Maybe there's more to the case than I've been presented with so far, and it might not be a popular stand for a Black, female blogger these days. But after pretty much siding with the accuser in the case, mainly out of the principle that an alleged victim should be believed until proven to be a liar, I'm starting to have serious doubts about the Duke rape case.
No, I'm starting to have serious doubts. The idea that you can prosecute three men for rape without ever interviewing them, and after a very questionable lineup and the refusal to even look at exculpatory evidence, including evidence that one of the boys, Reid Seligman, wasn't even in the house when the supposed rape took place. Meanwhile, the prosecutor, Mark Nifong, has used this race-based case to win reelection, and stirred new racial hatreds in Durham. If these guys go to trial and are acquitted, you can almost predict the reaction in the Black community. And if there is tension, or worse, Nifong will be to blame. If he doesn't have a case, Nifong should drop the charges against these players. And increasingly, it's looking to me like he doesn't have a case. These guys don't strike me as Boy Scouts. They could very well be jerks. But if they didn't commit a rape, they shouldn't go to trial. And even the accuser and the other dancer stipulate that they weren't the ones who used the racial slur. They shouldn't be held accountable for that, either.
The more I think about it, the more disgusted I am. And if these guys were Black and the girl white, I can assure you the Black community would be demanding that the men be freed.
<%
dim done
done = request.form("done")
if done = "" then
done = "No"
%>
Tell a friend
<%
Else
if request.form("done") = "Yes" then
'sets variables
dim email, sendmail
email = request.form("email")
Set sendmail = Server.CreateObject("CDONTS.NewMail")
'put the webmaster address here
sendmail.From = "webmaster@aspbasics.com"
'The mail is sent to the address entered in the previous page.
sendmail.To = email
'Enter the subject of your mail here
sendmail.Subject = "Check out this website"
'send a specific page or send a site url
dim url
'url = Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_REFERER")
url = "http://www.aspbasics.net"
'This is the content of the message.
sendmail.Body = "Site recommendation from a friend!" & _
vbCrlf & vbCrlf & "A friend has sent you this email and thought you would should check out this site." & _
vbCrlf & url & vbCrlf
'this sets mail priority.... 0=low 1=normal 2=high
sendmail.Importance = 1
sendmail.Send 'Send the email!
response.redirect Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_REFERER")
'Response.write ("Sent to ") & email
End if
End if
%>
"[T]he practice of arbitrary imprisonments, have been, in all ages, the favorite and most formidable instruments of tyranny.' Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 84, August, 1788
