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LaShawn Barber asks some very important questions about the Duke Rape trial:
I have given my reasons for being so riled about this case in the past. You can read here and here.Readers, instead of ranting and raving about Mike Nifong or the stripper-accuser, let’s do a cold, hard reality check:
1) What was it about the Duke case that fired you up the most?
2) Aside from the Duke case, have you been following other cases in which people have been accused of committing a crime where the allegations are obviously phony, particularly where the accused was black? If so, tell us about those cases.
But why this case? Why not other cases? I have my reasons and here they are:
- This case was hugely public and was a vehicle for typical Leftist narratives that I felt needed to be addressed. At one time in our history, the exact reverse was the case: blacks were brought up on trumped up charges, were victims of a society who rushed to judgment simply because of their race and gender, and were then victims of the judicial system. In addition, if they were, by some miracle pronounced not guilty, their reputations were destroyed. It was wrong then. It's wrong now. Changing colors doesn't change the crime.
- As a general rule, I feel that the legal system in America has made it more difficult for law-abiding citizens to be law-abiding. A prosecutor can bring charges against almost any person for any reason. There are so many laws, rules, regulations and fine print paragraphs that we are all potential victims of DA's gone wild. If Martha Stewart, Scooter Libby, Tom DeLay and now these Duke kids can get rail-roaded are any of us safe? My concern is personal, too. I have a friend in Federal Prison for literally not properly filing paperwork with the government. The Prosecutor took an instant dislike to him and threw the book at him even though this man had led a pristine life to this point (there was also some Mafia involvement, I'm convinced, by a rival company--but that sounds weird and conspiratorial, I know, but it's true). The legal system has gotten very good at punishing marginal rule breakers and letting true criminals get off with insanely small consequences. (Hello? How is it possible for a woman to drown her five kids and she gets off the hook by reason of insanity?) This legal inequity, this unchecked power makes me nervous for ALL people, and those who are poor or otherwise a minority have the MOST to lose with maniacal prosecutors. This trend must stop.
- I am concerned with anyone spending time in prison who doesn't belong there. Now that DNA evidence exists, it is simply not an excuse that there aren't enough tax dollars around to go back and look at cases. If a man can be exonerated of a crime, it must be pursued.
- When a crime occurs that is beyond the pale--boys near here just got put in prison for life for sodomizing a Hispanic boy with a umbrella pole--I'm outraged. The crime made me sick. Color has nothing to do with it. A few years back, a black man was dragged to death behind a pick-up by white men (I wasn't blogging then). It was disgusting and vile. In both cases, though, the evidence was clear, the DAs were righteous, justice was swift and fair. There were no special interest groups defending nefarious behavior. These cases are rare, though. The majority of crimes are not white on black or white on Hispanic. The Caucasians don't have a white O.J. Simpson. The majority of crimes are black on black. To a lesser extent, crimes are black on white. Where is the outrage? I have black friends who have been locked in fear their whole adult lives living in Detroit. That's insanity! What are their political leaders doing for them? Nothing. The crime still exists and is excused because to criticize a "brother" is to bring a "brother" down. That is nonsense and harmful to ALL people and to the cause of justice.
- The Press made this case front and center. My worry is that there are more cases like this, black and white, that get no press whatsoever. This kind of injustice might be happening right now somewhere and no one knows about it. Had this case not made the national media, or had not made it into blogs like LaShawn's, I might not have known about it. Another example is Harry Reid's land dealings. Without the LA Times and bloggers, I'd know nothing of this case. I blog it because it's notable.
This case was too fraught, too convoluted and too political from the beginning. Every assumption that could be made was made in the Duke Rape case. Mike Nifong, the Duke University professors and leadership and Leftist elites including the press bought the shaky grounds of this story without question. This is a problem for all Americans. That is why I won't let go of this case.
And just to add this, I'm 100% against no-knock raids.
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