New state prosecutor says that not only is there insufficient evidence to go forward with a case, but that the evidence convinces him that no assault took place. Yes, Nadir, a prosecutor can indeed conclude that an accused person is actually innocent, though such a finding holds no legal meaning as far as I can tell. It is quite remarkable for a prosecutor to make such an assertion, and certainly opens the door for a criminal charge of false police report against the accuser, Crystal Magnum. By definition, the state prosecute here believes that she did file a false police report.
That raises the question: does he believe that enough evidence exists to successfully prosecute such a charge? Prosecutors are not duty-bound to pursue every case where they believe a crime has occurred and a culprit identified, but rather only in those cases where they believe that enough evidence exists to convince a judge or a jury "beyond a reasonable doubt" that the identified person is "guilty" of the identified crime.
Devastating official statement by State AG, using the word "innocent." Very bad news for disgraced prosecutor Mike Nifong, certain faculty of Duke, the institution of Duke University, and the false accuser Crystal Magnum; very good news for anybody interested in minimizing the numbers of innocent people prosecuted.
Here's an accurate account of what happened, published by Newsweek in the wake of the dropped charges. Why didn't Newsweek publish this earlier? We see here that:
- The strippers started the racial slurs, but of course the only racial slurs that count are those committed by honkies against blacks, no matter the context.
- In the dispute over money that started the entire episode, one Dukesborro Boy slipped the girls an extra $100 under the bathroom door to get them to leave, and another one of the guys snuck the accuser's money out of her purse. So the boys were fighting amongst themselves, some demanding a refund, others just wanting the girls to leave.
- The boys had requested cracker girls, but didn't care that they received a black girl and one that they assumed was "hispanic", but was in fact black. Some have insisted that the guys requested black girls, and that this indicated an intention to rape.
2007-04-11
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I still have not comment. Something happened at that house. We may never know the truth.
"Something happened"? You mean, something illegal committed by the players, other than underage drinking?
I am certain that we "know the truth" here as much as we "know the truth" about any incident that has ever happened without a video recorder documenting every moment and every space in question.
I saw a video of the state aty; he actually used the word "innocent." A very bad development for Nifong, the city of Durham's coffers, certain professors at Duke as well as Duke's coffers, and for Magnum. I will be shocked if all the legal bills don't get paid by these parties (except for Magnum), with money left over for the pockets of the accused and other teammates, perhaps even the fired/resigned coach.
The Duke guys in their press conference have declared that they will work for the rest of their lives to assist others falsely accused of crimes who lack their financial resources.
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1609677,00.html
"This entire experience has opened my eyes to a tragic world of injustice I never knew existed. If police officers and a district attorney can systematically railroad us with absolutely no evidence whatsoever I can't imagine what they do to people who do not have the resources to defend themselves."
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