The Duke Case: Innocent

Lesley Stahl Speaks To The Exonerated Players And The State A.G.

(CBS)  The dismissal of all charges against three white Duke lacrosse players on Wednesday ended a year-long nightmare for David Evans, Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty that began when an African-American stripper accused them of gang-raping her at a team party.

In no uncertain terms, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper said his review of the case made it clear that they had been the victims of a troubled woman's false allegations and a rogue prosecutor’s rush to accuse.

In two previous reports, 60 Minutes raised serious questions about the case, and now the three young men tell correspondent Lesley Stahl about the agonizing ordeal of being charged with a crime they didn’t commit.

And Attorney General Cooper explains in new and explicit detail why the charges never should have been brought in the first place. Cooper concluded there had been a miscarriage of justice and with one word – "innocent" – gave three young men their lives back.

---

"We had heard that he might say, as we refer to it now, as the "i" word – innocent. But when he first said there's insufficient evidence to go forward, we were saying, 'Oh my God,'" remembers David Evans.

"Because he didn’t say it right away," Stahl remarks.

"He didn’t say it, and then all of a sudden, there’s this crescendo, and you can see where he was going with his speech," Evans explains.

"I never heard 'innocent' because everyone in the room jumped up and starting cheering," Evans adds, referring to the moment State Attorney General Cooper made the announcement that all remaining charges had been dropped.

"We were waiting for it from the very beginning. And the moment he did it, I completely broke down. I don’t even remember who I ended up hugging. Everyone was jumping up and down and we knew then that was when we got our lives back," Reade Seligmann said to Stahl.

"I feel, you know, weight off my shoulders, feel a lot better. Everything, you know, it still hasn’t sunk in completely but I think I just try to remind myself that it’s over," Collin Finnerty says.

---

The late Ed Bradley first talked to the students in October 2006; in January 2007, Stahl also interviewed their parents.

---

For Seligman, Finnerty and Evans it was, to say the least, a relief, after 395 days of hell.

"The possibility of going to jail for 30 years was very real. That was very real for us," Seligmann tells Stahl.

"And you thought about it … have you seen yourself in a prison cell for 30 years?" Stahl asks.

"You know, I pictured how they'd react when they said guilty, you know, having jurors say guilty. And to know everything was taken away from me for nothing," Seligmann says. "And one of my biggest fears was that it would go to trial and that it would be a hung jury and I would be stuck in limbo for the rest of my life."

"It's almost impossible to put your head in a place where you know you didn't do something and you're accused and you can't get up from under it," Stahl remarks.

"You don't want to be there," Evans says, laughing.

And Evans says the whole experience was surreal. "I don't believe my life over the last year is actually mine. I mean it, you kind of see yourself on TV. You see all of these people talking about it. But when you know you haven't done anything it's so difficult to grasp with the fact. I mean, I'd be with some of my friends at a restaurant and all of a sudden one of them would be like, 'You're out on bail.' And I'd be like, and it hit me. And I'd be like, 'Oh my God,'" he says.

[johnsleeman]

We%u2019re not allowed to use the %u201CH%u201D word unless, of course, you%u2019re black. Just ask Don Imus. So what can we call the %u201Cescort/exotic dancer%u201D whose unfounded accusations of rape came very close to ruining the lives of three white Duke lacross players? I'd love to hear the reverend Al Sharpton%u2019s take on this is.

[shastings6]

My husband and son were falsely accused of a hate-crime against two gay men. The two men battered my husband and son and then claimed gay slurs were used. My son had a broken nose, chipped tooth, a concussion and broken orbital bone. We are upstanding citizens in our community and while a firestorm raged around us, we were fortunate to have so many friends and family behind us. We took our case all the way to a trial and were found not guilty. My son and husband refused to plea to something they did not do. Our District Attorney was also looking to put a notch in her belt. Luckily, with the help of my father, we were able to afford two great lawyers. Our family is forever changed. We feel for these young men.

[ejb222]

To john:

The word you're looking for is prostitute.

As far as the "H" word, I find it offensive that anyone would use the word to begin with regardless of their ethnicity. BTW: The "H" word's origin is the word '***' the origin of which is of the "late Old English h%u014Dre, of Germanic origin" - source: New Oxford American Dictionary.


Referring to these students from Duke, I think it's terrible what has happened to them and hope that their lives won't be severely impacted (in the long term) from this event. I'd like to see the accuser apologize for what she said. That would be a great step to making amends. At the least it would allow for some closure.

[latinoinflorida]

I have been in their shoes and much worse by spending 9 Years in prison innocently. The prosecutor knowingly withhels evidence and my defense attorney assisted by not investigating any of the exonerating evidence in his possession. I have repeatedly contacted this station and others regarding this but was ignored. It was their own evidence that exonerated me and I continue to suffer from the losses and mental stresses that came from my incarceration. I am one of those that did not have the resources these individuals had and I less of a chance to now with this conviction hanging over me. Justice is not served even after proven innocent. It is never the same. Still, I will never give up looking for a way to clear my name and regain my military career.

[keiththornto]

I am glad the students have been exonerated.

This was the case of a woman with no class attempting to use race in order to gain status.

[keiththornto]

I am glad they have been exonerated.

I heard one NCCU student comment that this was about race, status, and class.

In a way she is right.

This was a case of a woman with no class attempting to use race in order to gain status.

[justcause07]

False accusation happens everyday on college campuses across the nation. My good friends son was falsely accused after a nite of partying, by a girl who stated it was date rape. The young man was immediately removed from campus, expelled from school,was humiliated, and had to prove his innocencnot to mention the expense of attorneys. While he was not formally charged with any crimes by the police, (as it turned out the girl had done this same thing the year before)this entire situation was horrible for him and his family. The girl??? still at college, still partying and probably accusing other young men of the same thing.

[sbocheck]

Hooray for these guys!!!! I never had a doubt that they were innocent. I stood up to everyone I met that convicted them "before the fact". I have two boys myself and it's terrible men/boys get accused of things like this "just because" the girl says so. I have always tried to keep my boys aware of the dangers that girls can bring. I myself was raped by a boyfriend and molested as a child but I still stand behind the innocent. Again, I am so very glad for these young men!

[gimmeabreak6]

Well, "innocent" isn't exactly the word I would use for this whole incident which began with hiring a stripper for one of their famous lacrosse parties. Innocent of the specific legal charges here but --gimmeabreak -- "innocent" is not what this event was about. Let's not make these boys "innocent" heroes b/c they're not. They experienced maybe one PERCENT of what women are more typically experiencing in this culture. Look around you, and let's be clear about how it is; and the media is no small contributor to rushing to immediate judgments and airing them on national TV for the masses to jump onto.

[njva17420]

While these young men and their fellow team members are not angels, they are "innocent" of the charges that had been filed. So, yes, to that extent, they are "innocent".

But how about the young women they hired for their party? Their behavior, especially that of the accuser, was hardly "innocent" either. No tears should be shed for them.

One can hope only that everyone in this whole sordid mess takes some time to consider his or her life and start in some new directions.

In addition, Duke University as a whole, from its craven President on down, needs to look long and hard at its standards of acceptable behaviors -- on and off campus. Likewise, the parents of all the students should take a close look at what they are teaching their children.

[vbland]

Personally I think that if Imus has to apologize to the Rutgers team for using the new "N" word then Sharpton and Nifong should have to apologize to the Duke players for finding them guilty without all the info and calling them among other things, hooligans

[harrieta1]

Before we succumb to blindness, remember that the Duke LaCrosse team brought those actions on themselves when not cooperating with the police. Had they told them what happen, and the five people who did not live in the house, other actions would have been initiated. I'm tired of people overlooking the initial refusal to cooperate with the officials, the evidence from the "white" neighbor who heard the altercation, the evidence from the 1st cab driver who took 5 boys away from the house and their fear of some reprisal, when one of them said, who will believe her, she's just a ***! An assault occurred, but the details were not uncovered. They threw away evidence that could have exonerated these 3 earlier than one year of harrassment. Even while acknowledging errors, we still don't have the whole story.

[njva17420]

What is Harrieta-1 talking about? The team members were upfront with the police virtually from the start. Most of her blog is indecipherable. Who is the "they" that she refers to, and the "white" neighbor? It's virtually impossible to tell what her point is.

[lindseymille]

These boys are totally innocent!! They tried to cooperate every way they could and Nifong wouldn't listen. The accuser should go to jail for filing a false police report and Nifong should be disbarred. He doesn't deserve to practice law. If I hadn't followed this case myself, I wouldn't believe a prosecutor could be this unethical and negligent. He displayed total malpractice that is an embarrassment to the state of North Carolina. Chrystal Magnum is a completely delusional stripper who created a lot of unnecessary ill will in Durham and defamed a great university. I think her lies and what she did to the town, those boys and the college are unforgiveable. Some people want to forgive her because she has serious mental problems and has had a tough life, but she needs to know there are consequences for making false accusations. And Nifong needs to learn there are consequences for having NO integrity.

President Brodheart has distinguished Duke across this land for denying his students the presumption of innocence, one of the most basic of rights in a free society. Whether for incompetence or because of an ideology of victimhood and class warfare, nonetheless he has irreparably damaged the university's reputation, enrollment and endowment... not to mention the lives of those three young men.

For this, President Brodheart must resign or be fired by his Trustees.

[likeitis5050]

I love the way Sharpton and Jackson jumped on the Imus case but have been no where to be seen demanding something be done to the 'nappy headed ho' who falsely accused the young men. Why hasn't Oprah pulled together a show about black women who disgrace their own people? Double standard? You bet. She needs to be punished instead of protected. We still know next to nothing about her identity yet everyone knows enough about these young men to question them the rest of their lives. She does not deserve this kind of cover. Bring her out and let her be accountable for all the grief she has caused. Imus should have said he wasn't talking about the team, but rather the *** who saw an opportunity to take down innocent WHITE boys. Where, oh where are the Sharpton and Jackson media ****** now? Why isn't Oprah out there chanting 'you make me ashamed to be a w-o-m-a-n'? They can't have it both ways. They want to champion racial issues but only those that favor their race. This is why racial harmony is going to have to be won neighborhood by neighborhood and without the help of self-righteous, self-appointed activists who simply want the media attention. 98% of the black people I work with and socialize with are sickened by the way this has played out. I simply want equality...across the board.

[wbd39nhldg]

Yes, these three young men might be innocent of the rape charges. However, they are guilty of attending an off-campus party of other fellow LaCrosse players drinking and paying for two strippers. Under any code of conduct at any University in the US this would be enough evidence to be convicted of solicitating, lued conduct, undeage drinking and a host of other crimes that they have admitted to. They need to be charged with the misdamenor charges they ahve admitted to while trying to avoid the largest charge of rape. Yes thye had great parents who paid their way out of jsil, but they are still morally corupt juvenile delinquents, that should have been thrown off the team, the coach fired, and charged with the proper charges in the first place. If there is any justice in this situation, the proper laws should be observed and the entire team should be charged and thrown out of the University. They are not the Inocent as they would like veryone to believe.

[njva17420]

In response to the illiterate note just posted, I repeat my earlier message:

While these young men and their fellow team members are not angels, they are "innocent" of the charges that had been filed. So, yes, to that extent, they are "innocent".

But how about the young women they hired for their party? Their behavior, especially that of the accuser, was hardly "innocent" either. No tears should be shed for them.

One can hope only that everyone in this whole sordid mess takes some time to consider his or her life and start in some new directions.

In addition, Duke University as a whole, from its craven President on down, needs to look long and hard at its standards of acceptable behaviors -- on and off campus. Likewise, the parents of all the students should take a close look at what they are teaching their children.

[wbd39nhldg]

Not being able to type fast might be my downfall. Being illiterate is not. But I don't nee my three degrees from a good univeristy to know that the important point here has been missed completely after a year has gone by and momories are clouded, included yours obviously.

Yes the women involved here should be prosecuted also, but the players should not get away scott free and be made heros, just because their parents worked hard and had the money to pay their way out of this mess. Personally,

I am disapointed that CBS chose to air these three delinquents again. They have had their 15 minutes of fame. Leave it alone. Life isn't fair. Move on and get a life.

[booyaw_77]

This is probably the easiest of unintended consequences to fix, and the media knows it. They know how readily politicians knee-jerk react to their stories (what ever they happen to choose is an object of concern for everybody at any particular moment). And that when the issue is fraternity brothers? Some prosecutor aka politician is going to jump on the opportunity to be famous and get votes, whether guilty or not. Justice in America has become a cheap shoe salesman. Appeasing a media that has to talk 24/7 about everything! When a block away from these "exclusives" there's somebody robbing the bank.

[yellow73-2009]

What I would like to see now is some of the Black Civil right leaders step up and apologies for using these Duke players to forward their careers.

[olemiss85]

"Yes the women involved here should be prosecuted also, but the players should not get away scott free and be made heros, just because their parents worked hard and had the money to pay their way out of this mess."wbd39nhldg

Got away scott free? Got away from what? You are a moron. Didn't you listen, see, hear? THEY DIDN'T DO ANYTHING.

[ceej1955]

The one good thing to come out of the Duke case is that Nifong has been exposed for what he is. I just wondered why Lesley didn't bring up the fact that this could have all been avoided if they simply hadn't hired the strippers in the first place.

[mbtucker1]

Poor young, well to do, young suburban white men. News flash, this is what happens to many inner city youth, all the time! Central Park joggers? Stahl is a terrible interviewer as she tends to be very bias when its done with people she relates to. She is just simply terrible.

[irisinez]

Thank you for covering the Duke case of three young men who were charged with a crime they did not commit. Now, after all these years, PLEASE cover the case of Gary Tyler, who has been in prison over 30 years (since the age of 16) for a crime he did not commit. Thank you.

[kurvgd]

Your presentation on the Duke lacrosse players' case was very interesting. However, I am wondering why there was no discussion about the others you condemned the Duke players such as Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and the Duke community. I am outrage that Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson condemned these kids before the evidence was presented and made this a race issue and the privelege vs the Durham commnunity. Reverse discrimination? What ever happened to not guilty until proven otherwise? Where are the apologies from Al, Jesse and the Duke community? Al and Jesse expected an apology from Imus by what about their apologies for the condemning remarks they made against the players. Are we speaking of double standards. Right now I have lost all respect for Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. There efforts to support and enforce civil rights is a joke. They only do it when it makes them look good and benefit their own image.

[beanelaine]

PLEASE! Look into this! Don't let the State AG let you think this is all. Nifong worked in Brunswick County before going to Durham. His buddy, the district atty. here helped cover up the murder of my sister, a policewoman on Bald Head Island while she was on patrol duty in 1999. Both of these guys were protoges of our illustrious governor - who plans to run for US Senate. Check out www.davinabuffjones.com and see what I am talking about! Please!

[madmother2]

First off I am so disgusted that a woman(leslie Stalh) would even get on TV and discuss some male pigs that would hire a girl to come strip at their house. lets talk about the parents and their sad sense of how to raise boys to think that this was okay. How embarrassing. here we talk about Don Imus and we take no account into a girl who has to put herself into a situation that she want to press charges on lacrosse players. which I'm sorry make no personal money ,since lacrosse has no pro players. Leslie so disgusts me!!!!!! Where is Oprah when it is difficult, and hard to prove, but isn't any rape case. Sadly this is coming from a caucasian mom of an 11 year daughter, and how different would the case be if it were about her. I can tell you this i would not let this be over. If nothing other than this, these boys would be embarrassed for hiring a poor girl to strip.(I guess we forgot about that). all those boys sat around and watch!! What a sad statement on how males think that women should be treated!!
What do I now say to my son and daughter. Everyone should be ashamed. The State Attorney General should be embarrassed by his pig behavior . What IF IT WAS HIS DAUGHTER!!!! I guess North Carolina has different ideas on how girls should be treated. Just a note that I have never have been compelled to respond to any other story, but I am so disgusted on how this was handled from the beginning!! Is their really any real justice.

What has men drove us to,


Andrea Eder

[dambey]

1. At what time was the picture on the back porch taken?
2. Were there any narcotics or barbiturates or "date rape" drugs found in her system from
the laboratory after the reported "rape"?
3. Where are her shoes and why is she escorted into the passenger side of the vehicle?
Who was driving?
4. The anti-depressant drugs you reported that she has been prescribed, was the
prescription before or after the reported rape?
5. Investigative reporters do not lead questions with an anticipated answer, but ask
questions with an unexpected response.

During this interview with the attorney of the defendant(s), all appeared staged and controlled by Lesley Stahl's. Lesley Stahl%u2019s, facial expressions, subtle non-verbal responses and body language during the interview with the defense attorney and non-verbal show of concern and support for members of the lacrosse team is visually apparent. Replay the video and see for yourself.

[mikealford3]

Ceej1955, I agree, what if they had never hired the stripers? A hard lesson to learn. When a group of young men, who are thought to be well to do, hire a person with a questionalbe background, they can look for trouble. Seems these days people are looking for anyway to steal or blackmale or whatever for money.

As the old saying goes, lie down with dogs you are certain to wake up with fleas.

[naber1961]

I am surprised The Reverends Sharpton and Jackson are not crying "RACISM". WO=onder if they will say anything good about those 3 men?
NOT!

[dambey]

Cooper showed her the photo. Asked what she said, the attorney general tells Stahl, "Well, I don't remember what the answer was for that particular picture, but it was usually %u2013 that that picture's been doctored. Or that just can't be true. Or Duke University paid somebody off."

Answer the question...What was her answer?!!!

[valleygirl11]

It is a sad day for Americans' when in the name of racial tension we crucify a white person for making embarrassing remarks and allow a woman of color to totally ruin 3 white gentlemens' lives. What happened to "equality"? I do not agree whatsoever with Don Imus's remark made toward the Rutgers Ladies Basketball team; which does include some white American girls also. I do however believe that his action is small potatoes compared to what has been allowed to occurr in North Carolina. I'm sorry; this girl should be held accountable; just as Don Imus has been. I pray that this is not over; for if it is we have truly placed ourselves 100 years back; only this time; white Americans are the "unequal" minority. This is not about race; this is about human beings; both black and white; yellow and red. God made us all, and accountable we should all be.

[valleygirl11]

It is a sad day for Americans' when in the name of racial tension we crucify a white person for making embarrassing remarks and allow a woman of color to totally ruin 3 white gentlemens' lives. What happened to "equality"? I do not agree whatsoever with Don Imus's remark made toward the Rutgers Ladies Basketball team; which does include some white American girls also. I do however believe that his action is small potatoes compared to what has been allowed to occurr in North Carolina. I'm sorry; this girl should be held accountable; just as Don Imus has been. I pray that this is not over; for if it is we have truly placed ourselves 100 years back; only this time; white Americans are the "unequal" minority. This is not about race; this is about human beings; both black and white; yellow and red. God made us all, and accountable we should all be.

[kj2144]

Unbelievable that some people would equate a proper punishment for hiring strippers as being falsely accused of rape and slandered in the media, kicked out of your school, had professors taking out a newspaper ad against you.

Ridiculous. I am female. I don't "approve" of the boys' actions with the strippers, but that was legal activity and those here who are trying to still condemn them just illustrate why they have such a good slander case against Nifong, the city of Durham, and probably Duke University as well.

It was obvious this woman, who made up the exact same story a decade earlier about being raped by three men, is disturbed and there is a long history of her falsely accusing people, even her ex-husband. Nifong used this woman's mental disability, which was clearly evident to anyone speaking with her, to get elected as DA in the city of Durham, which has an African-American population of over 40%. He boasted about it in the media and enflamed racial tensions before he had a shred of evidence, and then when he had exonerating evidence, he either ignored it or tried to hide it -- that is what he is being charged with right now -- hiding DNA evidence that showed the woman had 3 different DNA "samples" on her that night, none of which were from any lacrosse player at Duke -- the whole team was swabbed, except for the one black teammate.

[dambey]

1. At what time was the picture on the back porch taken?
2. Were there any narcotics or barbiturates or "date rape" drugs found in her system from
the laboratory after the reported "rape"?
3. Where are her shoes and why is she escorted into the passenger side of the vehicle?
Who was driving?
4. The anti-depressant drugs you reported that she has been prescribed, was the
prescription before or after the reported rape?
5. Cooper showed her the photo. Asked what she said, the attorney general tells Stahl,
"Well, I don't remember what the answer was for that particular picture, but it was
usually %u2013 that that picture's been doctored. Or that just can't be true. Or Duke
University paid somebody off." What was her answer?!!!!
6. In response to the issue of community division. This one of many incidences in
American History can not recreate community and social division. Use your brains
people.

Investigative reporters do not lead questions with an anticipated answer, but ask
questions with an unexpected response.

During this interview with the attorney of the defendant(s), all appeared staged and controlled. Lesley Stahl%u2019s, facial expressions, subtle non-verbal responses and body language during the interview with the defense attorney and non-verbal show of concern and support for members of the lacrosse team is visually apparent. Replay the video and see for yourself.

[dambey]

This entire interview smells, looks and sounds contrived.

[i_am_emac]

What really gets me is the black community still thinks its OK what happened to them because they were "trouble makers and partiers", and in comparison to Imus's stupid comments, the girls on the basketball team have endured far worse. When is Al Sharpton going to apologize to these three boys?

[blackswan40]

Shame on CBS for airing this segment. Yes, these young men are "innocent" but why wasn't the same attention paid to the young men in the "Central Park Jogger" case where the chargers were dropped. Those young men went to jail! State Justice Charles Tejada didn't mention bringing "ethical & criminal" charges againt NY district attorney Robert Morgenthau as district attorney Cooper is possible going to do to former district attorney Nifong. Were the young men convicted in the Central Park jogger casey given a chance to appear on CBS 60 minutes, after they were declared "innocent"?

I'm glad the former Duke lacrosse young men now have their lives back but fair should be fair all the time.

[blackswan40]

Shame on CBS for airing this segment. Yes, these young men are "innocent" but why wasn't the same attention paid to the young men in the "Central Park Jogger" case where the chargers were dropped. Those young men went to jail! State Justice Charles Tejada didn't mention bringing "ethical & criminal" charges againt NY district attorney Robert Morgenthau as district attorney Cooper is possible going to do to former district attorney Nifong. Were the young men convicted in the Central Park jogger casey given a chance to appear on CBS 60 minutes, after they were declared "innocent"?

I'm glad the former Duke lacrosse young men now have their lives back but fair should be fair all the time.

[judeca1]

She needs to accountable for her actions. Tell Al and Jesse to do the right thing! Yea, right.

[jcarn2]

I thought your story on the Duke Lacrosse Case by Lesley Stahl was very shallow.
I think we should know what happened in the house with the girls. Did they strip? Who knew where to get the girls? What were the boys drinking and how much? What other kinds of lewd behavior happened in the house? Is it normal behavior for Duke students to hire girls and take them to a house for partyng or for entertainment? Did anyone touch the girls in any way? Was *** solicted for money, and was any kind of sexual behavior preformed? Were any laws broken by hiring girls to preform? Who owned the house?
How much money was paid the girls? Do you really think the Duke players were all perfectly innocent? etc. etc.

Rape may have not happened, but there was probably a lot more to this case than CBS reproted.

Come on Lesley and CBS get the whole story.

James Carney

[ncresident]

For those of us who have followed and read all the legal documents long ago available, to read some of the ignorant comments here and elsewhere it comes as no surprise.

In fact, it is expected. Just like the comments before any evidence was presented, before an investigation even began, there are racist driven fools everywhere. There are people everywhere who refuse to seek the truth because it requires being unbiased. It requires that the most important element be only the facts.

When people enter the discussion with bias of any sort, they will not, cannot and refuse to see the truth. They live a miserable existence as a result.

For those who seek the truth ONLY and check their bias outside the door can sleep well and live well knowing they took emotion and personal opinion out of the journey to find the answers.

That is true of any issues, no matter the people involved. Facts don't have emotions, they stand alone and provide the path to the truth.

I suspect we have a lot of miserable people posting here and elsewhere. And I know they are a minority of people and that makes me have faith in society that the majority care about the truth, not the bias.

[ncresident]

For those of us who have followed and read all the legal documents long ago available, to read some of the ignorant comments here and elsewhere it comes as no surprise.

In fact, it is expected. Just like the comments before any evidence was presented, before an investigation even began, there are racist driven fools everywhere. There are people everywhere who refuse to seek the truth because it requires being unbiased. It requires that the most important element be only the facts.

When people enter the discussion with bias of any sort, they will not, cannot and refuse to see the truth. They live a miserable existence as a result.

For those who seek the truth ONLY and check their bias outside the door can sleep well and live well knowing they took emotion and personal opinion out of the journey to find the answers.

That is true of any issues, no matter the people involved. Facts don't have emotions, they stand alone and provide the path to the truth.

I suspect we have a lot of miserable people posting here and elsewhere. And I know they are a minority of people and that makes me have faith in society that the majority care about the truth, not the bias.

[louiej611]

As a ex-police officer I was appalled by the rush to judgement by almost every one involved in this case. I left law enforcement because of a case in which I was accused of mishandling a case by my department. Fortunately the district attorney in by county backed me up completely. I worked as hard to prove people innocent as I worked to prove people guility. there were many epople who rushed to judgement in this case who should be ashamed of themselves. The accuser shojuld be prosecuted because of her false accusations. It does not matter that these boys hired a stripper, what matters is that the rule of law is that people are innocent till proven guility, what part of this do people not understand. Shame on Duke, the professors, and tghe many people who have ruined these boys lives because they will be remembered because of this case till the day they die.

[pimeca]

In the 60 minutes report it was stated that the accuser had been on the antipsychotic medications Depakote and Seroquel. Depakote is not an antipsychotic medication as far as I know. It is used to treat various seizure disorders. It is used to treat mania in bipolar disorder. It is occasionally used to treat migraine headaches.
Most likely, in this case, it was taken for bipolar illness. Still, many people who take Depakote do not take it for psychosis.

[imthewraith]

It's absolutely abhorrent that anyone could still try to persecute/prosecute these boys even after all evidence has proven to be false . Even the *** actually found in the woman's *** , *** , mouth and in her panties and on her clothes was from at least 3 different men , NONE of which were on the team or at the party . It is outright racism on the part of nifong , sharpton and jackson that indicted these young men with NO evidence in the first place . Then you have the ones saying that they were guilty of something , we just don't know what , so they should spend 30 years in prison for it . This is appalling ! Indict the lying *** and nifong immediately !!

[sportminer]

I admire the boy(s) for their attitude toward any possible action taken against the young lady, she may have a problem??? and would need some help, and Legal action against her probably would not be the right help??

[agnim]

"As a ex-police officer I was appalled by the rush to judgement by almost every one involved in this case.
Posted by louiej611 at 09:05 PM : Apr 15, 2007"

An ex-cop, eh?
One down!

The police force need to make more exes of cops like you and FAST! LOL

Those preppy PUNKS were MERELY INVESTIGATED and for GOOD REASONS: They are the 'usual suspects'!

Those preppy PUNKS left behind them a trail of drug, drunkenness, and disorderliness bordering on criminality.

People need to go read their history of bad behavior in the community, and understand why ANY GOOD COP AND DA would have REASONABLE cause to INVESTIGATE those preppy PUNKS!

It's not like those preppy PUNKS were sent to jail for decades as MANY INNOCENT Americans have been, and without an apology.

Those dumb Duke jocks were merely INVESTIGATED (and rightly so) because of the DEPRAVE CIRCUMSTANCES that place themselves in on a regular basis with DRUGS, DRUNKENNESS, AND DISORDERLINESS, PLUS they were ACCUSED in a circumstances of DRUGS, DRUNKENNESS, DISORDERLINESS AND ***!

Cops like you should be ex every time. You have no idea about the principles of Maintaining Law and Order in a society.
Too bad more like you aren't ex! LOL

[mdofatc1]

Moral to this story.
Young men in at college parties should always hire white strippers.