EDITORIAL – Regrets, scandal plague Duke case

Nearly 13 months after more than 20 Duke University lacrosse players attended an off-campus… Nearly 13 months after more than 20 Duke University lacrosse players attended an off-campus team party that ultimately resulted in three charges of rape, the suspension of the accused players and a larger debate over race and class in Durham County, N.C., North Carolina’s attorney general has dropped all charges against the accused players, publicly apologizing for the haste and “bravado” in which the case was handled.

When the accuser, an exotic dancer hired to entertain the team at the party, first came forward with accusations that three Duke lacrosse players had gang raped her during the party, Durham County’s District Attorney Michael Nifong and Duke’s community were quick to condemn the three privileged athletes.

It seemed like an obvious situation. Here was a group of upper-middle class, white males attending a prestigious university accused of wrongdoings by a low-income black woman and single mother.

Durham’s community felt a rush of sympathy for the accuser, holding candlelight vigils in her honor and speaking out against sexual assault. Racial tensions also flooded Duke’s campus after the University quickly suspended the three players and canceled the lacrosse team’s season.

Even the media played into the incident, adding commentary on our country’s class structure and lashing out against the men before they even appeared in court.

But, several weeks after the accusations first came to light, it became clear that Nifong might have rushed too quickly into assuming the students’ guilt. After 12 weeks of investigation and interviews with witnesses and the accuser, the DA’s office was unable to find any evidence of an attack or DNA evidence of sexual assault, according to a Washington Post report. They even ignored time-stamped alibi evidence and were also unable to find any witness who could confirm the accuser’s account.

Nifong continued the investigation, however, well after doubts were raised, his actions remaining virtually unchecked by the state until mounting criticisms forced him to ask state Attorney General Roy Cooper to take over the case in January. Cooper then spent three months re-investigating the case, ultimately concluding that the accusations were false.

In the end, this case is an example of what can happen when we rush to make assumptions purely on the basis of racial and societal stereotypes. Nifong, who was in a close political campaign when the accusations arose, is primarily to blame. It is very likely that his haste to condemn the three students, which helped him to win a large percentage of the black vote in a crucial primary election, were politically motivated.

But the Durham County community and media are also to blame. From the beginning, almost nobody took the students’ side, and had the three lacrosse players not had the financial means to afford a team of top defense attorneys, they might have never been relieved of the false accusations.

Unfortunately, these accusations have permanently tarnished the records of all three students, forcing two of the three to transfer schools (the remaining student had graduated) and putting them through a year of self-described hell.

If our society can come away with one lesson from this unfortunate incident, it is that under our legal code, all citizens are innocent until proven guilty.