tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post3293395754555903871..comments2024-02-24T05:19:10.949-05:00Comments on Durham-in-Wonderland: Comments on the Balko Articlekcjohnson9http://www.blogger.com/profile/09625813296986996867noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-38351562354213288702014-04-10T15:09:41.129-04:002014-04-10T15:09:41.129-04:00Chris Halkides:
And then, when conservative group...Chris Halkides:<br /><br />And then, when conservative groups *do* come to understand a flaw of the criminal justice system, far too many liberal groups end up questioning the reform bills simply because conservative groups support them. The recent Threatened Use of Force Act bill reduces mandatory minimums (for actions where actually killing someone in self-defense would have a self-defense case, warning shots and threats carried stiff mandatory minimums) and was supported by Families Against Mandatory Minimums, the Public Defenders Association, and the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. But of course since the NRA was on board with all those other civil liberties groups, the bill was couched in negative terms by too many liberal pundits who couldn't see past that.John Thackerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15269867695937765049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-11895277306889717432014-04-02T19:39:19.028-04:002014-04-02T19:39:19.028-04:00One example of a conservative journalist that come...One example of a conservative journalist that comes to mind is Ann Coulter, although pundit may be more accurate. In 2011 she <a href="http://www.w3schools.com" rel="nofollow">wrote</a>, "From Tawana Brawley, Mumia and the Central Park rapists, to the Duke lacrosse players and Karl Rove, liberals are always on the wrong side of a criminal case." She clearly has the Central Park Five case all wrong; it is obvious from the DNA results, among other things, that they had nothing to do with that heinous crime. But most of her column is devoted to misstating the case against Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito in the murder of Meredith Kercher. The Duke lacrosse case has apparently taught her nothing. For example, one cannot trust that what a prosecutor says about his or her case has anything but the most tenuous relationship to reality. And it is surprisingly easy to make a mountain out of a molehill in order to impugn someone's character.<br /><br />Conservatives are just as capable of coming to understand the flaws of the criminal justice system as liberals are, as Jim and Nancy Petro's book "False Justice" demonstrates. Yet conservative journalists and pundits are a little slow getting to the party. Perhaps someone has one or two counterexamples.Chris Halkideshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14933976220776524122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-43041106492212157392014-03-27T09:10:55.716-04:002014-03-27T09:10:55.716-04:00There are two typos in my previous comment: In se...There are two typos in my previous comment: In sentence 2 "the only one that comes to mind" and in sentence 3 "as has recently come to light." I am sorry for any confusion. Chris Halkideshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14933976220776524122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-53026062410510659272014-03-27T09:08:00.119-04:002014-03-27T09:08:00.119-04:00Regrettably, DA's sometimes make bizarre claim...Regrettably, DA's sometimes make bizarre claims, particularly when trying to hold onto a conviction. Offhand, the <a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2009-04-16/news/0904150806_1_jeanine-nicarico-rolando-cruz-real-killer" rel="nofollow">Juan Rivera</a> case is the only one comes to mind (to explain the DNA results, the prosecutor claimed that an 11-year old girl was sexually active with an unknown boyfriend), but there are other cases. And prosecutors sometimes make deals with jailhouse snitches, and has recently come to light with respect to Todd <a href="http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/New_Evidence_Suggests_Cameron_Todd_Willingham_Prosecutor_Deceived_Board_of_Pardons_and_Paroles_About_Informant_Testimony_in_Opposition_to_Stay_of_Execution.php" rel="nofollow">Willingham</a>. Durham may be worse than the national average with respect to its justice system, but it is not unique. Chicago Tribune reporter Eric Zorn concluded, "<br />That failure disgraced them all. Yet to this day I've yet to hear even one of them admit it. I don't expect ever to hear such an admission from Lake County [Illinois] officials, either. The pattern is clear even though, apparently, the lesson isn't."Chris Halkideshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14933976220776524122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-44513867672837328772014-03-24T21:22:56.846-04:002014-03-24T21:22:56.846-04:00I believe you have two paragraphs 5.I believe you have two paragraphs 5.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-22553831475530396582014-03-24T19:47:37.136-04:002014-03-24T19:47:37.136-04:00To Chris:
My sense is it's a little of both. ...To Chris:<br /><br />My sense is it's a little of both. I'm not a regular Hannity watcher, for example, but I can't imagine he regularly covered the Durham crime beat before spring 2006, so it's hard to imagine why he'd continue to do so after spring 2007. National journalists--and most of the conservative journalists who showed interest in the case were out of state--cover issues of national import. Crime in Durham isn't. <br /><br />Coleman, surely, knows this--which makes his criticism all the more disingenuous.kcjohnson9https://www.blogger.com/profile/09625813296986996867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-38061697120988363392014-03-24T10:54:11.242-04:002014-03-24T10:54:11.242-04:00KC,
You wrote, "That’s largely true when des...KC,<br /><br />You wrote, "That’s largely true when describing the (almost exclusively out-of-state) conservative journalists who defended the lacrosse players." Do you think that this is because they were conservative or because they were journalists? Do you have any examples in mind?Chris Halkideshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14933976220776524122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-66251561491788477992014-03-23T21:46:16.938-04:002014-03-23T21:46:16.938-04:00Fantastic reporting. Thanks for pointing it out, ...Fantastic reporting. Thanks for pointing it out, KC. <br /><br />Please be sure to pick up a copy of Gary Haugen's "The Locust Effect." It's the well documented story of the failure of justice systems around the world, particularly among the impoverished in developing countries. The common threads of what make a justice system fail/work as a system of oppression and injustice are eye popping. Developing countries have little excuse for the horrors their justice systems impose on others. Durham has considerably less.<br /><br />Unless, of course, it is the lead in the water.<br /><br />Observer<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-91655041249129465532014-03-23T18:41:43.388-04:002014-03-23T18:41:43.388-04:00To all those liberals who discredit a point of v...To all those liberals who discredit a point of view because it is held by a conservative; and, to all those conservatives who discredit a point of view because it is held by a liberal:<br /><br />Justice should be blind to politics. It is not. That is perhaps the most unsettling conclusion of this entire fiasco. <br /><br />Jim in San DiegoJim In San Diegohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06959286127760699852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-68999859520700337082014-03-23T16:09:27.269-04:002014-03-23T16:09:27.269-04:00To the 11.44:
The last DIW-related fulminations o...To the 11.44:<br /><br />The last DIW-related fulminations of Ms. Foster that I came across occurred a while back, when she bizarrely suggested that a disgraced beauty queen suffered a comparable fate to Duke students who experienced grade retaliation from the Group of 88. In this case, perhaps she can pass along the last story that Hannity (or another of the handful of largely out-of-state conservative journalists who did some work on the case) did on the Innocence Project, or on a poor African-American in North Carolina who was victimized by prosecutorial misconduct.<br /><br />I took a look at Ms. Foster's comments and didn't see her reference to any such item. But perhaps I overlooked it?<br /><br />As I noted in the post, Coleman's comments about the falsely accused players and their families are outrageous. As I also noted in the post, the onus to have engaged these out-of-state conservative commentators was on the local figures (NAACP, Group of 88, People's Alliances) ostensibly committed to due process. But, of course, they weren't much interested in due process when push came to shove.kcjohnson9https://www.blogger.com/profile/09625813296986996867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-54442024705210867422014-03-23T11:44:47.482-04:002014-03-23T11:44:47.482-04:00Joan Foster is trolling KC over at liestoppers.Joan Foster is trolling KC over at liestoppers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-10175301229008531842014-03-23T07:42:33.960-04:002014-03-23T07:42:33.960-04:00Is Sidney Harr a Communist?Is Sidney Harr a Communist?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-7807955950567633482014-03-22T20:53:25.545-04:002014-03-22T20:53:25.545-04:00Is Ken Edwards a Communist?Is Ken Edwards a Communist?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-52977408318118145682014-03-22T20:40:40.973-04:002014-03-22T20:40:40.973-04:00Is English your second language?Is English your second language?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-88408065378955393452014-03-22T11:18:04.390-04:002014-03-22T11:18:04.390-04:00Is Radley Balko a Communist. No. He is a libertari...Is Radley Balko a Communist. No. He is a libertarian. There is quite a difference between the two.<br /><br />But he are just being witty and clever?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-54155638651116049272014-03-22T08:02:18.955-04:002014-03-22T08:02:18.955-04:00Is Balko a Communist?Is Balko a Communist?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-34908120825211419132014-03-21T13:46:57.688-04:002014-03-21T13:46:57.688-04:00It's hell living here because of 'them'...It's hell living here because of 'them' since 'them' is basically everyone affected by duke that cannot reach beyond their negative influence even while everyone is watching duke destroy them and their community, state, and country.<br /><br />lot's of fun<br />notAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-12690294235167527622014-03-21T04:06:19.900-04:002014-03-21T04:06:19.900-04:00Appalling.
Every protection has failed:
-The D...Appalling.<br /><br />Every protection has failed: <br /><br />-The District Attorneys of Durham are bred in a culture of unethical behavior.<br /><br />-The Fourth Circuit pretends to find no legal remedy, for fear that prosecutors and their employers might actually be held civilly accountable for their behavior. <br /><br />-Those who pretend to be advocates for blacks were not interested in advocating justice within the legal system once it was clear Crystal was not a victim of white violence.<br /><br />-Jim Coleman,the only hero in the early days of the hysteria, then went to sleep for six years. (The question, "where was the law school?" has never been answered. At all).<br /><br />-The US Attorney Generals office declined to intervene. <br /><br />-North Carolina's elected politicians, other than Roy Cooper, refused to become involved.<br /><br />It is chilling to recall that the committee of the North Carolina Bar passed their resolution to seek to disbar Nifong by only ONE vote.<br /><br />What now? Every decent citizen of Durham and North Carolina should be lying awake at night contemplating the number of innocent citizens convicted of serious crimes over a period of decades,and what can be done about it now. <br /><br />As Barry Scheck so properly observes, those wrongly convicted should not have to depend upon people like him for justice.<br /><br />Jim In San DiegoJim In San Diegohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06959286127760699852noreply@blogger.com