| Blog and Media Roundup - Tuesday, August 20, 2013; News Roundup | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Aug 20 2013, 03:32 AM (182 Views) | |
| abb | Aug 20 2013, 03:32 AM Post #1 |
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http://www.cotwa.info/2013/08/outrage-woman-whose-monstrous-rape-lie.html Monday, August 19, 2013 Outrage: Woman whose monstrous rape lie sent an innocent young man to prison for four years is sentenced to two months behind bars, to be served on weekends The woman who sent a random young man from her past to prison for four years for a supposed rape that never happened (she made it up as a way to explain to her parents why she was visiting pornographic websites) was sentenced this afternoon to serve just two months behind bars, on weekends only. She will also have to pay Mr. Montgomery $90,000 in restitution for the years he spent in prison. See here, here and here. The story of Johnathon Montgomery's ordeal not only is heart-breaking, it's a cautionary tale about how an innocent young man can be destroyed with no evidence beyond the shaky say-so of his false rape accuser. If it can happen to Johnathon, it can happen to any young man. Today's sentence worked an intolerable injustice to Johnathon and the Montgomery family. Although Hampton Circuit Court Judge Bonnie L. Jones said she was deeply disturbed by the case, and that "this goes to the very heart of our judicial system," it is impossible to see how the actual punishment handed out fit the crime, given that the guilty person was given two months (weekends only) jail time for a crime that sent an innocent man to prison for four years. The prosecutor, Hopewell Commonwealth's Attorney Richard K. Newman, asked that Coast serve the same amount of time behind bars that Johnathon served, but the court opted to give Coast a slap on the wrist instead. According to one news report: "Just prior to sentencing Coast, Jones asked, 'What do I do? Is it an eye for an eye, or is there room for compassion?'" There was no room for "compassion" in sentencing Mr. Montgomery when he was convicted on the flimsiest of evidence for a crime that never occurred. We wonder how the horrors of spending years in prison on a false rape claim could be lost on the judge. Those are horrors that Ms. Coast will be spared on her weekend sojourns to the local lock-up. According to a news report, "Coast cried repeatedly during her sentencing hearing; her lawyer tried to portray her as a naive, then 17-year-old, who feared her parents." (So much for accepting responsibility for her actions.) "Coast says she never thought the lie would hurt Montgomery, and only said it was him because he had moved out of the area." (In fact, Coast sat silent after Johnathon was charged, and she allowed him to twist in a false rape hell for four years. It is one thing to make a split-second stupid decision, and quite another to refuse to correct it after it's apparent that an innocent person is going to suffer because of it, much less suffer for four years because of it.) The sentence today also does no favors for rape victims because it undermines the public's confidence in the way rape claims are handled. Jurors have no hesitation in holding young men accountable for rape when the evidence is clear. But when the system botches it -- when false accusers and their families, police, prosecutors, and courts allow innocent young men to be convicted for rapes they didn't commit -- it has a chilling effect on juries deciding rape cases. It underscores the uncertainty inherent in charges based on he said/she said facts. In this case, the justice system needed to send a message that such mistakes are not tolerated, that they are not "business as usual." It needed to manifest its belated outrage by punishing the false accuser appropriately. It didn't do that. And now, the next jury called upon to decide a rape case will know that, when it comes to rape, the system tolerates injustice to innocent young men -- and jurors will be all the more wary about convicting even young men who deserve it. If we want to treat rape as a serious crime, we can't tolerate false rape claims. Punishing Coast in a serious way would not have deterred rape victims from coming forward, and it would not deter recantations by other false accusers. We've dealt with both arguments many times. See here. All persons of good will need to be outraged about this sentence. Judge Bonnie L. Jones has denied Johnathon Montgomery justice, and she's done a disservice to the community of the wrongly accused, and to rape victims. |
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| abb | Aug 20 2013, 03:36 AM Post #2 |
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http://dukecheck.com/?p=15432 ✓ Courtesy Daily Mail, London and TMZ News Posted on August 19, 2013 by DukeCheck 1 first picA London newspaper printed a series of pictures this morning — apparently supplied by the TMZ on-line news service covering celebrities — of the teenager who was savagely beaten while on the front porch of his home near the University of Indiana. He was not identified. As Loyal Readers know, Duke’s Hud Mellencamp ’16, son of the famed rocker and aspiring walk-on football player, is among three charged with this felony assault. So take a look at what your classmate did. We repeat that Coach Cutcliffe should remove Mellencamp from the team, and the Brodhead Administration should suspend him forthwith. |
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| abb | Aug 20 2013, 03:38 AM Post #3 |
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http://dukecheck.com/?p=15447 ✓ Several stories of interest this Tuesday…. Posted on August 19, 2013 by DukeCheck To listen to Roy Williams, the UNC head basketball coach, and Bubba, the athletic director, you might conclude there is an intensive investigation underway into the worst of the P J Hairston case: that he’s been driving expensive cars tied to a convicted Durham felon. Nope. USA Today says that neither the school nor the NCAA has made any attempt to contact the thug, nicknamed Fats. Linwood Wilson. His name made headlines in 2004 when he was an investigator hired by the Durham DA Michael Nifong to supplement the work of local cops in checking on the claims of Crystal Gail Mangum that she was raped at a Duke lacrosse party. It was Wilson who got Mangum to admit late in 2004 that, despite her earlier statements, she had not been penetrated. As a result Nifong dropped the most serious charges, though he kept intact others that could still have put the three indicted lax players away for 30 years. For various misdeeds, Wilson was named as a defendant in three civil cases brought by various groups of players. Yesterday he won dismissal of claims against him in one of those cases. The other two are hanging on by very thin threads, hoping that the US Supreme Court will review unfavorable (to the players) rulings in lower courts. Luckily, the three players who were hurt the most, those indicted, did not depend on this complicated litigation. They reached settlement of their claims against the University for the way it handled the crisis. Duke insisted these payments be kept secret, but word is each player got $6 million. Linwood Wilson acted as his own attorney, even though he has no formal legal training. Duke hired lawyer after lawyer after lawyer and has spent untold millions on this mess. |
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| abb | Aug 20 2013, 03:42 AM Post #4 |
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http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/eye-on-college-basketball/23224756/report-unc-ncaa-havent-contacted-excon-in-hairston-case Report: UNC, NCAA haven't contacted ex-con in Hairston case By Matt Norlander | College Basketball Writer August 19, 2013 5:44 pm ET UNC and NCAA reportedly haven't formally reached out for more info on the ex-con who rented cars driven by Hairston. (USATSI) UNC, NCAA reportedly haven't reached out for more info on the ex-con who rented cars driven by Hairston. (USATSI) For better or worse (OK, all for worse), college basketball has been the stage for the Summer of P.J. UNC star junior forward P.J. Hairston is currently indefinitely suspended because of a third run-in with law enforcement back in late July. Hairston was caught and cited for allegedly doing 93 miles per hour in a 65 MPH zone while driving a female friend's car. This citation came came just days after Hairston had all charges against him dropped related to a June 5 arrest in which he and two other men were stopped and seized after marijuana and drug paraphernalia was found in the 2013 GMC Yukon Hairston was driving. Hairston was not the owner of the Yukon. It was rented, reportedly by a man named Haydn "Fats" Thomas, who happens to be an ex-convict. That was the second of Hairston's run-ins with the law this offseason. The first came in early May, when Hairston was stopped while reportedly driving a rented 2012 Chevy Camaro. The car was in the name of a woman who reportedly shares a mailing address with Thomas. This kind of pattern naturally caused suspicion to float UNC's way. What was the basketball program's star player doing driving rented cars to begin with, and why was an ex-convict involved? Tar Heels coach Roy Williams recently said he's "tired" of discussing the Hairston situation, offering no timeline on a suspension, while the North Carolina athletic director said late last week Hairston will definitely miss time for the upcoming season -- but a year-long suspension isn't in the forecast. Star player driving rented cars tied to a man who's been behind bars. Reason for worry? Some might say yes. Reason for further investigation? Reason for North Carolina to put in a call and try to contact Thomas? Apparently not. USA Today's Eric Prisbell reported Monday that neither UNC nor the NCAA have reached out to Thomas -- via his attorney -- about his relationship with Hairston or anyone at UNC. Neither the NCAA nor UNC has contacted Fats Thomas' attorney, Randy Griffin, about speaking with Fats. — Eric Prisbell (@EricPrisbell) August 19, 2013 PJ Hairston drove two rentals linked to Fats, whose attorney says he hasn't been contacted by NCAA or UNC about speaking with client. — Eric Prisbell (@EricPrisbell) August 19, 2013 Thomas had nine rental cars in his name ticketed on UNC's campus this year. He's denied specifically knowing Hairston, though previous reports have him being photographed with former UNC athletes before, like current Milwaukee Buck John Henson. This news will rile up the anti-UNC folk. And it will call into question, again, the nature of the NCAA and how it operates in its investigations and doling out enforcement. On a related note, the organization recently touted its new, overhauled plan and re-adaptation -- including implementing a new staff -- for enforcement. |
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| abb | Aug 20 2013, 03:43 AM Post #5 |
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http://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2013/08/hairston-should-face-the-consequences Hairston should face the consequences TO THE EDITOR: I am very disappointed that the athletic director indicated that P.J. Hairston would play some games. I am personally embarrassed that he is even considered for further membership on the team and the University. What does he have to do for an encore in order to be dropped from the team permanently? He followed up his previous charges with a 93-mph speeding ticket and 12 more parking ticket violations were found. He obviously has no regard for the standard rules of conduct for citizens generally and athletic representatives of the University in particular. He is an embarrassment to the school, coaches and fans. I would rather face the consequences of a few more basketball games lost then have him continue to represent the school. Secondly, it is of some concern if the players still on the team would accept him as a member in view of his past run-ins with the law. That would be an endorsement of his behavior by his fellow teammates! Richard Lynch Charlotte |
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| abb | Aug 20 2013, 03:45 AM Post #6 |
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Time for SBI agent to be disciplined Published: August 19, 2013 Updated 26 minutes ago Roy Cooper, North Carolina’s four-term attorney general, needs to terminate the employment of SBI agent Mark Isley or justify why he shouldn’t. Isley not only didn’t do his job properly in a 1993 murder case in Wadesboro, but he also put an innocent man in jail for 14 years by essentially writing a phony confession. Isley certainly conveyed the impression that he had taken down the confession of Floyd Brown verbatim. But one expert after another said that Brown, a mentally disabled man with an IQ of about 50, couldn’t possibly have recounted the “murder” with such coherent detail. Then when Brown, who was ordered freed in 2007 by Durham Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson, sued the state, Isley said the “confession” he wrote down was really a summary. Such behavior by an SBI agent is outrageous and inexcusable. A man who committed no crime – in this case the beating death of a retired teacher – lost 14 years of his life thanks to Isley. This same agent, The News & Observer’s Joseph Neff and Mandy Locke reported Sunday, demonstrated curious professional behavior in the 1990s when he was in Anson County working with a couple of sheriff’s deputies. It seems Isley heard about those deputies getting payoffs to reduce charges on defendants. Yet Isley, according to information that came to light in Brown’s lawsuit, failed to file any reports for several years, though he says he told somebody about it. Both those deputies went to federal prison. Isley is still an agent. In fact, he’s the head of the bureau’s Medicaid Fraud Section and makes over $86,000 a year. He has not been disciplined, although he’s not a stranger to controversy within the organization. Isley, who is black, once filed racial discrimination charges against the SBI. He was promoted and given a $12,000 raise within a year. If Cooper is doing his job, he’s not commenting on this issue because he has an internal investigation going regarding Isley’s performance. Unfortunately, it may be that Cooper is reacting in the way too many in law enforcement do when a problem, even a serious one, arises. Duke University law professor Jim Coleman, an expert on wrongful convictions, says that law enforcement rarely punishes those who make mistakes. “The misconduct in this case,” Coleman said, “is another black eye for the criminal justice system. They simply take the loss and move on as if nothing happened. Until there are consequences, nothing will change.” This is a stand-up test for Roy Cooper, and not just because he’s likely the leading Democratic contender to face Republican Gov. Pat McCrory in 2016. Cooper has a duty to demonstrate to the public that the criminal justice system isn’t just about catching and punishing the bad guys. It’s about the integrity of the entire process, and those inside that system who do not respect it shouldn’t be in law enforcement. In addition, Cooper surely understands that the sound, credible, honest and forthright agents in the SBI do not want someone in the ranks who has caused doubt and cynicism to be cast over their agency. Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/08/19/3120310/time-to-act.html#storylink=cpy |
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| Quasimodo | Aug 20 2013, 07:50 AM Post #7 |
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Are some people in Durham off-limits to talk to? |
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| Quasimodo | Aug 20 2013, 07:53 AM Post #8 |
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ruminations: If it's not fixed, it will happen again; and why wasn't the N&O saying this about the lax case? and why, given the propensity for such things to happen in the NC justice system, wasn't there any skepticism expressed about Nifong's prosecution (which clearly was impossible to follow without doubts arising)? Edited by Quasimodo, Aug 20 2013, 07:54 AM.
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