Other than child molesting, rape is probably one of the worst things a man can do. If you did it, there is never a defense. I, personally, favor castration as punishment for those crimes. At least murder has a self-defense claim. Just being accused of rape is an absolutely terrifying thought, because of the public presumptions.
I know I wasn’t expecting the DNA tests on the whole Duke Lacrosse team to come back negative.
Stan Goldman, who teaches criminal law, evidence and criminal procedure at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, said the DNA results don’t mean that [District Attorney Mike] Nifong can’t go forward with the case — but the test results make a successful prosecution much harder.
“Isn’t the absence of DNA evidence, given the way the victim has described the crime, in and of itself almost enough to raise a reasonable doubt?” he said. “That’s all the defense has to do.”
Let’s face it, just about everyone was assuming they were guilty. From the Colorado football scandal to numerous jock assaults on women, there is an arguably earned public assumption that male athletes are guilty when accused of any sort of assault on a woman.
Add in the fact that the lacrosse players were rich, white kids at an elite university and I think many were actually hoping it was true. This article (a strange mix of rich, white, male guilt as the writer notes that 5 of the lacrosse players attended the same private Catholic high school he attended in North Jersey crossed with a pathological hatred of lacrosse players stemming from some abuse he took) all but declared them guilty because they were rich, elitist, white preppy lacrosse players.
McFadyen may not have committed a crime, but he is guilty of a common lacrosse sin: puerile meatheadedness. According to court documents, a search of McFadyen’s home turned up a poster that apparently pays homage to the crude sexual maneuver known as “the shocker.” (For those of you unfamiliar with the nuances of the shocker, consult Wikipedia, or, better yet, your local lacrosse squad.)
Students, faculty, and Durham residents have carried out near-daily protests on Duke’s campus. But if any of them are wondering how alcohol-fueled misogyny could fester at one of the nation’s top schools, then they simply don’t know lacrosse. A brief sociological account is in order. Lacrosse players hail from the privileged, largely white pockets of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. They unite and form tribes in Eastern prep schools, where they can be spotted driving SUVs with “LAX” stickers affixed to the rear windows. Many grow addicted to dipping Skoal and wearing soiled white caps with college logos on them. They gain entry into top colleges by virtue of their skills with the stick. They graduate, start careers in New York, marry trophy wives, and put lacrosse sticks in their kids’ cribs.
Arguably, the human race would be better off, the way this guy writes if we simply exterminated those expressing any desire to play lacrosse.
Like I said, I thought they were guilty even if I didn’t post anything. I don’t claim any superiority. I also don’t begrudge others who did post, being wrong. I am bothered, especially, when a good site like Deadspin engages in bs rationalizations.
It is perhaps instructive to remember what initially sparked so much outrage in the first place (and media outlets, like us, to print the Duke lacrosse player roster). When the district attorney — who still insists a rape occurred — asked for cooperation from the team as to what happened, the team closed ranks and gave no information or help. This was the district attorney, attempting to investigate an alleged crime, receiving no assistance from potential witnesses, either to refute or affirm allegations. Putting aside issues of class, race or anything else, that was the element of the story that tipped it from disgust to outrage. No matter what happened that night, even if it was nothing, that was what inspired the initial public reaction.
What a crock. So giving the DNA samples for comparison wasn’t sufficient. They were supposed to just go chat with the DA in the meantime. It’s not their job to help build the case against themselves.
These weren’t witnesses to a street crime. This was an entire group facing accusations of rape. Not all of them, but they were participants, and enablers. They were all looking at criminal charges and — even those who may not have participated — civil actions and lots of shit.
The DA was playing his game and trying to get individuals to turn and play off one another. Making his complaints public was just another advantage he used. Maybe they weren’t cooperating to the level the DA wanted, but they did supply the DNA requested.
These kids and/or their parents were smart enough and rich enough to hire good attorneys who told them to shut-up and wait. Take the abuse in the media and a DA who had no trouble talking — and is still saying the case will go forward. The kids and their families actually listened to their attorneys.
No charges had or have been filed. There is no obstruction of justice by refusing to talk under advice of their attorney when not even charged. And even if they were charged, they were under no obligation to talk.
