Cooper, to his eternal credit, refused to bow to such crude tactics. His office investigated the case thoroughly, and then let the facts speak for themselves: the charges not only were dismissed, but the falsely accused players were factually innocent.
In its pre-election endorsement editorial, the Wilmington Journal exacted its revenge:
Per another office, NC Attorney General, this newspaper has endorsed challenger Robert Crumley over long time incumbent Roy Cooper, though there really is not much new about attorney Crumley positions beyond that he would be a better AG.Disgraceful. And a reminder to all North Carolina readers of DIW to vote for Roy Cooper next Tuesday.
In our opinion, Mr. Cooper lost our vote, and our respect, when he refused to allow a trial to go forth in the Duke Lacrosse rape case, and then declared the three white suspects who allegedly raped a young black female ''innocent.''
Sorry, Mr. Cooper. Attorney Crumley now gets our support.
25 comments:
In other words, the Wilmington Journal was demanding that Roy Cooper break the law. A prosecutor cannot legally bring a case that he knows is a lie, but that is what Cash Michaels and the WJ have declared to be the standard that Cooper was to have followed.
For all those people who really believe that Durham jurors would have acquitted these young men, I think we have our answer loud and clear. There are many people in North Carolina who believe that lies are preferred to the truth.
I voted for Roy Cooper yesterday afternoon!
Early voting has brought out people in huge numbers.
How about this- don't read the Wilmington Journal, don't advertise in the WJ, boycott the businesses that do advertise in the WJ and let them no about it. If you work for the WJ look for another employer.
Perhaps this is why Cash Michaels can only find a "home" with black publications.
Someone who behaves this way should never be allowed to write for any reputable newspaper or publication.
Oh, wait a minute.
He doesn't.
The vote for N.C. AG, along with the one for President, were the two easiest votes I've ever cast...
BoC
Bill Anderson is right. When I covered Stuart's lecture at Duke, a lawyer pointed out to me that the prosecutor's statutory duty is to seek justice.
Cash Michaels also reviewed UPI. The review was so illogical that it was painful to read.
Chris
The review of UPI that appeared in the Wilmington Journal last year claimed that KC and Stuart had misunderstood the January editorial, claiming that it contained no threat. In my letter to the editor (which I do not believe was published), I accepted WJ's assertion, perhaps too credulously. It would seem that UPI's characterization of the editorial was correct after all.
Chris
POTBANGER MADONNA: THE CRYSTAL MANGUM STORY
Chapter 1: MY CRYSTAL BALL INTO THE FUTURE
I will be hitting the road soon with the rest of "Crystal Mangum and the Duke Hoax Singers." We provide a Motown and lapdance fusion that invokes the spirit of Diana Ross and Tawana Brawley. Look for us at a strip club or high school assembly near you.
...
We are in talks with Mattel to produce a "Crystal Hoax" doll so that young girls everywhere can experience the excitement of the grift. Each Crystal doll comes with a bruise stick -- to put fake marks on the doll -- and realistic blank police reports with which your child can spend endless hours changing her story.* For ages 3 and up.
* Stripper pole sold seperately.
...
I think of my legacy every day. Tawana Brawley and Ashley Todd were such quitters. I will carry my lies to the grave. Although I respect Ann Putnam's ability to get people killed with her Salem Witch Trial lies, I think she caved too soon. Why quit when you're ahead?
*************
Anti-Fan Fiction is closer to the truth than real fiction. MOO! Gregory
Sort of ironic to hear the WJ endorse a Republican candidate, especially one who says Crumley also took on the corruption in the state government when he promised to investigate ACORN if he is elected.
“Rules ought to be law and law ought to be law, no matter who you are,” he said.
Somehow I wouldn't have expected this!! Supporting a man who wants to investigate ACORN--Precious must have really made an impression on them!
If and when Roy Cooper runs for Governor of North Carolina, he is going to have some problems with a large part of the Democratic base. It is not impossible that declaring the LAX players innocent might eventually keep Cooper from being Governor of North Carolina. Time will tell.
And the Wilmington paper's probably losing readers in droves, too, like other biased rags, and can't figure out why!???
Judge Horton lost his re-election bid because he found defendants innocent in the Scottsboro case.
But as he said, when told his action would cost him electoral support, "What does that matter?"
Thinking back about the case, I now wonder if CGM might not be in as good a position as she could have hoped for. She escaped the confrontation she would have faced in a trial (that most likely would have exposed the things her current handlers are struggling to keep hidden) and she has some sugar daddies taking care of her (although they are not the white boys she aspired to). And don't forget she wasn' t proecuted for her crimes. Sounds like top of the world to me.
The WJ should thanking Cooper on her behalf. The guy they are endorsing might send her to jail.
Look at the bright side - for once supporters of CGM are at least using the word "innocent" - usually they go out of their way to say things like "decided to drop the charges" "decided not to go forward with the prosecution". At least they are being honest about how this whole thing ended - at least the criminal part of it.
How I wish that I still lived in North Carolina so that I could vote for Roy Cooper and against (by voting for anyone but) Liddy Dole who was absent on the scene when it came to demanding justice for the three lax players.
As it was so rightly noted, had the case gone to trial as Nifong, Mangum, et al. wanted, even though the lies and the hoax would have been exposed for all to see, a Durham jury would have found the three students guilty. Expecting, as did Bob steele , that on appeal it might possibly be sorted out.
cks
Thank goodness Cooper didn't cave in to pressure. He and the special prosecutors conducted a fair and thorough examination of the evidence in the case. The charges against Dave, Reade and Collin were dismissed and they were declared innocent.
The Wilmington Journal should be praising Cooper for his decision concerning the three lacrosse players. Did the paper want innocent people to face the possibility of serving time in jail for a crime they didn't commit?
While I certainly respect Cooper for his actions in the Duke case, on a broad array of issues I find Crumley's positions more in line with mine. Not being a single issue voter and having no indication that Crumley and Cooper would have behaved any differently in the Duke case, not even the Wilmington Journal's endorsement can sway me from voting for Crumley.
But it is nice to have two good choices for a change.
Absolutely pathetic!!
Cooper failed to allow a fraud to take place and is maligned as a result. Disgraceful.
Check out this recent article in the Wilmington Journal by Michaels.
This literally makes me sick.
He's microscopically tearing this female candidate apart---a woman I know or care nothing about---and at the same time he quotes NC NAACP's Barber as he glosses over the criminal behavior of former Rep. Thomas Wright who stole hundreds of thousands of public dollars using his office to do so.
Wright is now serving time in prison.
Even the racist charades of Barber and McSurely could not cover for this thief.
Notice how Barber calls the thousands of public dollars stolen by Wright "unfortunate problems".
Cash Michaels and William Barber will only pull away from the table when they feel a need to go on another race-hustling journey.
Pathetic journalism.
The language of this endorsement stuns me and is completely irreconcilable with the public record of the case. Reharmonizer, wherever you are, I believe you were the one who suggested that if DIW and its commenters had been less vitrolic and more patient with the Group of 88, they in turn would have been less defensive and more amenable to reconsidering their position and publicly acknowledging the error of their response. To what do you attribute the Wilmington Journal's blind and dangerous refusal to accept the inescapable conclusion of innocence? Just curious.
Observer
Can't find a link but I feel certain the WJ supported Cooper and his Special Prosecutors (i.e. Cooper's) actions in the case against James Johnson.
Special prosecutors dropped charges in that case (unfortunately after he'd already spent 3 years in jail!) ... citing a lack of evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was involved in killing Brittany Willis.
They're ok w/ Cooper's actions to drop charges in a case where a crime actually was committed (a young woman was murdered) .... and the accused has admitted to some (after the fact, iirc) involvement... but they're upset that Cooper didn't allow obviously false charges to go forward against the lax.
Sadly, William Barber didn't make the following statement in the Duke case:
"The state should be investigating the actions and negligence of the authorities who began this sad saga."
11/1 (12:10 AM) It may be that Roy Cooper will have to rise above the idiocy of both the Democratic and Republican parties in NC. Despite the present cesspool in Durham and a few other such areas in NC, the good people of NC have historically had a great nose for truth and honor.
For example, Senator Joe Lieberman has earned respect from both sides as a man of integrity, regardless of whether you agree with him.
I believe that if Cooper could speak to the hearts of the good people of NC, he could rise above partisanship. But that does NOT happen by playing it safe.
Well... not usually.
But then, the current Presidential race may just make a liar out of me. No record; no votes; no university thesis; no video; no discerable record of any consequence.
On the other hand Roy Cooper has shown the courage to declare truth without regard to personal repercussions. That earns my respect, even if I don't like his colleagues.
Roy Cooper was the only democrat I voted for (otherwise straight repub ticket). I voted for him because of his declaration of innocence for those 3 Duke boys. We need fearless leadership like his in office these days!
I wonder how the Wilmington Journal feels now. Mr. Cooper overwhelmingly won re-election, 61% of the vote, a margin of more than 900,000 votes.
Pompous twits usually do not like seeing how impotent they really are.
The Wilmington Journal has a longstanding animosity toward state Senator Julia Boseman. An open letter to Thomas Wright in the Wilmington Journal outrageously implied that Senator Boseman had something to do with former representative Wright's conviction for using his campaign funds for personal gain. Wright is black.
I have started a blog, and my first post is directed toward the Wilmington Journal's endorsement.
http://viewfromwilmington.blogspot.com/
Chris
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