VAWA casts a long shadow over the Duke fiasco

Carey Roberts
April 26, 2007

Was prosecutor Michael Nifong simply an over-rated ambulance chaser who rose to his level of incompetence? Was he a scheming opportunist who needed to boost his flagging re-election chances? Or did his dogged prosecution of the Duke Three reflect a deeper, more systemic problem in our criminal justice system?

Here's the dirty little secret of D.A.s who prosecute sexual assault and domestic violence cases: many of the claims they pursue are as flaky as a pie crust and their chances of winning a jury conviction are slim. So why do they bother to go after the case?

Because — get ready for this — they believe "we are encouraging abused women to come forward and confront their oppressors."

So according to that neo-Marxist logic, if we want to get really tough on say, bank robbers, what we need to do is randomly accuse innocent persons of burglary and then parade them through the streets, denouncing them for a crime they did not commit.

Of course, rape is a terrible crime. Equally terrible are false allegations of rape.

According to Linda Fairstein, former head of the New York County District Attorney's Sex Crimes Unit, "There are about 4,000 reports of rape each year in Manhattan. Of these, about half simply did not happen."

But sadly, many innocent men have been wrongfully put behind bars. Just this week Jerry Miller of Chicago was exonerated after serving 24 years for a rape he didn't commit. His release helped inspire a national campaign dubbed "200 Exonerated, Too Many Wrongfully Convicted," an effort designed to spur state reforms of the criminal justice system. [www.innocenceproject.org/200/report.html]

Many persons have heard of the Violence Against Women Act — VAWA for short. But most are unaware of the extent to which VAWA-mandated programs have biased our judiciary and chipped away at the presumption of innocent until proven guilty.

VAWA's tentacles reach deep and wide, reshaping our nation's laws on immigration, welfare, and public housing. The Act defines domestic violence broadly, so sexual assault and rape fall within its purview. VAWA authorizes $50 million each year for its Sexual Assault Services Program, which contributed to the Duke fiasco in many ways.

First, VAWA pays the legal bills of alleged victims of sexual assault. Want to guess how much money goes to help men accused of rape? Nada.

That sets the stage for a prosecutorial shake-down that works like this: Find a guy who can't afford a million-dollar legal defense team. Smear his good name with an accusation of rape. Then settle for a plea bargain conviction on a lesser count of sexual assault. The attorneys get their money and the D.A. can add another notch to his (or her) belt.

Second, did you wonder why Michael Nifong never required accuser Crystal Gail Mangum to take a polygraph test? Simple: the Violence Against Women Act prohibits it. Section 2013 states, "no law enforcement officer, prosecuting officer, or other government official shall ask or require an adult, youth, or child victim of an alleged sex offense ... to submit to a polygraph examination or other truth telling device."

Third, VAWA funds training programs for prosecutors, judges, and law enforcement personnel. To say the content of these programs lacks a scientific basis is generous.

This past November the West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence sponsored a conference. First one of the speakers made light of a Florida incident in which a young man was sexually assaulted by a female teacher. The presenter then turned around and used the terms "scum bag" and "douche bag" to refer to men accused of abuse.

At an earlier New Jersey training session, one presenter openly encouraged judges to ignore due process protections: "Your job is not to become concerned about all the constitutional rights of the man that you're violating as you grant a restraining order. Throw him out on the street, give him the clothes on his back, and tell him, 'See ya' around.'"

Fourth, VAWA's overly-aggressive prosecution measures have been found to be flatly ineffective in stopping abuse. Still, these measures have instilled a legal of climate of "every man is a potential rapist" — ignoring the equally ridiculous corollary that "every woman is a potential false accuser."

Fifth, VAWA's unstated belief that women can only be victims dissuades prosecutors from going after false accusers. As Massachusetts district attorney David Angier once argued, "If anyone is prosecuted for filing a false report, then victims of real attacks will be less likely to report them."

And failing to prosecute women who make malicious accusations only means that men will continue to be falsely accused, charged, prosecuted, convicted, sentenced, and jailed.

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Carey Roberts is an analyst and commentator on political correctness. His best-known work was an exposé on Marxism and radical feminism.

Mr. Roberts' work has been cited on the Rush Limbaugh show. Besides serving as a regular contributor to RenewAmerica.us, he has published in The Washington Times, LewRockwell.com, ifeminists.net, Men's News Daily, eco.freedom.org, The Federal Observer, Opinion Editorials, and The Right Report.

Previously, he served on active duty in the Army, was a professor of psychology, and was a citizen-lobbyist in the US Congress. In his spare time he admires Norman Rockwell paintings, collects antiques, and is an avid soccer fan. He now works as an independent researcher and consultant.

© Copyright 2007 by Carey Roberts
http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/roberts/070426

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Lynch mob fever at Duke University

Carey Roberts
April 18, 2007

"Outrageous" is the word that comes to mind that describes what happened to the Duke Three, accused of gang-raping Crystal Gail Mangum during the early morning hours of March 14, 2006.

Our country was founded on the principles of rule of law and the presumption of innocence. But what we witnessed in Durham, North Carolina over the last year had little to do with the even-handed pursuit of justice. Except for the absence of ropes and gasoline, it resembled a small-town lynch mob.

Shame on Michael Nifong who, lacking eyewitness accounts, forensic proof, or DNA evidence, violated a long list of due process procedures. Nifong botched the photo line-up, turned his back on a disconfirming report of the examining nurse, ignored the fact that the accuser repeatedly changed her story, downplayed Mangum's unsavory occupational activities, prejudiced the jury pool by publicly referring to the players as a "bunch of hooligans," pandered to voters to secure his November re-election, and intentionally withheld exculpatory DNA evidence from a key report — and that's only a partial listing.

When the books are closed on this case, history will recount the role played by Duke University president Richard Brodhead. It was Brodhead who incoherently remarked, "if they didn't do it, whatever they did is bad enough," and fueled the hysteria by canceling the rest of the team's season and suspending two of the players from the university.

People will long wonder why the "Group of 88" professors printed a defamatory letter on April 6 proclaiming that certain unnamed students "know themselves to be the objects of racism and sexism ...regardless of the results of the police investigation."

Regrettable, too, were the actions of Duke professor Houston Baker, who openly indulged in sexism and racism, denouncing the "drunken white male privilege loosed amongst us" and calling the players "scummy white males."

And hopefully one day we can forget the specter of the Take Back the Night mobs who chanted death threats, eventually forcing one of the defendants to move out of his home.

Jesse Jackson also ended up on the wrong side of the issue. It was Jackson, of course, who shortly after DNA tests failed to match any evidence taken from the accuser, offered to pay Mangum's college tuition so she would never again "have to stoop that low to survive."

And let's not forget Al Sharpton, notorious enabler of false rape accuser Tawana Brawley, who resorted to his usual grievance-mongering.

One day, perhaps USA Today will explain why it opened its pages on March 30, 2006 to malicious rants, one writer claiming the players belong to a "culture of rape" and "exercise their privilege on the bodies and minds of those of us in their environment."

With luck we won't be hearing again from Wendy Murphy, adjunct professor at the New England School of Law, who made television appearances to comment on the Duke case, repeatedly deriding the notion of the presumption of innocence. During one discussion on MSNBC Murphy claimed, "I have never, ever met a false rape claim."

More deplorable was Wheelock College professor Gail Dines who, after the rape charges had been dropped in December, wrote an on-line article stating she was angry "at the way the media humanized these men as victims."

A pox on New York Times columnist Harvey Araton who ridiculed the members of the Duke women's lacrosse team after they wore sweatbands inscribed with the word "innocent" for a Final Four game in Boston.

Most of all, shame on serial rape accuser Crystal Gail Mangum. She filed a complaint in 1996 that she had been raped, but didn't get around to filing the police report until years later. Mangum was willing to see the lives of the three accused men destroyed, millions of dollars in legal bills expended, and the male gender vilified, in order that she could indulge in her monstrous rape fantasy.

Yes, there are heroes in this sordid tale.

The North Carolina State Bar deserves credit for filing ethics charges against Michael Nifong. Attorney general Roy Cooper was courageous in his decision to exonerate the three players and blunt in scolding Nifong for his "tragic rush to accuse."

Columnists Michael Gaynor and Wendy McElroy kept the public apprised of the unfolding scandal. Ed Bradley's 60 Minutes expose on October 15 was a turning point. And throughout, the three accused players conducted themselves with all-star dignity.

The Duke lacrosse team is back on the field and rated in the top five nationally. The azaleas and daffodils are braving a mid-April cold snap. And students stroll to class toting their backpacks and iPods.

But for three former Duke students falsely accused of rape, their lives will never be the same.

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Carey Roberts is an analyst and commentator on political correctness. His best-known work was an exposé on Marxism and radical feminism.

Mr. Roberts' work has been cited on the Rush Limbaugh show. Besides serving as a regular contributor to RenewAmerica.us, he has published in The Washington Times, LewRockwell.com, ifeminists.net, Men's News Daily, eco.freedom.org, The Federal Observer, Opinion Editorials, and The Right Report.

Previously, he served on active duty in the Army, was a professor of psychology, and was a citizen-lobbyist in the US Congress. In his spare time he admires Norman Rockwell paintings, collects antiques, and is an avid soccer fan. He now works as an independent researcher and consultant.

© Copyright 2007 by Carey Roberts
http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/roberts/070418

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Let me understand this

Woman kills her preacher husband, with pre-planning for her escape, by shooting him in the back. Gets three years in the slammer.

Navy officer (who I have no truck with pedophiles, but nonetheless) agrees to sex with a cop, not a little girl. ATTEMPTED rape. Gets seven years in the slammer.

AOL poll shows that manslaughter charge and three years is "about right".

Well, your pussy pass don't get you a ride on the Geezer's train.

He is disgusted with both.

The Geez

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Lets you and them DUKE it out…

So some 390 plus days later, the AG of Durham NC states what this man, as well as many thousands of other already knew:

“The result of our review and investigation shows clearly that there is insufficient evidence to proceed on any of the charges, today we are filing notices of dismissal for all charges. We believe these cases were a result of a tragic rush to accuse and failure to verify serious allegations. Based on the significant inconsistencies in the evidence and the various accounts given by the accusing witness, we believe these three individuals are innocent of these charges.”

Funny how the MSM is now showing Crystal Gail Magnum (or is it Mangum?) for the liar she is. Furthermore, they… well most of the MSM, are actually posting her image and name! Finally!

The sad point is that the AG will not charge her, the FALSELY ACCUSED will not (at least at this time) be suing her or anyone else for that matter. So nothing really is going to happen to a woman that has cost the families over 3 million dollars, the county or Durham at least that much, and the reputations of these young men. Where are the pot-bangers, the women holding signs calling for the castration of these boys? Where is the Duke 88? The Mangina of a campus prez? Huh? What’s that? I cannot hear you!

Once again, the message is loud and clear, that women can make FALSE ACCUSATIONS with impunity. Once again, the system has shown that a man is cannon fodder: unimportant.

During the press conference, Seligmann stated that the entire experience was a "dark cloud of justice," saying, "Today marks the end of a yearlong nightmare that has been emotionally devastating for all of our families."

Ehhhh. So what… You are just a bunch of privileged white boys… Right? What about the lying hooker…err I mean victim? What about poor widow Cwistow Gaiwl Mangum? What about the ka-bazillion women raped every single nano-second of the day that will now be shamed into not coming forward? Oh? What is that? You mean that is not a true statistic. Really? What?! Approximately 50% of the rape accusations are proven unfounded or completely false. No way! Women do not lie. Especially about such an ‘orible thing like rape!

Seligmann further states; "The Duke lacrosse case shows has shown society has lost sight of the most fundamental principles of our justice system." Gee, what ever could he be alluding to? That annoying innocent until proven guilty thing again?
He also tongue-lashed the media for the "hurtful words" and "outrageous lies” perpetuated against them. Oh, but they are protected as well, by “freedom of speech” don’t-cha-know.

"Truth is the best vindication against slander," Seligmann said, quoting Abraham Lincoln.

That may be a real nice touchy-feely retort there buddy, but it still does not get you a job in the real world now does it. It will not put all those asshats like Katie C, Wendy Mac, Vanessa V, Amada Marcrotch-rot, and their ilk in their rightful places, now will it? Funny how all these femikooks are now more quiet that the crickets. Not even will they try to justify this travesty in justice, let alone attempt to defend their previous comments.

Sue them all guys. Make a nice living suing every single fucking person that ever made a slanderous comment or implied your guilt without a single legal grain of evidence. You are “well off” now, just think how “well off” you could become if you held these folks accountable for their words. Do the names Rush Limbaugh or Don Imus ring a bell? They were crucified for saying hateful and bigoted things, and rightly so. What is the difference? Because the “victim” is a black person? Or is it because she is a woman? Or is it both. I call shenanigans…

Evans even went so far as to address MSM’s comparing the lacrosse players to Hitler, an analogy he said was one of many made in the days after the allegations surfaced, as reported on Fox News website.

"My family and I can sleep at night knowing I did everything I was supposed to do. I never lied … and I can walk with my head held high and I can sleep at night knowing I couldn't have done anything else to prove my innocence."

Yes, and it is a good thing you had the money to defend yourselves. As one of the boys stated, this would have never ended this way if they had not had the resources to combat against the charges. All is very telling indeed. This is what is really irks the likes of the femikooks. This is why they are so silent now. The femi-regime had a calculated plan. Chrystal was their savior. Their reason for pushing for such ridiculous laws like VAWA, the new and improved I-VAWA, and the DV industry as a whole. They needed a new poster child to show the Patriarchy’s™ stronghold on the world. The evils that are male must be put in check and in the least shamed into submission.

ABC’s website stated, "Fresh eyes would have ended this case before it began," said Larry Pozner, a defense attorney for 33 years and former president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. "This is a travesty. This is a tragedy for the woman and the team and the individual defendants."

And thereeeeeeesssssss your sign. Notice how even in the eyes of legalese, a lying stripper, twice over is still the victim. Oh the tragedy. This poor woman. HUH? Excuse me? The only place this skank was being portrayed for what she really is, a lying skank hooker, was the internet. Even then, the sites that willfully stated her name under the guise of fair and equal justice were far and few. This Man On The Street, or course, being one of them.

The family members of Mangum told FOX News that she is "almost relieved" the case is over. Family members had earlier told FOX News that she has wanted the case to end for some time, especially since she expected charges to be lessened — if not dropped completely — since Nifong removed himself from the case.”

Well shit me a brick! Of course she did! Because the lie was falling apart right before her eyes. She knew what she had done, and now that the rest of the world was beginning to see what was so painfully fucking obvious from the start, she made it all up. The reason? Who the fuck cares! No excuses skanky nappy headed hoe! Yes, I said it. Got a fucking problem with that? Tough shit! I am free to say what I want and no Sharpton-esque assclown is going to silence me.

The family also said, “That they're poor and black, whereas the players and their families are "rich and white," and that the attorney general's office has looked upon the players as "golden boys”, according to Fox News.

Oh, it most certainly was about race. However, not the way you perpetual victims want it to be. It was about misandry, misandrist laws, and racial peddlers. Comments like “dead man walking” spoken by one of the New Black Panthers towards Evans, ON the DIKE errr DUKE CAMPUS, are nothing more than HATE SPEECH. Why is this acceptable? Why was this threat ignored? If I were Evans, that son-of-bitch would have been charged immediately! Come and say that to me Mr. toughie-tough “gangsta”. I will blow your fucking head off before the rest of your nappy-headed wanna-be-cops pals can say “black power”. You and your ilk are nothing but thugs. And thugs belong six feet under.

In addition, before any of you pussy-whipped liberal pansies call me on my language or my “racial remarks”, remember this, I have just as much right as you to say what I want, when I want. If you do not like it, practice what you preach. When you retract your garbage against my sex and my heritage, then, and only then will I give a fuck what you think or say.

The Man On The Street

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