The Duke Case
Lesley Stahl Talks To Parents Of Accused, Prosecution Forensics Expert
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Duke Lacrosse Legal Issues
In Full: Lesley Stahl investigates discrepancies in the legal issues surrounding the case of three Duke University lacrosse players accused of rape.
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Duke Lacrosse Parents
In Full: Lesley Stahl talks to the parents of the Duke University lacrosse players accused of rape. The families are outraged at the district attorney's handling of their sons' cases.
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Brodhead On The Duke Case
Only On The Web: Duke University President Richard Brodhead talks to Lesley Stahl about the Duke rape case and defends his decision to cancel last year's lacrosse season.
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David Evans, left, Reade Seligmann, center, and Collin Finnerty (CBS)
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(CBS)
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Dr. Brian Meehan (CBS)
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Duke Lacrosse Case
Duke lacrosse players were charged with sexual abuse in high profile case that caused tension in Durham, N.C.
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Nifong was forced to drop the rape charges last month when the woman changed her story. The three still stand accused of sexual assault and kidnapping. Now, for the first time, their parents speak out together in an interview with correspondent Lesley Stahl.
And Stahl speaks to the forensic expert who changed the course of the case when he testified that he and the D.A. knew – but did not report – crucial DNA evidence that could help exonerate the defendants, whose DNA was never found in the accuser.
Dr. Brian Meehan was hired by District Attorney Mike Nifong to conduct DNA testing on evidence collected hours after the alleged attack last March. What Meehan discovered in his lab has undermined the prosecution's case because he found DNA on the rape kit and the accuser's underwear that belonged to at least four unidentified men, none from any of the lacrosse players. But when Meehan issued a report of his findings, he left out that potentially exculpatory information about the other men.
"You never stated in your report that you found DNA that belonged to men other than the accused in her underwear?" Stahl asks.
"I did not specifically say that," he replies.
"You never said that you found DNA belonging to other men in her rectum?" Stahl asks.
"No, I did not specifically state that," Meehan says.
Asked if that shouldn't have been in the report, Meehan says, "In retrospect, I know that there's a better way. And I should've done a better job at conveying that information."
"So, when you've produced other reports, if you have found other people who aren't suspects, you would leave it out of the report? Have you done this before?" Stahl asks.
"We haven't done that before," Meehan admits.
Leaving test results out of a report is a violation of industry standards, and of Meehan's own company's guidelines; the organization that accredits forensic labs has launched an investigation of his company.
"I have to tell you that we spoke to a lot of forensic specialists, people who do what you do and sex crime prosecutors. And they all say they never heard of anything like this – ever," Stahl remarks.
"I said it was an error," Meehan replies. "It was an error in judgment on my part."
"But a big one, right?" Stahl asks.
"Certainly, it was a big error," he replies.
Asked if it was his decision and his alone, Meehan says, "Well, it was my decision based on my understanding of what was asked in this case from when the case began."
At a hearing last month, Meehan testified that he and Nifong agreed to limit the report to "just the stuff that matched" the lacrosse players or three of the accuser's friends. After Meehan found there was DNA evidence from other unidentified men, he says he spelled out that information to D.A. Nifong in person and on the phone – before he completed his report.
"Did the district attorney specifically ask you to leave the information about the other males out of this report?" Stahl asks Meehan.
"Absolutely not," he replies.
"He knew the information was there. Did he ever ask you specifically to include it?" Stahl asks.
"That specific information? No, he did not," Meehan says.
"Did he ever come back to you and ever say, 'I need a second report with everything in it?'" Stahl asks.
"No, he did not," he says.
Asked if he thought Nifong was going to ask for it, Meehan says he "expected him" to ask for it.
The key here is that the D.A. was required by law to turn that information over to the defense in the first place. He didn’t do that until a judge ordered him to six months after he learned about the DNA belonging to other men. What's more, during that time, the D.A. told the court he was "not aware of any additional information" which may be exculpatory.
Asked if Nifong was lying, Meehan says, "Well, I know that I told him. I sat down in our conference room and went over all of the information in this case with him."
Four days after Stahl interviewed him, Meehan submitted an amended report with all his findings.
There was probably nobody more shocked by Meehan’s testimony about the DNA than the parents of the three boys who have been indicted – Collin Finnerty's parents, Kevin and Mary Ellen, David Evans' parents, David Sr. and Rae and Reade Seligmann's folks, Kathy and Phil. They were all in the courtroom that day.
"Well, while we were sitting there, and the information came out, and someone then, behind us, passed the note and said on the note it said, 'Oh my God. He knew this on April 10th.' And we knew that our boys had been indicted on April 17th. And Mary Ellen turned to me and said, 'I'm shaking so hard, I think I'm going to pass out right now.' And we had to hold on to each other," remembers Kathy Seligmann.
"But let me get you’re saying that on April 10th, Mr. Nifong was told that your boys had left no ," Stahl asks.
"No DNA, not a speck," Seligmann says.
"But that there was evidence of other men. And days after he was told that, he indicted them for rape?" Stahl asks.
"Right, yeah," she replies.
Produced By Michael Radutzky and Tanya Simon
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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See all 1006 CommentsI think that it is the PERFECT example of how corrupt the government can be. I wonder how much he was getting payed beacuse this was not brought on by getting relected alone.
The existence of other DNA does not prove the other boy's innocence, far from it. The other DNA may have a valid reason for being on the victim, that has nothing to do with the crime. The claim is that these boys did something. The fact that their DNA was on the victim is enough to say that they did do something with the victim. The other DNA is now just a red herring.
While you are correct in stating that the Duke DNA results are not entirely exculpatory, the evidence provides a basis for reasonable doubt. It therefore should have been revealed to the defense by the prosecutor. The law states that all evidence and testimony related to the case must be given to the defense by the prosecutor. Evidence and testimony which are clearly irrelevant do not have to be revealed, but the burden is on the prosecutor to err on the side of caution and include more rather than less information during discovery.
The DNA evidence you cite is clearly material to the case and should have been revealed to the defense immediately. This is but one of the reasons Mr. Nifong is under investigation by his state Bar Association. If you are a lawyer and you don't understand or appreciate the significance of all of this, perhaps you need to return to law school for some refresher courses.
What is so fundamentally wrong with all these "rape shield" laws is that they establish a legal standing of "victim" and "perp" long before any court or jury findings determine just who is being "victimized" - the accuser or the accused.
So who is the "victim" and who is the "perp" here?
The rape shield laws establish only that males are by always the "perps" and females are always the "victims" and the law is to protect the privacy of the "victim" long before any jury has concluded just who the victim actually is.
These rape sheild laws give prosecutors incredible power and that's why they have not been struck down. I sincerely hope Niphong and his "hoe" due some serious prison time for what they have done to these true victims.
This is political correctness, feminism, and reverse racism run amok. Any accusation that a black female makes against white males is believed, even when it is refuted by another black female.
I live in a college town. We had a case where a stripper accused a fraternity of rape. It turned out that she was disappointed in the "tip" she received, in addition to her agreed-upon fee. Fortunately, her whole performance had been recorded by a (then new) cell phone camera. It was obvious she had not been attacked.
Please provide a source for your claim that the "boy's" (sic) DNA was found on the false accuser's body.
I doubt you can - you are either repeating wrong information or lying.
There are many sources available on the web for you to learn that NO DNA from the "boy's" has been connected with the false accuser.
Absence of DNA is exculpatory. Given that up to 7 other male DNA samples were found and reported by Meehan (eventually) and the NC State lab, and there was NONE from Collin, Dan or Reade, means they did not touch her much less assault her.
Stop repeating falsehoods
This is the first time the families have ever appeared in the national media. All of the media appearances and "PR" as you call it were done by the prosecutor PRIOR to gathering all the evidence. Funny that he has disappeared from the airwaves now that all the evidence is in and the defendants are being granted their day in the media. Edwardallen5, with a strong case and "wealthy sickos", you'd think that "PR" secnario would be the other way around.
Posted by edwardallen5 at 10:36 AM : Jan 12, 2007
If you want to advertise the fact that you are a virulent racist, it takes less space to type "Kill Whitey!" On the other hand, your prose is so hateful that I have trouble believing that you are not a white provocateur trying to stir up animosity against blacks.
"'Mr. Nifong, you've picked on the wrong families %u2026 and you will pay every day for the rest of your life.'"
I recognized this from the start. Mr. Nifong is in big trouble. If he is pursuing the cause of truth and justice, then he will be a martyr. But it appears likely that he is going to suffer the fate of someone who compromised his integrity and gets justice and then some.
I am very much in favor of justice for everyone without regard to race, creed, color, seex, etc. I hope Mr. Nifong and edwardallen5 get justice in life, whatever that should be. For better or worse, let justice prevail!
This is the first time the families have ever appeared in the national media. All of the media appearances and "PR" as you call it were done by the prosecutor PRIOR to gathering all the evidence. Funny that he has disappeared from the airwaves now that all the evidence is in and the defendants are being granted their day in the media. Edwardallen5, with a strong case and "wealthy sickos", you'd think that "PR" secnario would be the other way around.
Not only has he made it hard for the innocent to receive justice but it will now be very hard for any jury to believe him in convicting the truly guilty.
Please tell us why these boys should be tried by "an all black jury"? What are you implying about black jurors -
that they are racist?
that they will convict without evidence?
that they are ignorant?
that they will abuse the judicial system?
My friend, you need to ask yourself....who's the real racist at this table.
As for Nifong, he could be prosecuted for subornation of perjury if evidence exists that he knowingly pursuaded the stripper to give untruthful testimony to the grand jury. And that's just an example I havent heard mentioned out of the long list of penalties he is hopefully facing.
Yes, I am sorry that ANY woman has to sell her body to make a living. I wish it didn't happen. And if I were their parents, I would be ashamed that these young men had participated in the hiring of a stripper.
But that doesn't make them guilty of rape. And I just don't see how there isn't "reasonable doubt" in this case.
Nifong might not be guilty of suborning perjury as a previous poster suggested (because he declined to even interview the accuser for so long) but there certainly is a prima facie case that Nifong has committed serious ethics violations.
In the meantime, he definitely should be removed from this case and a more objective prosecutor should take over.
I am so tired of everything I read at this site becoming a black and white issue ... I know that's just not the case !!
move on people
Those boys & their families should file a multi million dollar civil suit (each) against the accuser, Mike Nifong, Duke, & the police. Maybe then these nimrods (those listed) will think twice about just choosing to destroy lives for their own promotion & agenda. People need to wise up!
The accusor is claiming that multiple assailants ejaculated on her (in her latest version of the story) and that she had not had sexual relations in the previous seven days.
A DNA test was used that was capable of identifying even a single cell's worth of DNA. The resulting tests showed absolutely NO DNA from any of the players and yet found DNA from five other males.
Based on the accusor's statements you expect the test results to show the DNA of two or three players and NO DNA from any other males. The actual results were exactly opposite what would be expected. Therefore the DNA evidence is exculpatory.
Some background -
Nifong is a politican then a DA
He wants to be re-elected
He believes that aggressive prosecution of "privlidged white boys" in a case of a black stripper would be advantagious to his re-election.
Why is that? I think we have to evaluate the medias implicite bias toward stereotypes of 20 or 30 years ago.
If Nifong had succeeded in this prosectution he would be hailed by the local press as upholding racial justice in "redneck" North Carolina. Unfortunately his bungling got him caught.
Its time our media started reporting stories without the race being a leading component of any story. Media uses race to sell papers, TV time and magazines. If they exacerbate race problems - then so be it.
I wonder how race relations would be in this country if the media didn't make it the lead component of any story where two people are of different skin tones?
Nifong should be disbarred, charged with a felony and unable to hold public office for the rest of his life. He should also be held accountable for the attorney's fees for the familys of all the boys falsely accused. Did what the boys do that night (hiring a stripper) come across as the most moral decision? No, but it happened and the accuser should also be held criminally responsible when her story finally completey unravels and she has been found out to be a complete liar. As a woman, I am appalled to think that someone would fake being raped. My heart goes out to all who have been truly raped and the damage this story has done to a horrific crime that REALLY happens to others.
I'll take my chances with women, it's a certain (male) North Carolina prosecutor that appears to be out of control.
Keep in mind I said SELF-RESPECTING...
These kids from Duke should SUE the Prosecutor for what he has done to them, damagaing there reputation and then SUE Duke University, which also disbanded the lacrosse team, fired the coach, and so on, as a result of all this obviously bogus case.
If people make them PAY then there will be less mistakes out of the fear of reprocussion.
"Put it before a jury (hopefully an all-black jury), and we'll see justice done even in redneck North Carolina."
Aside from your overt racism, apparently you are not married or you've never had a girlfriend! Also, are you any relation to Senator Joe "the plagiarizer" Biden who foolishly thinks he can be elected president by pandering to the man-hating feminists in the democratic party? Biden, the chief sponsor of the Violence Against Women ONLY Act (VAWOA) which equates to All women=GOOD! All men=BAD!
I suggest you actually read the full contents of the VAWOA. Where any woman can claim anything or simply pick up the phone and say she is merely "AFRAID" and the man will be arrested, cutoff from his children and driven out the home ...even if she is the one who 's the aggressor!
from
A BLACK man who thinks for himself!
Liberalism is a sick and wicked surrogate religion that allows it adherents to feel that they have a right to persecute anyone (infidels) they don't like. After all everyone KNOWS that they are the good people.
The real interesting thing is that the accused and their parents were no doubt good white liberal parents who would have been right out there with the lynch mob if it hadn't been them under attack.
That's the irony here. Nifong is the monster that white American liberals have built. It's always fun to see that monster eat its own.
-Ken
Laser Guided Loogie
www.laserloogie.blogspot.com
I disagree with your comments about institutional racism in the black community. Certainly there is a learned behaviour created by the Jesse Jackson's and Al Sharpton's need to create political power by generating racial tensions. But it is not institutiaonl and not approved - it is as much a fringe belief as white supremists.
My personal experience is that the constant drum beat of racial reporting creates a certain degree of tension when two people of different races first meet. A heightend sense of awareness and concern about NOT appearing as a racist creates discomfort. My son's best friend is black and he tells me thats what he feels every time he walks into a room of whites he doesn't know. I did when I went to his birthday party and I and my wife were the only whites.
It shouldn't be that way - and if the press would quit trumping any black/white event as racial we would, over time, be a lot better off.
These kids had money and were able to get the justice they deserved.
How many poor folk, black and white, are behind bars because they pleaded guilty to a lesser crime in the face of false evidence they could not prove false?
Nifong is guilty for asking that excuplatory evidence be withheld and actually downright lying about the fact that it existed, but no one forced Dr. Meehan to keep it under wraps for six months.
Anyone that thinks this is NOT a racially motivated case is dead wrong. Mike Nifong saw the opportunity to appeal to black voters by crucifying these white kids. That ladies and gentlemen is what makes it racially motivated. Not because all blacks hate whites. Not because all whites hate blacks. It's not about the fact that all men hate women or that all women hate men. You all belittle yourselves by arguing such idiocy.
Mike Nifong should be disbarred and prosecuted for any number of things, withholding exculpatory evidence being among them.
Dr. Meehan should be tarred and feathered and fired from his job.
The citizens of Durham should all hang their heads in shame for allowing this snake to be re-elected. I'll even take it a step further; anyone that voted for Nifong should have their voting rights revoked permanently as they obviously don't deserve the right.
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