Post Forty-Three: Duke Lacrosse Team
I don't know quite what to make of the alleged rape at Duke that two lacrosse players have been arrested for. However, a few things strike me as odd. First, the idea that these guys would actually rape her when they have everything to lose if just one guy does the right thing and testifies that her account is true strikes me as highly implausible.
Second, and as anyone who has been paying attention knows, no DNA evidence supporting the accuser's account of events was found. At all. The absence of DNA evidence from an alleged gang-rape (nothing under the fingernails, no saliva, hair, semen, etc.) is going to be a huge obstacle for the prosecution.
Third, the alleged victim was found in a car, in some sort of non-lucid condition, in a parking lot by security after the events in question. Possibilities? Well, drugs are one, as is alcohol. Could also be that date-rape drug, Rohypnol (sp?). But that takes me back to my reservations raised in the first point.
Fourth, the media is doing their damnedest to fan the flames of the wealth disparity between the alleged victim and the players (not to mention the race issue). The following line appeared in an article regarding the arrests, a line that has no relevance or purpose other than to do just that:
No one answered the door at the Finnerty house, which sits in a cul-de-sac of million-dollar homes on Long Island.
Another version of the story, from the AP, followed this line with a comment that the houses were situated next to a golf course.
Finally, the prosecutor is an ass. He requested that the indictments be sealed, which allowed the police the option of arresting the two players charged on campus, in the classroom, or in an otherwise very public fashion. At minimum, he could have given the defense counsel the nod and allowed the players to come in voluntarily, without the resulting media circus. This is particularly true given the very real potential that the charges aren't true, and the fact that the charges alone are destroying these kids' lives.
Second, and as anyone who has been paying attention knows, no DNA evidence supporting the accuser's account of events was found. At all. The absence of DNA evidence from an alleged gang-rape (nothing under the fingernails, no saliva, hair, semen, etc.) is going to be a huge obstacle for the prosecution.
Third, the alleged victim was found in a car, in some sort of non-lucid condition, in a parking lot by security after the events in question. Possibilities? Well, drugs are one, as is alcohol. Could also be that date-rape drug, Rohypnol (sp?). But that takes me back to my reservations raised in the first point.
Fourth, the media is doing their damnedest to fan the flames of the wealth disparity between the alleged victim and the players (not to mention the race issue). The following line appeared in an article regarding the arrests, a line that has no relevance or purpose other than to do just that:
No one answered the door at the Finnerty house, which sits in a cul-de-sac of million-dollar homes on Long Island.
Another version of the story, from the AP, followed this line with a comment that the houses were situated next to a golf course.
Finally, the prosecutor is an ass. He requested that the indictments be sealed, which allowed the police the option of arresting the two players charged on campus, in the classroom, or in an otherwise very public fashion. At minimum, he could have given the defense counsel the nod and allowed the players to come in voluntarily, without the resulting media circus. This is particularly true given the very real potential that the charges aren't true, and the fact that the charges alone are destroying these kids' lives.
posted by Juggernaut at
3:35 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home