Rebuttal To ABC News Terry Moran’s Article About Duke Case

“Innocent until proven guilty”,
 
That’s the bedrock foundation of our criminal justice system. But all too often, that noble concept is trampled in a rush to judgement.
 
Case in point, Michael Nifong, the rouge district attorney, who in a blatant move to pander to African American voters, turned that noble concept on his head. As far as he was concerned, the three Duke University students were guilty of rape until proven innocent.
 
Nifong failed to interview the accuser; he branded the students “hooligans”, he concealed exculpatory evidence — he did everything he possibly could to railroad three innocent students.
 
After more than a year of false accusations, the three lacrosse players were finally completely vindicated and exonerated. North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, who took over the controversial case in January, declared that “no credible evidence of an attack” existed. And he went much further, declaring them “innocent.”
 
I’m a cynical, some might say cold-hearted pundit, but when I heard that magical word, I felt a lump in my throat. I was overcome with happiness for the students and their families.
 
Everyone who believes in justice felt the same way, but ABC reporter, Terry Moran wasn’t exactly overcome with joy when justice finally prevailed in the Duke case.
 
Moran wrote an article for ABC News entitled “Don’t Feel Too Sorry For The Dukies”, in which he smears the good name of the vindicated Duke students.
 
Moran wrote:
 
“The three young men who she accused are truly innocent of the charges brought against them according to the North Carolina Attorney General and the investigation led by his office.

But perhaps the outpouring of sympathy for Reade Seligman, Collin Finnerty and David Evans is just a bit misplaced…The conduct of the lacrosse team of which they were members was not admirable on the night of the incident, to say the least. And there are so many other victims of prosecutorial misconduct in this country who never get the high-priced legal representation and the high-profile, high-minded vindication that it strikes me as just a bit unseemly to heap praise and sympathy on these particular men.

So as we rightly cover the vindication of these young men and focus on the genuine ordeal they have endured, let us also remember a few other things:

They were part of a team that collected $800 to purchase the time of two strippers.

Their team specifically requested at least one white stripper.

During the incident, racial epithets were hurled at the strippers.

Colin Finnerty was charged with assault in Washington, DC, in 2005.

The young men were able to retain a battery of top-flight attorneys, investigators and media strategists.”
 
Fine, let’s consider those few other things.
 
*They were part of a team that collected $800 to purchase the time of two strippers.
 
It’s not morally right to treat women like sex objects, but when I was in college I would have hired a whole bevy of strippers, if I would have had the financial means. We all make mistakes in our youth; we learn from them and hopefully don’t make them again.
 
*Their team specifically requested at least on white stripper.
 
Moran is implying there is something racist about that request. I find Caucasian and Latin women much more attractive than black women — that doesn’t make me a racist. Am I supposed to date just as many black women as white women, so I won’t be considered a racist?
 
If I hired a stripper, and a woman who looks like Crystal Gail Mangum (the false accuser) showed up, I would show her the door. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I see no beauty in Ms. Mangum, she is a strikingly ugly woman.
 
*During the incident, racial epithets were hurled at the strippers.
 
There are no eyewitness to confirm that any of the three falsely accused Duke players used any racial slurs on that day.
 
*Colin Finnerty was charged with assault in Washington, DC, in 2005.
 
Nobody ever claimed the young men were Boy Scouts, but it was clear right from the start that they weren’t rapists.
 
*The young men were able to retain a battery of top-flight attorneys, investigators and media strategists.”
 
Thank goodness they had the financial resources to mount a formidable defense, or they would have spent most of their adult lives behind bars.
 
Mr Moran: Instead of smearing the name of three innocent young men, why don’t you write a column calling for charges to be brought against the guilty party, namely Crystal Gail Mangum
 
Here is the link to Mr. Moran’s article:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/terrymoran/2007/04/dont_feel_too_s_1.html