duke Lacrosse beer-guzzling, stripper-ogling bacchanal.
Approximately four month later, in early August 2011, the autopsy report was released to the public which included findings not supported by the operative report and other medical records. For example, the Autopsy Examination Report of April 14, 2011 falsely stated that the stab wound inflicted by Mangum punctured Daye’s left lung, diaphragm, left kidney, and the stomach. This is all fabrication, as the only internal injuries sustained by the stab wound were to the colon and a minor wound to the spleen. In addition, the autopsy report noted old wounds to the left upper extremity which were suspicious of being “defensive wounds,” however a preoperative examination by an orthopedic surgeon during a consultation reported “no appreciable lacerations or skin breaks in the visualized areas of his four extremities.”
The Autopsy Examination Report of April 14, 2011 is false and misleading in concluding that Reginald Daye’s death was due to “complications of stab wound to chest.” There is no nexus established between the stab wound, which was successfully treated at surgery, and Daye’s brain death and removal from life support. This report fails to mention that Daye was comatose, was on life support, and that he died after being electively removed from life support.
The Investigative Autopsy Report of April 13, 2011 also came to a false and misleading conclusion attributing Daye’s death to “stab wound to chest” and declaring it was a homicide. This document is notable for its omissions in that it failed to mention that Daye was intubated prior to having a cardiac arrest, and it failed to mention that Daye passed away after being removed from life support.
Despite the fact that the prosecution’s case against Mangum for the murder and larceny charges was baseless, her attorney Chris Shella never filed a motion to dismiss the charges. After successfully getting bail reduced to $200,000 in June 2011, Mr. Shella attempted to get bail further reduced to $100,000 in November 2011, and again in March 2012.
The March 2012 bail reduction hearing was before Judge Osmond Smith III who was the judge in the Duke Lacrosse case and made what a reasonable person with full knowledge of the facts could be construed as a malicious ruling when he ordered Ms. Mangum to present Duke Lacrosse defense attorneys with results of a paternity test of her newborn after it had been ruled out by DNA and history that none of the Duke Lacrosse defendants could have possibly sired the baby. Despite this history, Judge Smith made no effort to recuse himself.
Having also sentenced former Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong to 24 hours in jail in 2007, Judge Smith quickly denied Shella’s request for a reduced bail to $100,000 at the March hearing.
As the one year anniversary of her incarceration rolled around with no sign of any action by her attorney, Ms. Mangum sought help from Sidney B. Harr. A retired physician, Harr recognized serious problems and inaccuracies with the autopsy report and agreed to help Ms. Mangum draft some motions that she could file Pro Se.
Having no legal training and not being a lawyer, Harr was not aware that by assisting Mangum with the drafting of the motions that he would be in violation of North Carolina statutes.
He agreed to help Ms. Mangum because she had no access to the internet or a law library. In order to draft the motions he requested some of the prosecution’s discovery documents, including police reports and medical records. She sent the documents to Harr, and after he drafted the motion, she signed them. Because she was incarcerated, Harr physically took the motions to the Criminal Clerk of Court in Durham where they were filed.
With knowledge that the mainstream media had concealed true events of the case from the masses and made misleading statements putting Ms. Mangum in a negative light, Harr published some pertinent discovery documents online so that the public could get a more balance picture of events that transpired related to the April 3, 2011 self-defense stabbing incident.
Upon learning that his client had shared discovery with Harr, Attorney Shella asked the Court to release him from representing Crystal Mangum… a request which was granted.
Defense attorney Woody Vann has since been appointed to represent Ms. Mangum against the two charges now pending of first degree murder and larceny.
On Tuesday, May 22, 2012, Attorney Vann received from Mangum’s prior attorney Chris Shella, approximately seven or eight disks containing the prosecution’s discovery. He immediately recognized the discrepancies between the medical records and the autopsy report, and he is making it his top priority to obtain a consultation with a forensic pathologist to review the autopsy findings of the county medical examiner.
This action should have been executed by the defense attorney on day one… or shortly thereafter. Findings by the forensic pathologist will substantiate my assertion that the autopsy report, upon which the prosecution is basing its murder charge, is fraudulent and is totally lacking in credibility.
The forthcoming truth, as will be contained in the pathologist’s report, is one key to opening the jail doors and setting Crystal Mangum free. The report should be available in a matter of weeks…
Sunday, April 22, 2012
What really happened in the wee hours of April 3, 2011
The biased mainstream media has unfortunately flooded the newsprint and airwaves with false declarations that the stab wound inflicted by Duke Lacrosse victim/accuser Crystal Mangum during the early morning hours of Sunday, April 3, 2011, resulted in the death of Reginald Daye. This myth has been adequately debunked by the previously posted blog which has gone into depth with medical records about how and why Daye died. The short version is that an intubation tube was misplaced by the staff at Duke University Hospital, resulting in lack of oxygen to the lungs, bloodstream, and eventually the brain cells. The brain cells died and Daye lapsed into a comatose state… and unlike brain damaged inmates Joshua Wrenn and Timothy Helms, who both regained consciousness after months in a coma, Daye was removed from life support after only a week. He died shortly thereafter and as a proximate cause of its removal.
The medical examiner reached the conclusion that Reginald Daye died “secondary to complications of a stab wound to the chest” in order to provide Durham Prosecutor Kelly Gauger with a basis for charging Crystal Mangum with murder. He did so with full knowledge that the stab wound had nothing to do with Daye’s death, and made no attempt to develop a nexus between the stabbing and Daye’s brain death or actual death. The mainstream media, however, attributes Daye’s death to the stabbing, and does its best to keep hidden from the public the fact that a Duke University Hospital staff member is the one who should take the blame for Daye’s demise… not Crystal Mangum.
But, even if the stab wound was directly responsible for Daye’s death, there is plenty within the prosecutor’s discovery to support the fact that Crystal Mangum acted in self defense when she stabbed Daye. The two, who had been in a brief relationship at the time, were living together in Daye’s apartment along with Crystal’s three children. She contributed financially to help pay the rent for the apartment which had fallen into arrears due to a recent layoff at his job. However, he was now back at his job, and Daye purchased a money order on March 25, 2011, and one on April 1, 2011, both totaling $700.00 – rent for the month of April. Daye was scheduled to work on Monday, April 4, 2011, leaving at six in the morning and returning home after five in the afternoon. Because he would not be at home during the office hours of the rental company, he gave both cashier’s checks to Crystal prior to April 3rd with instructions to drop them off at the rental office the following Monday. Mangum placed both checks in her purse for safekeeping.
On Saturday, April 2, 2011, Crystal Mangum had a couple of drinks whereas Reginald Daye imbibed quite a bit of alcohol… enough to the point that he became heavily intoxicated. Daye became upset with Crystal because she was not totally attentive to him, and this led to an argument. Although Daye’s nephew stated that the two were fussing over rent and money, this was definitely not the case according to Ms. Mangum. The argument between the two was strictly due to personal relationship issues.
Early in the morning of Sunday, April 3, 2011, the argument became physical as Reginald Daye started punching Crystal in the face and pulling her by the hair. To escape him, she sought refuge in the bathroom and she locked the door behind her. An out of control Daye proceeded to kick in the bathroom door, then grabbed Crystal by her hair and took her to the bedroom. Sometime during this horrific altercation, Daye brought a bunch of steak knives from the kitchen and started throwing them, using Ms. Mangum as a target. These knives ended up being scattered all over the bedroom, as was noted in a later police report. The struggle came to an end as Daye was astride Mangum with both of his hands on her throat choking her. She managed to grab one of the steak knives that was lying around and stabbed him once in the left torso. No “defensive wounds” were sustained by Daye to his left upper extremity as was stated in the April 14, 2011 Autopsy Examination report.
Prosecution discovery documents scattered knives throughout the house, the damage to the bathroom door, notes clumps of Crystal’s hair by the bathroom door and in the bedroom, in addition to physical signs of injury she sustained which included a cut below her left eye, a swollen lower lip, a lesion to the back of her left hand, torn clothing, and blood on clothing (most likely from Daye when she stabbed him while he was atop her).
After stabbing Daye in self defense, Crystal grabbed her purse, which happened to contain the two cashier’s checks, and made her escape from Daye’s apartment and went to her aunt’s house. There she was later apprehended after calling 9-1-1, and the two cashier’s checks confiscated. The presence of these two cashier’s checks in Crystal Mangum’s possession would be the basis for Prosecutor Kelly Gauger to file two counts (one for each check) of larceny even though Daye gave them to Crystal, she did not take them from him, and she could not convert them to cash for her own personal use because she was not listed as the payee or remitter.
Daye’s blood alcohol was 296 mg/dL, a level which would put a non-alcoholic adult into a stupor. No alcohol, toxicology, or blood testing was conducted on Ms. Mangum, most likely due to lack of suspicion of her possibly being intoxicated.
That the stabbing was self defense is a logical conclusion from the evidence and investigation provided by the prosecution alone. Chris Shella, Mangum’s defense attorney, who claims to be working Pro Bono on her behalf, had not conducted any investigation into the incident, and the only thing he did was weaken the self-defense argument by seeking a mental health evaluation for his client.
The link below will connect to a directory of prosecution documents supporting the veracity of events as described above. When taken in conjunction with the previously posted blog and its link to the medical records, one cannot help but come to the following conclusions regarding the incident that occurred in the early morning of April 3, 2011:
(1) Crystal Mangum was the victim of domestic abuse at Reginald Daye’s hands;
(2) Crystal Mangum stabbed Reginald Daye in self-defense;
(3) the stab wound to Daye was non-life threatening;
(4) Duke University Hospital staff’s misplacement of the endotracheal tube was responsible for Daye’s brain death;
(5) Reginald Daye’s death was due to his elective removal from life support by Duke University Hospital staff with the consent of Daye’s family;
(6) the Autopsy Examination Report of April 14, 2011, in listing injuries to Daye that were fabricated and not inflicted by the stab wound, did so to make the stab wound appear more serious than it actually was;
(7) the autopsy reports, in listing “complications due to a stab wound to the chest” as the cause of Daye’s death, did so fraudulently and for the purpose of providing a basis for first degree murder charge against Ms. Mangum;
(8) Daye gave the two cashier’s checks to Mangum with the intention that she would drop them off at the rental office while he was at work on Monday, April 4, 2011;
(9) Mangum could not have converted the checks to cash even if she wanted as she was not listed as the payee or remitter; and
(10) Crystal Mangum is innocent of the murder of Reginald Daye and both counts of larceny, and both charges against her should be dropped and she should be immediately released from custody.
The date of this blog posting, April 22, 2012, is day 385 of Crystal Mangum’s wrongful incarceration. This, more than any colorful language used by former Durham District Attorney Tracey Cline in her public feud with Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson, is what puts the Durham County and Tar Heel state’s justice system in disrepute. It is apparent to anyone with a modicum of knowledge about recent Durham history that the actions against Ms. Mangum are motivated by her role in the Duke Lacrosse case. Because this African American woman made accusations of sexual abuse against three student/athletes from families of wealth, power, and privilege, destroying her life and keeping her behind bars is the retribution being sought by these Carpetbagger families in their Jihadist agenda against those they deemed to be on the wrong end of the Duke Lacrosse case.
In order to carry out the diabolical plot against Mangum, many individuals had to collude in a grand conspiracy… some of the conspirators being as follows:
(1) Durham prosecutor Kelly Gauger who had Ms. Mangum indicted for murder on a fraudulently false autopsy report;
(2) Medical examiner Clay Nichols, M.D. who provided the April 14, 2011 Autopsy Examination Report that contained erroneous findings and conclusions;
(3) Dr. Andrew W. Buck who authorized the flawed autopsy report of April 14, 2011;
(4) the doctor who authored the April 13, 2011 Autopsy Investigative Report whose name was not typed on the report and whose signature was not legible. The conclusions he/she reached were misleading and in agreement with those of Dr. Nichols in supporting the prosecutor’s bogus murder charge against Mangum;
(5) defense attorney Chris Shella, who volunteered his Pro Bono services to Crystal Mangum, is an enabler who allowed Prosecutor Gauger to proceed with her prosecution of Ms. Mangum. Representation of Mangum by a capable and dedicated defense attorney would have been enough to prevent Gauger from pursuing the murder and larceny indictments, and would’ve brought the prosecution of Mangum to a halt;
(6) Judge Osmond Smith III, who should have recused and disqualified himself from hearing a motion by Shella for a bail reduction from $200,000 to $100,000, was predisposed to maintain Mangum’s bail at a high enough level to prevent her from satisfying bond; and
(7) the media, mainstream and otherwise, by heavily reporting the false conclusions of the autopsy-related documents that attributed Daye’s demise to the stab wound, and by fiercely keeping from the public the fact that the autopsy reports and their conclusions are spurious.
However, the media’s role is quite insidious and represents one of Prosecutor Gauger’s most powerful allies in the malicious, vindictive, and unfair war against Crystal Mangum. The media kept quiet for the entire week that Reginald Daye was in a coma, only mentioning it after he had died. The media showed absolutely no curiosity about the unexpected and unusual etiology of Daye’s lapse into a comatose state. The media even kept the fact that Daye was on life support hidden from the public and that it was only after he was electively removed from it that he died. The media has downplayed Reginald Daye’s state of intoxication the morning of the incident and has suppressed informing the masses of the injuries sustained by Mangum at Daye’s hand. The media did not attempt to find the basis for the charge of larceny. Because the case against Mangum was so weak, many of the media-types restricted reporting on the case in order to keep its weaknesses concealed. This accounts for a disproportionately large part of articles about Mangum/Daye being devoted to rehashing the Duke Lacrosse case… and reminding the people of Mangum’s role as the “false” accuser.
Although anti-Mangum media reporting is punitive in large measure to retaliate for her part in the Duke Lacrosse case, another significant motive is likely due to financial reasons. By blaming Daye’s death on Crystal Mangum’s actions, it takes away the real responsibility from Duke University Hospital for malpractice that led to the loss of Daye’s life… and Duke University advertises heavily in state’s media markets (with the exception of African American newspapers).
Politicians and so-called “civil rights organizations” which possess knowledge of the injustice against Ms. Mangum and elect to remain quiet and do nothing out of fear and/or apathy, are culpable in this conspiracy of enormous size and intensity. As long as the conspirators keep rank and their deeds remain secreted away, minorities will continue to suffer throughout North Carolina. As long as those with the knowledge of the injustices stay on the sidelines and apart from the struggle for equal justice for all, the unholy persecution of Crystal Mangum will continue, Erick Daniels and Shawn Massey will be deprived of the pardons they deserve, Duke University will continue to discriminate with impunity against Nifong supporters and African Americans, and the GOP will proceed with its onslaught against the Racial Justice Act.
In the post Duke Lacrosse era, Crystal Mangum has emerged the true victim of a broken North Carolina criminal justice system. Innocent of any crime and a victim of domestic abuse, she approaches 400 days in jail with a bail that is higher than Sanford, Florida’s George Zimmerman, who targeted, stalked, and killed 17 year-old Trayvon Martin. The media is generously providing its contribution by vilifying and demonizing Crystal Mangum while holding this revenge-driven grand conspiracy against her together.
LINK: http://www.justice4nifong.com/legal/cgm/pddirec.htm
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Conspiracy in the charges against Crystal Mangum
(Link at end of the blog article)
There is no doubt in my mind that the flimsiness of the prosecution’s charges of first degree murder and larceny against Crystal Mangum, the Duke Lacrosse victim/accuser, that are associated with the death of Reginald Daye requires the collusion of both prosecution and defense attorneys in order to move forward. I believe that Chris Shella has allowed his client to sit in jail for more than a year with no end in sight because he is working with prosecutor Kelly Gauger to in effect have Crystal Mangum serve a sentence without even going to trial.
To date she has served one year… and for what? On April 3, 2011, Ms. Mangum was beaten by Reginald Daye, and in self defense she stabbed him with a small knife… once. Daye only sustained internal injuries to the splenic flexure of his colon and a small lesion to his spleen. On the third postoperative day, Daye, who was also fighting delirium tremens, was having respiratory difficulty and a decision was made to make diagnostic tests that required oral contrast. After the contrast was introduced through a naso-gastric tube (a tube that runs from the nose to the stomach), Daye had some emesis. In order to protect his airway and to administer high concentrations of oxygen, the decision was made to intubate Daye. Unfortunately the intubation tube was placed in the pharynx instead of the airway, and as a result oxygen was prevented from entering his lungs, and subsequently his bloodstream became oxygen deficient. The brain cells, which are extremely sensitive to oxygen deprivation, died quickly, whereas the cardiac heart cells responded to the decreased oxygen level by going into cardiac arrest. With the arrest, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was begun and at this time the endotracheal tube which had been mis-positioned was removed, and another one re-inserted… however this tube was properly positioned. With the tube in the airway, oxygen flowed into the lungs once again and the blood received oxygen. The cardiac cells recovered with the fresh flow of oxygenated blood, but the brain cells had already died and could not be revived… accounting for Daye’s comatose state. After a week on life support, Daye’s family consented for the life support measures to be removed, and subsequently and as a proximal result, Daye died.
Daye’s death was due to his removal from life support. Daye’s brain death was due to medical staff error in placement of an endotracheal tube.
Recently I visited with Crystal Mangum at the Durham Detention Center in Durham, NC. She told me the following about the cashier’s check for which she was charged with two counts of larceny:
1. prior to Sunday, April 3, 2011, Reginald Daye purchased two cashier’s checks totaling $700 to pay for the rent of his apartment that he was sharing with Crystal and her children;
2. both cashier’s checks were made out to the apartment rental company and both had Reginald Daye listed as the remitter;
3. prior to Sunday, April 3, 2011, Mr. Daye gave both of the cashier’s checks to Crystal with the understanding that she would drop them off at the rental office on Monday, April 4, 2011… this arrangement necessary because Daye was scheduled to leave for work that day at six in the morning and would be returning home after five in the late afternoon. In other words, he would be at work during the office hours of the rental agency;
4. prior to Sunday, April 3, 2011, Ms. Mangum put both cashier’s checks in her purse for safekeeping;
5. late in the evening of Saturday, April 2, 2011, Daye and Mangum got into an argument about personal relationship issues. At no time was the argument about finances or money;
6. in the early hours of Sunday, April 3, 2011, the argument between Reginald Daye and Crystal Mangum turned physical, with him dragging her by her hair and punching her in the face;
7. in self-defense, she stabbed him once in the torso with a small kitchen knife, grabbed her purse (which contained the cashier’s checks), and quickly left the premises;
8. hours later, when police found Crystal Mangum at her aunt’s residence, she was taken into custody and the two cashier’s checks that were in her purse were confiscated;
9. despite the fact that: (a) both checks were given to Ms. Mangum by Reginald Daye; (b) their argument had nothing to do with money issues; and (c) due to the way the cashier’s checks were filled out, Ms. Mangum could not convert them to money for her own personal use, Durham prosecutor Kelly Gauger proceeded to charge Crystal Mangum with two counts of larceny… one for each cashier’s check.
Both criminal charges against Crystal Mangum are seriously flawed and any attorney worth his salt would have filed a motion immediately to have both charges dismissed. The murder charge should be dismissed because (1) Ms. Mangum acted in self-defense; (2) the autopsy reports were criminally fraudulent themselves; (3) Daye’s brain death was caused by error in endotracheal tube placement by Duke University Hospital staff and not related to the stab wound; and (4) Daye was electively removed from life-support with the consent of his family.
Regarding the larceny charge, it should be dismissed because both cashier’s checks were given to Mangum by Daye, and because they were useless to her as she could not convert them for her own use.
Other than the extreme weakness of the charges against Ms. Mangum, other issues suggestion collusion between the two parties is that no action has taken place on the prosecutor’s side, and there is nothing in play on the Court calendar in the foreseeable future. This reinforces my contention that prosecution’s plan is to have Ms. Mangum serve a sentence of as many years as possible without even being taken to trial (similar to the prosecution strategy used in the James Arthur Johnson case).
That Crystal’s defense attorney Chris Shella has not filed any motions on her behalf also speaks of his culpability in this nefarious scheme. Why has he not filed for the dismissal of these merit-less charges? She’s sat in jail for more than a year, and during that time, Crystal told me, Mr. Shella has been to visit her three or four times, and that the visits last from five to ten minutes. She said that even though she has requested since May 2011 to see all prosecutorial discovery, he has withheld much from her, including photographs.
That is why Ms. Mangum was desperately seeking assistance and asked me to help her with motions to have the charges dropped. In communicating through intermediaries, I asked her to send me the discovery so I could help her draft the motions, as she had no access to a law library, internet or laptop. She sent me the discovery and signed the documents, and because she was being held in jail and could not be allowed to walk to the courthouse to file the motions herself, I filed them on her behalf.
I strongly believe that Chris Shella was furious because the motions were filed, and that went against his agenda to keep Crystal Mangum isolated with no legal activity. Like the prosecutor, Mr. Shella wanted Ms. Mangum to quietly serve out her jail sentence of several years, and when time for trial could no longer be pushed back, force her to accept a stringent plea deal.
Now Chris Shella is seeking retribution against me by asking the North Carolina State Bar to investigate me for violating laws against practicing law without a license. But which is the bigger crime? Trying to help a young mother who has been vilified by the media and who is being falsely held in jail on bogus charges, or being party to a conspiracy to hold that innocent mother in jail, away from her three children? I submit the North Carolina State Bar should be directing its attention towards Chris Shella and Kelly Gauger, not me.
Click on the link below to access a directory to documents that support the fact that the Autopsy Examination Report, upon which the murder charge against Ms. Mangum is based, is false.
http://www.justice4nifong.com/legal/cgm/mddirec.htm
There is no doubt in my mind that the flimsiness of the prosecution’s charges of first degree murder and larceny against Crystal Mangum, the Duke Lacrosse victim/accuser, that are associated with the death of Reginald Daye requires the collusion of both prosecution and defense attorneys in order to move forward. I believe that Chris Shella has allowed his client to sit in jail for more than a year with no end in sight because he is working with prosecutor Kelly Gauger to in effect have Crystal Mangum serve a sentence without even going to trial.
To date she has served one year… and for what? On April 3, 2011, Ms. Mangum was beaten by Reginald Daye, and in self defense she stabbed him with a small knife… once. Daye only sustained internal injuries to the splenic flexure of his colon and a small lesion to his spleen. On the third postoperative day, Daye, who was also fighting delirium tremens, was having respiratory difficulty and a decision was made to make diagnostic tests that required oral contrast. After the contrast was introduced through a naso-gastric tube (a tube that runs from the nose to the stomach), Daye had some emesis. In order to protect his airway and to administer high concentrations of oxygen, the decision was made to intubate Daye. Unfortunately the intubation tube was placed in the pharynx instead of the airway, and as a result oxygen was prevented from entering his lungs, and subsequently his bloodstream became oxygen deficient. The brain cells, which are extremely sensitive to oxygen deprivation, died quickly, whereas the cardiac heart cells responded to the decreased oxygen level by going into cardiac arrest. With the arrest, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was begun and at this time the endotracheal tube which had been mis-positioned was removed, and another one re-inserted… however this tube was properly positioned. With the tube in the airway, oxygen flowed into the lungs once again and the blood received oxygen. The cardiac cells recovered with the fresh flow of oxygenated blood, but the brain cells had already died and could not be revived… accounting for Daye’s comatose state. After a week on life support, Daye’s family consented for the life support measures to be removed, and subsequently and as a proximal result, Daye died.
Daye’s death was due to his removal from life support. Daye’s brain death was due to medical staff error in placement of an endotracheal tube.
Recently I visited with Crystal Mangum at the Durham Detention Center in Durham, NC. She told me the following about the cashier’s check for which she was charged with two counts of larceny:
1. prior to Sunday, April 3, 2011, Reginald Daye purchased two cashier’s checks totaling $700 to pay for the rent of his apartment that he was sharing with Crystal and her children;
2. both cashier’s checks were made out to the apartment rental company and both had Reginald Daye listed as the remitter;
3. prior to Sunday, April 3, 2011, Mr. Daye gave both of the cashier’s checks to Crystal with the understanding that she would drop them off at the rental office on Monday, April 4, 2011… this arrangement necessary because Daye was scheduled to leave for work that day at six in the morning and would be returning home after five in the late afternoon. In other words, he would be at work during the office hours of the rental agency;
4. prior to Sunday, April 3, 2011, Ms. Mangum put both cashier’s checks in her purse for safekeeping;
5. late in the evening of Saturday, April 2, 2011, Daye and Mangum got into an argument about personal relationship issues. At no time was the argument about finances or money;
6. in the early hours of Sunday, April 3, 2011, the argument between Reginald Daye and Crystal Mangum turned physical, with him dragging her by her hair and punching her in the face;
7. in self-defense, she stabbed him once in the torso with a small kitchen knife, grabbed her purse (which contained the cashier’s checks), and quickly left the premises;
8. hours later, when police found Crystal Mangum at her aunt’s residence, she was taken into custody and the two cashier’s checks that were in her purse were confiscated;
9. despite the fact that: (a) both checks were given to Ms. Mangum by Reginald Daye; (b) their argument had nothing to do with money issues; and (c) due to the way the cashier’s checks were filled out, Ms. Mangum could not convert them to money for her own personal use, Durham prosecutor Kelly Gauger proceeded to charge Crystal Mangum with two counts of larceny… one for each cashier’s check.
Both criminal charges against Crystal Mangum are seriously flawed and any attorney worth his salt would have filed a motion immediately to have both charges dismissed. The murder charge should be dismissed because (1) Ms. Mangum acted in self-defense; (2) the autopsy reports were criminally fraudulent themselves; (3) Daye’s brain death was caused by error in endotracheal tube placement by Duke University Hospital staff and not related to the stab wound; and (4) Daye was electively removed from life-support with the consent of his family.
Regarding the larceny charge, it should be dismissed because both cashier’s checks were given to Mangum by Daye, and because they were useless to her as she could not convert them for her own use.
Other than the extreme weakness of the charges against Ms. Mangum, other issues suggestion collusion between the two parties is that no action has taken place on the prosecutor’s side, and there is nothing in play on the Court calendar in the foreseeable future. This reinforces my contention that prosecution’s plan is to have Ms. Mangum serve a sentence of as many years as possible without even being taken to trial (similar to the prosecution strategy used in the James Arthur Johnson case).
That Crystal’s defense attorney Chris Shella has not filed any motions on her behalf also speaks of his culpability in this nefarious scheme. Why has he not filed for the dismissal of these merit-less charges? She’s sat in jail for more than a year, and during that time, Crystal told me, Mr. Shella has been to visit her three or four times, and that the visits last from five to ten minutes. She said that even though she has requested since May 2011 to see all prosecutorial discovery, he has withheld much from her, including photographs.
That is why Ms. Mangum was desperately seeking assistance and asked me to help her with motions to have the charges dropped. In communicating through intermediaries, I asked her to send me the discovery so I could help her draft the motions, as she had no access to a law library, internet or laptop. She sent me the discovery and signed the documents, and because she was being held in jail and could not be allowed to walk to the courthouse to file the motions herself, I filed them on her behalf.
I strongly believe that Chris Shella was furious because the motions were filed, and that went against his agenda to keep Crystal Mangum isolated with no legal activity. Like the prosecutor, Mr. Shella wanted Ms. Mangum to quietly serve out her jail sentence of several years, and when time for trial could no longer be pushed back, force her to accept a stringent plea deal.
Now Chris Shella is seeking retribution against me by asking the North Carolina State Bar to investigate me for violating laws against practicing law without a license. But which is the bigger crime? Trying to help a young mother who has been vilified by the media and who is being falsely held in jail on bogus charges, or being party to a conspiracy to hold that innocent mother in jail, away from her three children? I submit the North Carolina State Bar should be directing its attention towards Chris Shella and Kelly Gauger, not me.
Click on the link below to access a directory to documents that support the fact that the Autopsy Examination Report, upon which the murder charge against Ms. Mangum is based, is false.
http://www.justice4nifong.com/legal/cgm/mddirec.htm
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