Comments and analysis about the Duke/Nifong case (2006-2014).
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48 comments:
JLS says....,
The Brown clips are very interesing. But in thinking about the Neff article you should keep in mind that most of the people he is talking to are blame shifting due to potential criminal, state bar and civil liability. This particularly includes people in the DPD and Durham DA's office.
Ms. Brown has less incentives to blame shift. But do you really believe a poltical consultant/campaign manager of a campaign far behind in the polls at the time really cautioned Nifong about doing all those press interviews? I am a bit skeptical on that one point concerning Ms. Brown. Certainly Ms. Brown could not have known he was lying at the time and she did the honorable thing by joining those trying to get rid of Nifong in the general election, but I am doubtful a campaign manager of a candidate trailing in the polls was that worried about him giving a bunch of interviews.
A couple of posters have asked about this -- 60 Minutes: here.
He says contradictions in the accuser’s earlier statements clearly indicated that an attack never occurred, but neither Nifong nor his staff challenged her. "We don’t think that any of these tough questions were asked of her," says Cooper. What’s more, says Cooper, the accuser’s story continued to change as his investigators talked to her. "We started out knowing we had a problem…and the way it turned out, it was much worse than we thought." Cooper’s team also thought she was possibly inebriated. "Our investigative team who was to meet her that day believed that she was under the influence of something."
Among the new stories the accuser told was a fantastic account of the rape in which she contradicts the account she gave Nifong that led to him dropping rape charges back in December. "She was suspended in mid air and was being assaulted by all three of them in the bathroom," Cooper recalls the accuser saying. "And I’ve been in that bathroom and it was very difficult for me to see how that could have occurred." Cooper’s investigators were shocked by the situation. "A number of them said to me, 'I've never seen anything like this.' It was amazing how she could continue to tell different stories."
When the accuser was confronted with pictures from the night of the party that contradicted her statements, she answered irrationally. "It was usually that the picture was doctored or 'that just can’t be true,' or 'Duke University paid someone off,'" Cooper says. The accuser has a history of mental illness and Cooper and his staff viewed her medical file; he refuses to reveal its contents, but says he believes the woman is getting help.
Cooper says he used the word "innocent" to describe the three young men "because it wasn't a situation where it was just insufficient evidence… because what had gone on for so long was a tragedy. It should never have happened."
Safe to assume Victoria Peterson now hates Brown. Brown must be at the top of her list for her to attach her to KC in the way she did!
I read the Herald Sun's "Cooper: Nifong's behavior 'offensive'".
Someone please enlighten me. Why are they still calling CGM 'the accuser'?
I don't mean this about Brown, but a comment above on shifting blame made me realize just how much of it we're going to see now. All of the enablers of the hoax will be shifting blame, hiding, denying..It will be a considerable job ferreting them all out, but this will be the more enjoyable part. Now that the danger for the boys has past, it's a pleasure to see the villains on the run.
just curious: I would assume because she WAS the accuser, even if a false accuser. I think it's okay. As long as nobody calls her "the victim."
All this N&O suck up is really getting on my nerves.
When will they release the original interview they had with Crystal?
They knew then this woman was crazy, but they didn't say a word.
So when I read that interview, I'll believe they've come clean, if not they are only trolling for awards AFTER THE FACT.
Don't you love guts when you see them? We're waiting.
Kemp
Kemp-
You need to write an e-mail to editor Linda Williams.
Then CC it to Orage Quarles and Ted Vaden. The publisher and the public editor respectively.
I agree. That full interview needs to be made public. Linda Williams and all knew that Mangum is crazy, yet they published the full stream of her lies and called her the "victim". Never the "alleged victim".
How KC can praise the N&O is beyond me.
Except for Joe Neff and Ben Niolet, they railroaded the Duke 3.
Speaking of blame-shifting. It's too easy to put everything on Nifong, evil as he is, or on CGM, evil and disturbed as she is. The underlying and more intractable issue has to do with the Af-Am community in Durham and elsewhere. Were it not for Af-Am racism (there is no other word), the false accusations and Nifong's exploitation of them would not have gone anywhere. Nifong can be disbarred and sued; CGM can tumble back into the gutter--but what to do about Af-Am racism? I don't know.
JLS says....,
re: Kemp
Actually lost in all the hoopla this week the Myrtle Beach, SC paper claims to have the story of the N&O infamous interview and seemingly what was omitted:
The story of the N&O interview of Mangum
On March 24, 11 days after the party, she granted a short interview with The News & Observer, her only media interview to date. Mangum made allegations of racism, claimed to have only a short history as a stripper, and said she believed the other woman hired to dance with her also had been assaulted.
The interview began as Mangum stood in front of her parents' home near the N.C. Central campus. When an N&O reporter approached, she confirmed that she had made the rape report. She started crying.
When asked why she made the report, she said "most guys don't think it's a big deal" to force a woman to have sex. She confirmed that the alleged incident had occurred at a party near Duke. Moments later, she added, "Maybe they think they can get away with it because they have more money than me."
After just a few moments, Mangum said she had to leave, but consented to another meeting that afternoon.
Later, she sat in her living room for less than 15 minutes to answer more questions.
...
Mangum said that as soon as she and the second dancer entered the house, they were barraged with racist remarks and wanted to leave.
"We started crying," she said. "We were so scared."
Moments later, after someone in the group apologized, the women went back into the house and were separated, Mangum said.
She did not go into details of the attack, as she had done for police, but maintained that she was raped. She said that although she saw no proof, she believed the second dancer also was attacked, but didn't come forward because she would lose her job as an escort.
"I got the feeling she would do just about anything for money," Mangum said of the second dancer, Kim Roberts.
I put certain parts in bold. In my view sympathy for Mangum should fade a great deal with this information.
Carolyn says:
I listened to those tapes and it brought up something that has never been fully explained about Freda Black. Why did Nifong fire her?
Freda is a mystery. She was clearly a good enough lawyer to help win a very high profile murder case - yet the Governor passed her over to give the DA job to Nifong. Why? Then the instant Nifong becomes DA, he fires her. Why? If Freda was so awful that neither the governor nor Nifong wanted her, then why was she attracting all the big money and public support to easily win the election? Brown gives a strong hint that Freda is not liked when Brown refers to an inexperienced and unenthusiastic Nifong running against Freda as 'the lesser of two evils'. So what is the 'evil' about Freda?
JLS says....,
re: Carolyn
I agree. I first guessed that the govenor appointed Nifong rather than Black because Nifong was a good ole boy and Black was an outsider. Then after the governor's comments in NYC, I guessed that the govenor appointed Nifong as an interim DA so that he would not be the one picking a white or black DA in a racially closely divided city offending one group or the other.
Still this does not explain the fearful of Black calls Brown claimed to have gotten from others wanting her to manage Nifong's campaign.
I think it's funny that in the second audio, Jackie Brown claims that Nifong is a conscientious note taker. He didn't take ONE note during the whole "investigation" according to him.
Does anyone know where I can watch the entire press conference by the three young men and their lawyers? I found Cooper's p.c. on wabc.com and short clips of it on the N & O site. If the're posted on WRAL.com or You Tube, I can't find them.
BTW, I did a Google search for "Duke defendants press conference" I get plenty of hits like this:
"Duke Defendants Praise Blogger K.C. Johnson"
on a sports blog.
http://tinyurl.com/2uh6sp
Congratulations, KC!
to call wahneema lubiano and karla holloway nappy headed hos is an insult to nappy headed hos everywhere.
how offensive.
To anonymous 6:31, I finally found it! I had to look at my history from a few days ago. They appear to have removed the regular link from their search function. It's called "Ex-Duke Lacrosse Players, Attorneys News Conference". It's so worth the listen!
http://www.wral.com/news/video/1268987/
JLS,
Thanks for the MB link. I think they too are now owned by McCarley, maybe they pulled it off a server they weren't suppose to be on.
OR maybe this is a total BS cover your ass story.
POINT? Why won't the N&O give it up? Honestly requires it to show up and KC can make it happen with a new thread.
Neff reads here! Maybe we'll see the interview, 390 days too late in this 5 piece story.
Kemp
I think it's funny that in the second audio, Jackie Brown claims that Nifong is a conscientious note taker. He didn't take ONE note during the whole "investigation" according to him.
Apr 14, 2007 6:28:00 PM
This tells me that Nifong did not want to take notes because he did not want to write anything incriminating. When one is engaged in a frame-up, one does not want to leave a paper trail. That is why we will not see any memos or emails that tell us how the frame-up was hatched and continued.
The real criminals have had a lot of time to destroy evidence, and I will be that is just what they have done.
Mikey had a gleam in his eyes just thinking about that extra 15 thousand a DA pension would bring.
Anything he had to do for his and Cy's future resthome comfort, he would do. ;))
JLS says....,
Kemp I agree we don't quite yet know if that is the whole interview and I too wondered if the reporter maybe had a friend at the N&O who leaked this to them That sad that a newspaper would be in that position.
There is clearly something going on in the N&O that has caused them to behave very strangely about this. I guess they want to claim they did not want to publish that Roberts was a rape victim? But you know the real reason is they were hoping Roberts would back up Mangum's story and they did not want to create a division between them.
Bill Anderson and soobs I noted the note taking issue too. Maybe the defense attorneys got wind to him taking notes all the time which is why they wanted his notes from the DNA conspiracy meetings? I bet they might have at one time existed too. I think Nifong had not a care in the world 10 months ago and was not yet worried about not having a paper trail.
http://www.peoplefinders.com/summary.asp?fn=Michael&mn=&ln=Nifong&dobmm=&dobdd=&doby=&city=Durham&state=NC&age=&vw=&Search=&Input=&x=48&y=
Not that I really give a rat's ass, Cy and Mikey are not married,just roomies. Check out # 3. Brenda is his ex. The bum doesn't own anything.
My bad link did not work
Nifong is clearly in the wrong in so many ways.
But why is CGM being let off the hook by the media and prosecutors?
Can she come and tell such a damaging lie with long lasting ramifications, then just walk away from it all?
There would have no Nifonging had there been no CGM.
If I went to the police and reported a crime that did not exist and they found out, I be facing charges...why not CGM?
I think this says it all the whole case for Nifong was money! The greedy DA that tried to send 3 boys to prison so he could have free advertising for his campaign, and thus receive another $15,000 a year at this retirement.
I can only help the greedy scum goes to prison and gets the opportunity to meet some of the others he railroaded into prison, in a more informal setting.
Tom E.
In one of the audio tapes, Ms. Brown seems to suggest that Nifong's wife, Cy Gurney, was more excited about his campaign than he was. Is there any credible chance that she was pushing him to win this election at all costs? Some women are all about the ambition of their husbands. Not that I don't think Nifong didn't want to win himself, but maybe his wife encouraged him to do things he normally wouldn't have done.
And...what was so bad about Freda Black that some thought Nifong was the "lesser of two evils"?
I have always wondered about the note-taking aspect of the DPD, Nifong, and Meeham. I cannot imagine notes not being taken on discussions of the DNA results...unless you didn't want to have the discussions memorialized for a reason!
8:57
Because she is a black affirmative action bitch.
It was posted by someone that Joe Cheshire touched on the real CGM in an interview.
He said that if her records are ever made public you would see a vile person of more cunning than one with mental problems.
I hope they unseal those records. They should be forced to do so in light of what she has done.
Of course, CGM's very life must be a prison in itself...
The Freda Black mystery is interesting. Several commentors here have suggested various reasons she was let go, but so far, no one has written anything that can be verified. Only gossip has surfaced so far, and Ms. Black's voice has been absent from this whole imbroglio.
"...and Ms. Black's voice has been absent..."
Thank god.
Joe Cheshire said CGM has a "meanness" about her. You can see it in that April 10 photo of her.
I think that a lot of blacks in Durham don't like Freda. Even though she's a Democrat it's been said that she is strict and wanted to clean up the ragtag mess at the courthouse.
Just look at Mikey's staff of imbeciles.
Why doesn't someone probe that mess? Were they all absent when he was going about doing what he did without proper evidence?
What kind of slugs work in his office?
And since both Freda Black and Mikey worked for Jim Hardin, the former DA, and Hardin chose Freda to work with him on the high profile Peterson case, Mikey might have been a little envious.
Beginning to make sense.
Mikey is nothing more than a cuckold to Cy and Cy was very jealous of Freda.
Just checked on TR - How interesting is this - discussion of eliminating grades !!!!
Re 9:24's
"The Freda Black mystery is interesting. Several commentors here have suggested various reasons she was let go, but so far, no one has written anything that can be verified."
Most people around here assume it simply was that she already had said she wanted to run for D.A., and he didn't want his rival for the same job working in the office.
Durham Lawyer
We live in an age in which no one is willing to take responsibility for his actions. My only surprise is that Nifong did not immediately check himself into a rehab facility, and blame his role in the Duke hoax on some chemical imbalance, drug dependency or dementia.
a quote from Andrea Peyser. Sadly, but true, this plan is Nifong's ace-in-the-hole. Pension safe with enough sick leave to get him over the hump. Judge says he,like AG described Mangum,is not competent to stand trial
I really hope somebidy (feds?) will investigate Assistant DAs and Durham PD. This was a conspiracy: it was not just one rogue prosecutor. Nifong should be sent to jail, but the other key players should receive punishment, as well.
They were willing and active participant in the criminal conspiracy and civil rights violations.
Too bad Duke3 were not illegalos. Now Gonzales could not care less.
Agree TH
9:06
I spent seven years as an auxiliary police officer, and note-taking was very important, and a routine part of any shift - the whole shift was catalogued by time. The notebooks had one small column to enter the time, and a main column to write down what you were doing at the time.
We even received formal training on note-taking, since the notes were how we would refresh our memory if called to testify about an incident, e.g. "I arrived on scene at 8:06 p.m. and observed...". The "8:06" (actually "20:06") would be in the one column, and then "o/s" (short for "on scene") followed by what we observed.
So, I share your curiosity about the absence of police notes.
Okay, just googling around, and I found this. I am sure it hasn't one thing to do with this case, but I thought the NAMES at the bottom of the page, were.....quite the coincidence! Of course, there really aren't any coincidences.
http://tinyurl.com/3csanx
"" In Nifong v. C.C. Mangum, Inc., 121 N.C. App. 767, 468 S.E.2d 463, aff'd per curiam, 344 N.C. 730, 477 S.E.2d 150 (1996), our Court again addressed the completed and accepted rule. In Nifong, the plaintiff was driving in the rain on Miami Boulevard in Durham when water "came up all over [her] windshield" and obscured her vision. ""
I think it's a given that so few notes were taken, because they were required to be turned over to the defense. You get around that by not taking any notes. Well, not in this case.
Risky
Assuming these audio tapes are true...
Not including you campaign manager in your decisions is pretty risky unless of course your decision is so abhorrent that you would not want to take the risk of telling her.
Lesser evil.
So Ms. Brown scurry's down to the Court House to talk with her team leader at the water fountain only to find out that she is not a member of his team and never has been.
I think I would feel betrayed and tell all of the DWI attorneys in Durham that my former team leader was a jerk.
10:34 I am sure all your notes were backed up by taped radio conversations. 10-4's 10-23 10-24 and all in between radio contact. I know from previous experience that police telecommunications tapes are kept on a 30 day rotation basis and you should have plenty of spare tapes to preserve major incidents tapes. DPD had 30 days to preserve the initial of the hoax night and chose not to. I think the original tapes might still exist! These recording and tape preservation devices are federally funded and are subject to federal laws. These include all telephone conversations to 911 and law enforcemnt calls
10:51
(I am 10:34) I should clarify my earlier post, I never served in DPD, so I cannot speak to DPD procedures; my comments are limited to police procedure generally.
But you are absolutely right, everything that goes over the radio is taped (at least where I served).
Why did the pig fire Freda Black?
Listen to Jackie Brown say it in the clip...
rumor was Freda was going to sweep out the whole court house....
What happens when we sweep out?
We sweep out the dirt.
I don't know and hopefully we will find out when the DPD testifies next week, but I think Gottleib deliberately postponed for four months and "took no notes" because he did not want to be associated with Nifongs frame.
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