The conclusion:
Although financial liability concerns may prevent City Council from continuing its external investigation of the lacrosse case, too much is at stake and too many questions remain unanswered for City Council to relent in its pursuit of the truth.Read the entire piece here.
At the very least, the DPD's investigation procedures need to be examined independently. To lay this issue to rest without further examination of DPD is to willingly obliterate our already uneasy faith in our city's police department.
34 comments:
I'm checking in for the first time in a long while, having seen the news today that Matt Danowski and three others have received and will use another year of eligibility at Duke. (Another player is using his extra year at Virginia.)
Tony McDevitt: "I love this place and always have. We've definitely been through some ups and downs, but when it comes down to it, I'm proud to be here."
One nit-pick with a preceding post: I'd be very happy if Barry Scheck were known more for his work with the Innocence Project than his O.J. work, but you have to be pretty deep in the ivory tower (just like some of your usual targets) to believe that's the case.
The entire event is very sad. There are kids on the team who thought they might be starters, prior to the return of the four.
Actually, I think Barry is known more for the IP - I doult their are many folk who remember he was one of OJ's defense attorneys. I thought he did it to help fund the IP at the time.
Richard Jewell died. He too was hounded and condemned by an arrogant main stream media, in that case the Atlanta Journal Constitution among other, and he was never fully righted in the Olympic bombing. The lacrosse case need to be pursued and righted period.
It would be nice if the Duke Laxers could make some gesture to commemorate Richard Jewell, another man wrongly accused (and unlike the Laxers, Jewell was accused because of his heroic and life-saving competence and because he looked like a redneck).
9:32
You're right: and Richard Jewell never got the accolades he justly deserved. He was a hero, but was smeared in the worst kind of way. It's apparent that so many will attempt to revise the history of the Hoax when they think no one's looking.
Unless the City of Durrhh pays, and it's Hoax participants charged and put on trial, people (like Tara's troll Begas) will continue to say:
"See? No one's been charged! You're just imagining all this! You're crazy!"
Now that the Whichard Committee is fini, and now that Fez is finished, too, it's time for the Feds to come in, if only to make sure that the insurance company doesn't rig the cards.
Then again, wouldn't it be interesting to see the insurance company that covers Durhhh charged with a RICO violation, should they even make the first attempt to thwart an investigation of illegal municipal behavior?
9:29
You have mentioned that there were kids on the team that thought they would be starters.
Yes, there are four players who will return and claim their right to play as a consequence of the HOAX, the cancellation of a season's games and the vilification by the '88 and their sympathizers. This is more fallout from the HOAX.
I suggest that each player who returns focus on being a mentor to those who will remain after this year... and use their skill to promote those who will graduate. The returning players have a unique opportunity to make the team much better, not only at lacrosse, but at life. They should use this opportunity.
_____________________
On a personal level and as the parent of a D1 lacrosse player --- lacrosse is a wonderful sport and Duke lacrosse is most worthy of a national championship.
This year is Duke! Past and present!
mac 10:10 said...
...Then again, wouldn't it be interesting to see the insurance company that covers Durhhh charged with a RICO violation, should they even make the first attempt to thwart an investigation of illegal municipal behavior?
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This is an important point that I sure never thought about.
Thanks
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GP
It must be time to go onto all the blogs that purport to care about the quality of journalism, and the demand answers to this question:
The Duke Lacrosse case has shown that student journalists (at the Duke Chronicle) present clearer analyses than the majority of the MSM covering the case. Is it the case that the paying of professional dues, the climbing of ladders, and the gratification of supervisors in the big leagues all act to corrupt, instead of refining, a student journalist seriously pursuing a career of journalism?
The city will lose its insurance coverage if it continues with the investigation. How could going forward under such circumstances be good for the city? I certainly think lowly of Durham -- after all, its citizens elected Mike Nifong. But that doesn't mean the city's argument lacks validity.
Here is what will happen: The city will be sued (or not; the case might well settle before suit is filed). The city will settle. The settlement will remain confidential. No one will be exposed. No one will be punished.
Life is unfair. There are guys who lost a year to the hoax - there are guys who will not be starters this year due to the hoax.
If there were one person in Durham government with a room temperature IQ, the management of the police department would be turned over to the county sheriff.
We have lots of cities in Los Angeles that have the County sheriff serve as their police force, under contract.
Quick, complete, relatively painless.
Anonymous said...
The entire event is very sad. There are kids on the team who thought they might be starters, prior to the return of the four.
Actually, I think Barry is known more for the IP - I doult their are many folk who remember he was one of OJ's defense attorneys. I thought he did it to help fund the IP at the time.
8/29/07 9:29 PM
======================================================================
This might be the silliest thing I've ever read on the Internet. In fact, it is (I hate to be nasty) stupid beyond belief.
I don't care what Scheck ever does----he will always be remembered as the guy who used his knowledge of DNA to twist facts and create lies thereby helping spring an obvious murderer.
ZEKE
JLS says....,
1. That is an ok editorial, but the Chronicle has missed the greater issue. It is shocking that in every issue, since the DPD bias against Duke students was reported last fall, the Chronicle has not editorialized about this. The DPD has not even been embarrassed into lying about these reported selective arrests. Imagine someone reported a DPD policy of bias against any other group. It is shocking and a far far far far more important issue than what happened in the Duke Lacrosse investigation.
2. Durham is right to delay this public investigation. But it only need be a DELAY. The cases may be filed. The cases will be settled or go to trial. We will gets some hint then if the commission was to be the whitewash we feared. If it was serious then Durham will immediately restart the investigation. If it was not to be serious and Durham thinks they can get away with it, the commission will never be mentioned again. If it was not serious but there is still public pressure the whitewashing will begain again.
The Richard Jewell story is terribly sad. Guy was ruined. He saved the Atlanta Olympics, saved dozens of lives, and was railroaded by the many of the same groups (Southerners, liberals, PC types, the MSM)who went after the Duke 3. Wasn't it CBS (the same network that used fraudulent documents the eventually ended Rather's career) that had to pay Jewell $500,000?
It's fair to say the stress (and lack of recognition) may well have broke his health. It took a decade for Georgia to honor him!!
Atlanta and the state of Georgia should be terribly ashamed today.
The Duke 3 ought to remember what happened to Jewell.
Anonymous 9:01 said...
...One nit-pick with a preceding post: I'd be very happy if Barry Scheck were known more for his work with the Innocence Project than his O.J. work, but you have to be pretty deep in the ivory tower (just like some of your usual targets) to believe that's the case.
::
I smiled at your comment about OJ (The Juice).
I learned many years ago to be careful with what I say in front of a group of undergraduate students ...especially Freshmen.
Freshmen at Duke are around 18 years old. The OJ trial was in 1995...or around 12 years ago...and therefore there was a big bunch of 6 year future Duke students watching us ...watch OJ on TV and those kids are now reading this blog and saying ...Barry Scheck and OJ? What's up with that?
Time marches on.
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GP
Zeke - If that is the silliest thing you have ever read on the internet, you are living a naive life. As Gary points out "Duke freshman were six when the trial occurred" - as were many others. I was in my forties and remember it very well. As many Americans can not find America on a world map, I doubt they know the trial or who the defense attorneys were.
BTW - If you hate to be nasty - why be nasty.
How in the world can somebody be lamenting that some of this year's Lacrosse players won't be starters because 4 of last year's players who were ROBBED of their opportunity have been given back their opportunity?
That is about as selfish a comment as I have ever heard on this blog.
When those 4 GUTSY young men enter the field there should be a stadium full of fans shouting their welcome to the top of their lungs.
How would that whiner feel if it were THEIR son whose senior year had been ROBBED by Robber Baron Brodhed? I'll bet they would sing a different tune.
If you don't celebrate this opportunity for VINDICATION for those young men who lived through hell and kept their dignity you are a really short-sighted person.
Shame!
I will be surprised if anyone but Nifong takes the fall. Grant and Levicy have escaped Durham, civil suits and loss of stature or license and many other will also.
12:41 I would quess the players and parents of the four whose place has been taken by these returners, also think they have been robbed. The rest of the team went went through a lot and have not gotten money from Duke University or projected money from Durham.
Were not the rest of the team GUTSY and ROBBED of their opportunities also? They took a lot of flak also and they did not hire the strippers either. Like Collin and Reade.
The whole team was robbed. But unless you were a senior, you had options of returning to play.
The whole team, and their families suffered immeasurably.
But why would the teams not welcome back the SENIORS who otherwise would not be able to have any closure at all?
Everybody else has another year.
Is it so very important to START?
What are you teaching your kids about life, if you have to deny somebody their rights in order to have yours?
GP 10:34,
IMO, the Whichard Committee was only a means by which Durrhh could thwart or delay a larger investigation. If an outside investigation begins (read "Feds") the insurance company will likely lose even bigger.
They might not be connecting the dots...
Remember DA Poindexter of Surry Co. Virginia, who refused to carry out a search warrant on "Bad News Kennelz" because it wasn't issued properly (one wonders why he didn't issue a countervening warrant that WAS written correctly)? As soon as it ran out, the feds pounced. Poindexter immediately charged "racism." Of course.
Now that the it's all out in the open, Mr. Poindexter wants to add additional state charges to those that M. Vick pled guilty to, as if that's what he intended all along.
Durrhh is in a world of trouble, much more than anyone recognizes: if they stop their Wichard charade, the state or feds will pounce; if they finish their report and it looks like the Baker/Chalmers report, the state or feds will pounce.
Mikey was prescient, as it now appears he was speaking for Durrhh as well as his co-conspirators: "We're f'ed" has broader implications.
Simply the best OJ interview ever.
It is a call-in show with some outstanding caller questions.
OJ call-in Show
Compare and contrast the Chronicle editorial with the one from the H-S that was summarized in a previous post.
The obvious conclusion -- The benefits of a Duke education were wasted on Bob Ashley.
I think if the lawyers for the laxers can push this to a courtroom showdown, there will be enough sunlight to expose a great deal of rot in Durham. I'd like to be a fly on the wall during some of the depositions with names like Gottleib and Himan
KC good luck in Durham, I think the Chronicle piece left out a few options as noted in one of the blogs>
Nothing stops the city from continuing with the committee work after this is all settled.
Hopefully the process now under way will highlight enough of the bad behaviour of the police department and the city government to warrant the biggest payout they can get for the familes.
I'm releived that the families had some energy left to go after all of the players involved.
I think, the comment about being sad for freshman who won't start because of the returning seniors is written by a parent of one of the freshman who want to start. I love the sport of lacrosse,it's been great for my boys> but it's competitive at this level and it's each man for himself to get playing time which is all that the players (moms and dads)ultimately care about.
Doesn't surprise me at all that some new team members will come on board not really understanding what happened to the team. It highlights how few people care at this point what transpired. They misunderstand at their own peril though, as another situation could occur at any time with similar results. Nothing has changed at Duke or in Durham.
I hope the three guys get huge payouts and continue to sue everyone involved so that any future earnings from books or movies are given to the guys. If they want to try and change the world or improve the justice system with some of that money, that's commendable. If they want to secure their own future and get on with living their lives, that's commendable too. They came so close to being totally screwed while totally innocent that I hope they choose the latter in the end.
9:29 is Dom Starsia and 12:46 is John Haus! Last year ended in dissapointment on the lax field, Duke has come up short after being the favorite for the last 3 or 4 years. The players want a championship, bad enough to stay at school where they were not welcome a short time ago. The return of Danowski to the Greer/Quinzani (sp?) line all but garantees a return to the final four. I bet Danowski averages around 7 ppg this year and the Blue Devils ride him all the way to a national championship.
Richard Jewel did finally receive the accolodes and was paid substantial sums in settlement from several media sources, etc.
CNN paid an undisclosed sum in settlement to Jewell and his mother. NBC Paid a settlement rumored to be $500K. Piedmont College paid a confidential settlement to Jewell. The NY Post paid a settlement as well. He also sued the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
First poster on this thread returning with a couple of responses:
-- Jewell's life is a sad example of what can happen with false accusation. Even though his exoneration was well-publicized, there will always be people who missed that part of the story. Even when the media print the truth, readers often remember the lie more clearly.
-- I don't know if a professional career necessarily corrupts young journalists. Remember, the N&O did pretty well. I might agree that a TV career is corrupting because it reduces everything to sound bites.
-- Good point, Gary. Time flies, doesn't it?
pantherlax, thanks for clarification. I look forward to watching the seasoned four lead their team to a well deserved championship knowing it's got to be difficult to be at Duke after how the school treated them. I give them a huge hug for coming back, but it's the same old, same old > those four will know to keep their eyes an ears alert for dangers. This blog has certified the faculty that wanted them to be guilty would do it all over again. They would love to see the whole program go.
mac said:
"If an outside investigation begins (read "Feds") the insurance company will likely lose even bigger. "
How so? Insurance is usually designed to cover "normal" errors and screwups, not criminal acts.
If, to take an extreme example, the entire chain of command from Himan & Gottlieb all the way up to Baker and Bell all wind up in prison for criminal conspiracy, will the insurance company be liable for any of their actions? My understanding of how the business works is that they will not.
It may be in AIG's interest to see that proof of active criminal behavior (rather than mere stupidity, incompetence and even negligence) sees the light of day.
They have, no make that are the proverbial "friends in high places." Maybe they can get the DOJ to wake up already....
8?55 No one wrote FRESHMEN - I was writing about the players who were part of the hoax and had their seson cancelled also - guys who were sophmores in 06 and will be seniors in 08 -
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