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INNOCENCE DAY April 11, 2007
Topic Started: Apr 10 2011, 10:16 PM (654 Views)
Quasimodo

Statement issued by Mike Pressler:

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Today is the celebration of the two words we’ve attached our lives to for almost thirteen months – THE TRUTH. It is the same truth today as it was a year ago. Our story has not changed and today’s announcement is long, long overdue. The injustice, the lies, and the myths have been fully exposed. You can talk about loyalty, honesty, and trust. They all apply to the 2006 Duke Men’s Lacrosse team. But in the end, it all comes down to THE TRUTH. The players have told the truth and never wavered. They stayed the course from day one. Today is that proof. I am thrilled, overjoyed, and relieved for Dave Evans, Colin Finnerty, and Reade Seligmann and their families. They have suffered greatly and unjustly. I am so proud of their resolve, their strength, and the first class manner with which they handled this entire episode. And now, I hope that all the Duke lacrosse players and families affected by this horrific situation can begin the process of moving on. Finally, I’d like to thank the Attorney General of North Carolina and his staff for doing their due diligence and for allowing us to bring this to a conclusion.
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Quasimodo

Cooper Press Conference video:

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2007/04/roy-cooper-press-conference-video.html
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Quasimodo

Defense press conference:

http://www.wral.com/news/video/1268987/#/vid1268987
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Quasimodo

Dismissal order:

http://www.johnlocke.org/site-docs/seligmann-dismissal.pdf

The re-investigation of this matter indicates that this individual is innocent of the
charges brought against him and in the interest of justice these charges are dismissed.
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Quasimodo

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2007/04/steele-praises-brodhead-reaffirms.html

Quote:
 


THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2007

Steele Praises Brodhead, Reaffirms Decision to Submit to Railroading of Students

In a letter to the Duke Community written on behalf of the Board of Trustees, Chairman Robert Steele praises President Richard Brodhead while asserting that the decision to defer to Defendant Mike Nifong's twisted version of a justice system was "essential."

Dear Member of the Duke University Community,

I write to you on behalf of the Trustees of Duke University.

Today the North Carolina State Attorney General announced that all remaining charges against David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann have been dropped and should never have been brought. This announcement explicitly and unequivocally establishes the innocence of David, Collin and Reade, who with their families have suffered an unimaginable year of accusation and public scrutiny. They deserve our respect for the honorable way they have conducted themselves during this long legal ordeal that ends with their exoneration.

The Attorney General determined that there was no credible evidence to support the charges that were brought, with so many statements of certainty, by the Durham District Attorney last spring. Many have suffered from his actions, these three students and their families most of all. The Attorney General's investigation places responsibility for this miscarriage of justice with the District Attorney, and we now look to the proceedings of the state bar to call him to account before his peers.

Much as we wish that these three young men, their teammates and their families and indeed the whole community of people who love Duke could have been spared the agony of the past year, we believe that it was essential for the University to defer to the criminal justice system. As imperfect and flawed as it may be, it is that process that brings us today to this resolution.

Throughout the past year President Richard Brodhead consulted regularly with the trustees and has had our continuing support. He made considered and thoughtful decisions in a volatile and uncertain situation. Each step of the way, the board agreed with the principles that he established and the actions he took. As we look back and with the benefit of what we now know there is no question that there are some things that might have been done differently. However, anyone critical of President Brodhead should be similarly critical of the entire board.

In closing, we express our relief for today's outcome and recognize the character that our three students, their teammates and all of their families have shown over the past year. Furthermore, we hope that the resolution of this unfair, divisive and painful episode can serve to unite us all. There is much to learn from the events that we have lived through, and we intend to put this learning to use. Duke is a great university that steps up to challenges and opportunities, and together we will use this moment to make our community stronger.


Robert K. Steel, Chair,
Duke University Board of Trustees


(How much of this statement is given over to a defense of Brodhead and a defense of "leave it to the system"?)

Edited by Quasimodo, Apr 10 2011, 10:37 PM.
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Quasimodo

"This case shows the enormous consequences of overreaching by a prosecutor," he said.
Responses to the the dismissal of charges: "It's huge. [Cooper] couldn't have offered the defendants a stronger vindication"
-- Yale Galanter


"I will always believe in the back of my mind that something happened in that house that wasn't quite right."
-- Georgia Goslee


"Since we haven't gone through a normal legal process, we don't know what really happened. The fact the charges were dropped doesn't mean nothing happened. It just means information wasn't collected appropriately enough to go forward.” -- Duke biology professor Sheryl Broverman

[A BIOLOGY PROFESSOR doesn't understand the meaning of DNA evidence?]


"No more media, no more talk. I'm happy to be relieved from everything." — Moezeldin Elmostafa, the cab driver who bolstered the alibi of Duke lacrosse player Reade Seligmann and was then arrested on a 3-year-old shoplifting warrant that ended in acquittal.


“Although vindication has been far too long in coming, today is, indeed, a day for great joy.” Mike McCusker, Crystal Mess


"We respect the integrity of the Attorney General’s investigation and supported the involvement of special prosecutors. If his office believes the state lacks sufficient evidence to convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that all the elements of each crime took place, then it is the state’s constitutional duty to dismiss the charges. ... Now, as we have repeatedly said, comes the hard part. How do we proceed toward the healing places in our communities and our hearts? Long after the television vans with their saucer antennas have pulled out of Durham, long after the bloggers have grown weary from typing, those of us who believe in freedom and justice can not rest. How do we work to ensure that the final decisions in this case in no way deter women of color from making claims of violations against them which violate their spirits and their bodies?"
— statement from William J. Barber II, president of the North Carolina NAACP


"It was clear to me and a lot of other people that [Nifong] used this case to win the election. The sad thing about it is that it worked. I found that to be very discouraging about the political process. ... He had no name recognition before this case. I don't think anybody outside the courthouse knew who he was." -- Freda Black, a former Durham prosecutor who narrowly lost the 2005 Democratic primary for district attorney to Nifong.


“In light of North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper's dismissal of all criminal charges against the three men, it is clear that this matter now cries out for oversight. I again urge ... a federal investigation to review Mr. Nifong's conduct to determine if it constitutes prosecutorial misconduct and has denied these students their civil rights as U.S. citizens under federal law.” — U.S. Rep. Walter Jones, a Republican whose district includes part of eastern North Carolina
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Quasimodo

DING DONG! THE HOAX IS DEAD!

Posted Image

(baldo, april 12, 2007)
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Rusty Dog
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April 11, 2007. What a happy day that was. To hear the Attorney General declare what we already knew, INNOCENT! And what a joy to see the relief in the faces of RCD. I will always remember that day.
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cks
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Contrary to Barber's claim - we are still here, perhaps a little weary that that justice for those who perpetrated the hoax has still not occurred but bound and determined to see it through to the end.
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abb
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cks
Apr 11 2011, 05:16 AM
Contrary to Barber's claim - we are still here, perhaps a little weary that that justice for those who perpetrated the hoax has still not occurred but bound and determined to see it through to the end.
You betcha!!
:thup: :thup:
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Walt-in-Durham

"Since we haven't gone through a normal legal process, we don't know what really happened. The fact the charges were dropped doesn't mean nothing happened. It just means information wasn't collected appropriately enough to go forward.” -- Duke biology professor Sheryl Broverman

Not only does she not know DNA, but she does not understand good police work. Good police work clears suspects and finds the guilty. Here, a brief but thorough investigation found the facts. Facts that include clearing three suspects, Reade Seligman, David Evans and Colin Finnerty. The fact that charges were dropped means that the information was collected. DNA samples, witness testimony, photographs and other evidence. The evidence was evaluated fully and fairly and suspects were cleared. Her statement does cause me to call into question her scientific analysis. I wonder if she studies biology and draws conclusions from the evidence in front of her, or if she sees the biological world as she wishes it to be?

Walt-in-Durham
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Bill Anderson
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Like those of the Bourbon Dynasty of France, Steel's statement, as well as some of the other statements (including that from the Duke biology prof) demonstrated that the influential people of Durham and Duke learned nothing -- and forgot nothing.

First, the Duke administration did not "defer" to the criminal justice system. Brodhead, Steel, Burness, and Moneta aided the system in order to help Nifong secure indictments. Read between the lines of Brodhead's April 5, 2006, "letter." He openly demonized the entire lacrosse team and the coach, and then gave the green light to Nifong to do whatever he wanted.

Second, by making statements on and off the record that implied guilt, by giving FERPA-protected material to Nifong -- and then lying about it -- and by encouraging the on-campus demonization of the players, the Duke administration made sure that everyone knew it was going to be on the "winning" side: Nifong's side.

Third, my sense is that there is much, much more. By telling members of the Duke Police Department to change their reports to make it easier to verify Crystal's numerous stories and by covering for Tara Levicy's fraud, Brodhead and Steel made it absolutely clear that they would not permit the law to stand in the way of a good frame.

Think about it. Every one of the worst offenders in this case at Duke either still is at Duke, or is working elsewhere and treated as though nothing happened. When Levicy left DUMC, she went to Hanover, New Hampshire, to work as a SANE and Duke gave her a glowing review. (She quickly was removed when other SANES on the staff told their superiors that they would not work with someone whose very presence would serve to discredit all of them.)

Brodhead still is president, Larry Moneta has more authority than ever, and John Burness, after serving as interim president of Franklin and Marshall College now is a well-paid Democratic Party lobbyist. All of the offending faculty members either have been promoted to administration, been given better jobs elsewhere, or are continually honored on the Duke faculty.

So, you tell me if anyone has learned anything. Prosecutors in this country still pursue false accusations, the press jumps on the most sensational -- and unbelievable -- rape charges, and the machinery continues to roll on.

As I see it, the lacrosse case was not a "learning" moment by the media and others in higher education. If there was any "learning," it was learning how to better cover one's tracks when engaging in criminal or near-criminal behavior.

:bill:
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Quasimodo

Quote:
 
When Levicy left DUMC, she went to Hanover, New Hampshire, to work as a SANE and Duke gave her a glowing review.


I'm sure this is more than Duke did for Finnerty and Seligmann when they transferred.
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Baldo
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A sweet day for sure! A day to celebrate!

I find it fitting that on today while RCD persue their careers Crystal is cooling her heels in the County jail!

The Miscreants of Durham & Duke have gone about their business. Unbelievably some still justify their behaviour back then, but most just snake behind doors knowing they got their butts kicked. Brodhead will always have his legacy of cowardliness following him. Nifong was disgraced & disbarred, pretty rare for a DA. Judge Stephens' record is tarnish, fellow Judges know. Mr. Obfuscation career as a DNA expert is over. Linwood is making a new career as a fool defending himself. Himan beat it out of Durham to the suburbans of Pittsburgh and my guess Gottlieb hides out most of the time.

On this day four years ago the truth was proclaimed!
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Baldo
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4 years ago on the Partners against Crime (PAC 2) Listserver initially funded(I believe) by a Federal grant to the DPD and moderated in connection with the DPD , just one, poster said this.

Finally a Durham citizen had this lone remark on Innocence Day April 11, 2007 posted to Pac2

"This afternoon the charges were dropped against the remaining Duke Lacrosse players. Remember how this list-serve (and all of Durham) exploded with the news when the charges were first announced? And now, silence.... I hope that anyone who immediately convicted the Lacrosse players after last year's charges takes some time to reflect on today's dismissal of those charges. As difficult as it can be, part of our job as citizens and certainly as "partners against crime," is to try to stay fair-minded and to try to keep thinking of people as innocent until proven guilty, just as we all hope will happen to us if we're charged with a crime. At this point it appears that the biggest crimes in the case were committed by our district attorney. Ugh.... That, of course, remains to be seen."

http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2009/05/pac-listservers-durham-pd-and-cpl.html
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