Saturday was the 2nd anniversary of one of the most important days in the history of American jurisprudence. Corruption in government was condemned and punished, a lynch mob was put in its place, and innocence was vindicated and affirmed.
Our old friends at Liestoppers have the story and the proclamation by North Carolina Attorney-General Roy Cooper.
Take a look and let's celebrate this one major victory in an ongoing war against government corruption.
Showing posts with label N.C. Attorney-General Roy Cooper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label N.C. Attorney-General Roy Cooper. Show all posts
Monday, April 13, 2009
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Transcripts of Final Report on Duke Rape Hoax
Washington, DC (TLS). North Carolina Attorney-General Roy Cooper has issued the final report on the Duke lacrosse rape case. The 21-page document, which fully proclaims the innocence of the three accused Duke students, concludes that none of the charges made by accuser Crystal Mangum could be corroborated by supporting evidence.
In fact, the report makes clear that NONE of the claims of the accuser actually took place.
Thus, this particular chapter in one of the most sordid and shameful sagas in American jurisprudence is closed. But the story is far from over. There will be lawsuits a-plenty. And then there is the subject of Mike Nifong's fate before the N.C. Bar, and potentially before a criminal court.
So there is much more to come.
The full transcripts of the final report can be found here:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0427071duke1.html
In fact, the report makes clear that NONE of the claims of the accuser actually took place.
Thus, this particular chapter in one of the most sordid and shameful sagas in American jurisprudence is closed. But the story is far from over. There will be lawsuits a-plenty. And then there is the subject of Mike Nifong's fate before the N.C. Bar, and potentially before a criminal court.
So there is much more to come.
The full transcripts of the final report can be found here:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0427071duke1.html
Monday, April 23, 2007
Transcripts on April 13 Nifong Bar Hearing
Durham, NC (TLS). The North Carolina Bar is continuing its investigation into charges of prosecutorial misconduct, lying to the court, and ethics violations on the part of Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong.
A hearing of the Bar was held on April 13. A transcript of that hearing is available below.
Nifong's legal woes began in the aftermath of the Duke lacrosse rape hoax scandal, the result of which was the proclamation of complete innocence of the students by N.C. Attorney-General Roy Cooper. Nifong's gross mishandling of the case, including that of prosecuting three innocent citizens for political gain, sent him before the Bar for possible disciplinary action that could result in his disbarment.
Liestoppers has provided the complete transcripts of the April 13 hearing. Click here to read:
http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2007/04/april-13-state-bar-hearing.html
A hearing of the Bar was held on April 13. A transcript of that hearing is available below.
Nifong's legal woes began in the aftermath of the Duke lacrosse rape hoax scandal, the result of which was the proclamation of complete innocence of the students by N.C. Attorney-General Roy Cooper. Nifong's gross mishandling of the case, including that of prosecuting three innocent citizens for political gain, sent him before the Bar for possible disciplinary action that could result in his disbarment.
Liestoppers has provided the complete transcripts of the April 13 hearing. Click here to read:
http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2007/04/april-13-state-bar-hearing.html
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Text of NC Attorney-General's Announcement
Durham, NC (TLS). For the complete text of North Carolina Attorney-General Roy Cooper's announcement that the supposed Duke lacrosse attack never took place, go here to Liestoppers. The website has complete information on Cooper, and his special prosecutors Coman and Winstead, who concluded the entire affair was a hoax from the very beginning and that charges should have never been brought.
You will also find the complete text of Cooper's 2:30 PM news conference:
http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2007/04/cooper-coman-winstead-three-new-heroes.html
You will also find the complete text of Cooper's 2:30 PM news conference:
http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2007/04/cooper-coman-winstead-three-new-heroes.html
DUKE RAPE HOAX ENDS TODAY
Durham, NC (TLS). At 2:30 PM, EDT, the Duke lacrosse rape hoax was brought to an abrupt end as North Carolina Attorney-General Roy Cooper announced that the remaining charges against the three falsely accused students were being dropped.
Cooper stated that after a three-month examination of documents, evidence, statements, and prosecutorial conduct, there is no credible evidence that the case should have been tried in the first place, and that continuing to try the case would lead to 'a bad result.'
In a stark reminder of the torture that the three students and their families have had to endure for over a year, Cooper stated that 'many owe apologies' to those whose lives were wrecked in this entire scandalous affair.
Although Cooper did not specify those who owe the apologies, the list is rather lengthy, from Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong, to the Durham Police Department, to the administration of Duke University, to the 'group of 88' Duke faculty members, and to the countless groups of race-baiters, special interest groups, and biased news organizations that proclaimed the guilt of three innocent students in order to advance their agenda.
This would include those who maintained, 'It doesn't matter if they are guilty or not. The issue is revenge for the years Black people were mistreated by whites in the criminal justice system.'
Such stupidity was the fuel that kept the locomotive of the hoax moving, despite some of the most flimsy evidence ever put forth by a prosecutor in the history of American jurisprudence.
Legal action is in order for those whose lives were brought to the brink of ruin in this case. Apologies are not enough. Ample restitution must be made in order for their to be absolution granted to a corrupt system of justice. And even then, it won't be absolution. The only redemption for a system that allowed this travesty to take place is a complete overhaul from top to bottom, routing out the stench of corruption at its core.
However, before we get down to the business of bringing the guilty to justice in North Carolina state government, this is truly a day of celebration for the three students whose lives were put on hold for the past year. This is their day in the sun. Their names have been cleared. This is a day of liberty for them and their families, and that liberty is sweet.
A word of sincere gratitude must go to those within the media and the blogosphere that worked endlessly and tirelessly to see that the lives of these three innocent young men were snatched from the jaws of ruin. At the forefront was Liestoppers. To Joan Foster and her colleagues at Liestoppers goes a tip of the hat for a job marvelously done.
There were others who blew the whistle on the corruption as well, such as K.C. Johnson, John in Carolina, The Johnsville News, and others. Many thanks for your wonderful work as well.
It is to be hoped that the nation will learn a valuable lesson from this despicable display of government corruption...that never again will we allow the innocent to be so treated in a system that supposedly presumes the accused to be innocent until PROVEN guilty in a COURT OF LAW.
This all-important precept is quickly being lost in America today. Perhaps the Duke case can serve as a corrective to a dangerous slippery slope that contends that anyone accused is assumed to be guilty and that the burden of proof is on them to establish their innocence.
In the United States of America, if we are to remain truly free, we MUST continue to assume that the accused are INNOCENT and that the burden of proof is on the state to establish their guilt. Without this vital distinction, no citizen is safe from having their lives ruined and their reputations dragged through the mud by an unfettered government that is bereft of any restraint.
Cooper stated that after a three-month examination of documents, evidence, statements, and prosecutorial conduct, there is no credible evidence that the case should have been tried in the first place, and that continuing to try the case would lead to 'a bad result.'
In a stark reminder of the torture that the three students and their families have had to endure for over a year, Cooper stated that 'many owe apologies' to those whose lives were wrecked in this entire scandalous affair.
Although Cooper did not specify those who owe the apologies, the list is rather lengthy, from Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong, to the Durham Police Department, to the administration of Duke University, to the 'group of 88' Duke faculty members, and to the countless groups of race-baiters, special interest groups, and biased news organizations that proclaimed the guilt of three innocent students in order to advance their agenda.
This would include those who maintained, 'It doesn't matter if they are guilty or not. The issue is revenge for the years Black people were mistreated by whites in the criminal justice system.'
Such stupidity was the fuel that kept the locomotive of the hoax moving, despite some of the most flimsy evidence ever put forth by a prosecutor in the history of American jurisprudence.
Legal action is in order for those whose lives were brought to the brink of ruin in this case. Apologies are not enough. Ample restitution must be made in order for their to be absolution granted to a corrupt system of justice. And even then, it won't be absolution. The only redemption for a system that allowed this travesty to take place is a complete overhaul from top to bottom, routing out the stench of corruption at its core.
However, before we get down to the business of bringing the guilty to justice in North Carolina state government, this is truly a day of celebration for the three students whose lives were put on hold for the past year. This is their day in the sun. Their names have been cleared. This is a day of liberty for them and their families, and that liberty is sweet.
A word of sincere gratitude must go to those within the media and the blogosphere that worked endlessly and tirelessly to see that the lives of these three innocent young men were snatched from the jaws of ruin. At the forefront was Liestoppers. To Joan Foster and her colleagues at Liestoppers goes a tip of the hat for a job marvelously done.
There were others who blew the whistle on the corruption as well, such as K.C. Johnson, John in Carolina, The Johnsville News, and others. Many thanks for your wonderful work as well.
It is to be hoped that the nation will learn a valuable lesson from this despicable display of government corruption...that never again will we allow the innocent to be so treated in a system that supposedly presumes the accused to be innocent until PROVEN guilty in a COURT OF LAW.
This all-important precept is quickly being lost in America today. Perhaps the Duke case can serve as a corrective to a dangerous slippery slope that contends that anyone accused is assumed to be guilty and that the burden of proof is on them to establish their innocence.
In the United States of America, if we are to remain truly free, we MUST continue to assume that the accused are INNOCENT and that the burden of proof is on the state to establish their guilt. Without this vital distinction, no citizen is safe from having their lives ruined and their reputations dragged through the mud by an unfettered government that is bereft of any restraint.
MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT TODAY ON DUKE RAPE CASE
Durham, NC (TLS). North Carolina Attorney-General Roy Cooper has summoned the three accused Duke lacrosse players and their families to Durham for a major announcement concerning the case this morning.
The Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) has been busy this evening as defendants and their families, and news personnel from across the country, are flying into Durham for this morning's news conference.
Sources close to the case indicate that this may be the end of the Duke lacrosse rape hoax after a long year of false accusations, racial tensions, shattered lives, lies and innuendo, and the antics of a prosecutor so obsessed with winning an election that all objectivity, ethics, and integrity were thrown out the window.
The fact that the accuser in the case changed her story at least a half-dozen times, finally stating she could not remember what happened, and then going silent, seemed to be the turning point in the unraveling of the hoax.
Needless to say, all eyes will be on Durham this morning as Roy Cooper makes his move.
The Liberty Sphere will keep you fully informed concerning late-breaking updates.....
The Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) has been busy this evening as defendants and their families, and news personnel from across the country, are flying into Durham for this morning's news conference.
Sources close to the case indicate that this may be the end of the Duke lacrosse rape hoax after a long year of false accusations, racial tensions, shattered lives, lies and innuendo, and the antics of a prosecutor so obsessed with winning an election that all objectivity, ethics, and integrity were thrown out the window.
The fact that the accuser in the case changed her story at least a half-dozen times, finally stating she could not remember what happened, and then going silent, seemed to be the turning point in the unraveling of the hoax.
Needless to say, all eyes will be on Durham this morning as Roy Cooper makes his move.
The Liberty Sphere will keep you fully informed concerning late-breaking updates.....
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
ABC NEWS SAYS DUKE RAPE CASE MAY END TOMORROW
Washington, DC (TLS). ABC News is reporting this evening that the year-old Duke lacrosse rape hoax may be over tomorrow, as North Carolina Attorney-General Roy Cooper has called a news conference for early Wednesday morning.
Major news organizations have begun descending upon Durham, and some of the accused and their families who live out of state have taken flights into the Raleigh-Durham airport.
Local news outlets in the Raleigh-Durham area are reporting that the families of all of the accused have been notified by Cooper's office concerning the announcement tomorrow. Local law enforcement officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, have stated that tomorrow's announcement by Cooper is expected to involve dropping all of the remaining charges against the three Duke lacrosse players who have been falsely accused of rape, kidnapping, and sexual assault.
However, as they say, it's not over till the fat lady sings, and in this case it is not over until we hear directly from Roy Cooper concerning what he intends to do with this case. We have been sorely disappointed before by making premature assumptions. But this time, the signs all point to a clear victory for the three young men whose lives were almost ruined by a stripper/prostitute and a rogue District Attorney.
For complete information on the latest breaking updates, click here:
http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2007/04/my-presence-here-means-that-this-case.html
Major news organizations have begun descending upon Durham, and some of the accused and their families who live out of state have taken flights into the Raleigh-Durham airport.
Local news outlets in the Raleigh-Durham area are reporting that the families of all of the accused have been notified by Cooper's office concerning the announcement tomorrow. Local law enforcement officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, have stated that tomorrow's announcement by Cooper is expected to involve dropping all of the remaining charges against the three Duke lacrosse players who have been falsely accused of rape, kidnapping, and sexual assault.
However, as they say, it's not over till the fat lady sings, and in this case it is not over until we hear directly from Roy Cooper concerning what he intends to do with this case. We have been sorely disappointed before by making premature assumptions. But this time, the signs all point to a clear victory for the three young men whose lives were almost ruined by a stripper/prostitute and a rogue District Attorney.
For complete information on the latest breaking updates, click here:
http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2007/04/my-presence-here-means-that-this-case.html
Thursday, April 05, 2007
To AG Cooper: Where's the Beef?
Durham, NC (TLS). Two weeks ago word leaked out from sources close to the Duke lacrosse rape hoax that the remaining charges against the three accused students were to be dropped. Several if not all of these sources were highly credible and would avoid impugning their reputations by giving false information.
Yet here we are going into the third week since the information surfaced, and there has been nothing but silence on the part of the Attorney-General Roy Cooper and the special prosecutors appointed to review the case.
In the meantime, many of those who were once enablers of the hoax have begun to drop like flies. One has taken down a website devoted to the cause. Members of the African-American community who once may have believed in the guilt of the three Duke students and the credibility of the accuser are now openly expressing doubt about the entire matter from top to bottom.
One anonymous source reported to The Liberty Sphere that at first they were willing to give the accuser the benefit of the doubt despite her dubious reputation. That source stated, 'But now it has become very clear that she is living up to her soiled reputation, confirming that not only is her credibility shot to bits but that she herself doesn't appear to even know what to believe about the events of that night.'
Even more questions have surfaced in the African-American community concerning Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong. Community leaders in Durham are beginning to openly question the motives and credibility of Nifong and coming to the stark realization that they have been duped by an opportunist looking for an easy ticket to the D.A.'s office. Not only that, but Nifong has set back race relations in Durham by at least a decade by playing up to the race baiters by bringing false charges against three innocent students.
Astute observers of race relations realize that every time someone is falsely accused, whether they be white or black, not only does the criminal justice system suffer but those who perpetuate the public displays of race baiting in these situations do more harm than good to the very cause they purport to promote.
Bitter emotions have been left in the wake of this gargantuan scandal. It will take literally years for Durham to heal from the carnage created by a rogue, opportunist District Attorney and his enablers in the community.
Positive signs have emerged, however, in the midst of this dark cloud. U.S. Senator and Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Hussein Obama has publicly called for a federal investigation into the actions of Mike Nifong and the Durham D.A.'s office. Activist Jessie Jackson endorsed the candidacy of Obama shortly after he called for such an investigation, which suggests the approval of Jackson.
The support of Senator Obama for a federal probe is an important addition to the chorus of voices from Republicans in Congress and in the North Carolina state legislature, who have been calling for such an investigation for quite some time. This turn of events shows that this is not a partisan issue. The fact that Democrats are beginning to jump aboard the bandwagon calling for a federal probe of Nifong is ample evidence that the unraveling of the hoax is taking a new turn.
Yet N.C. Attorney-General Roy Cooper remains silent. The Governor remains silent. The N.C. Democratic Party remains silent. And the Judge in the case remains silent.
Citizens all across North Carolina, and the entire nation, particularly those who care about honesty and integrity in the criminal justice system, are demanding the goods from Roy Cooper, or else a complete dismissal of the case. If he has evidence that no one knows anything about that justifies this foot-dragging, then he needs to immediately produce it for all to see. Otherwise, the charges against the three students need to be immediately dropped.
Thus, the following question begs an immediate response: 'Attorney-General Cooper, WHERE'S THE BEEF!?'
Liestoppers has complete, detailed info on the abandonment of the hoax here:
http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2007/04/supporters-abandon-hoax.html
Yet here we are going into the third week since the information surfaced, and there has been nothing but silence on the part of the Attorney-General Roy Cooper and the special prosecutors appointed to review the case.
In the meantime, many of those who were once enablers of the hoax have begun to drop like flies. One has taken down a website devoted to the cause. Members of the African-American community who once may have believed in the guilt of the three Duke students and the credibility of the accuser are now openly expressing doubt about the entire matter from top to bottom.
One anonymous source reported to The Liberty Sphere that at first they were willing to give the accuser the benefit of the doubt despite her dubious reputation. That source stated, 'But now it has become very clear that she is living up to her soiled reputation, confirming that not only is her credibility shot to bits but that she herself doesn't appear to even know what to believe about the events of that night.'
Even more questions have surfaced in the African-American community concerning Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong. Community leaders in Durham are beginning to openly question the motives and credibility of Nifong and coming to the stark realization that they have been duped by an opportunist looking for an easy ticket to the D.A.'s office. Not only that, but Nifong has set back race relations in Durham by at least a decade by playing up to the race baiters by bringing false charges against three innocent students.
Astute observers of race relations realize that every time someone is falsely accused, whether they be white or black, not only does the criminal justice system suffer but those who perpetuate the public displays of race baiting in these situations do more harm than good to the very cause they purport to promote.
Bitter emotions have been left in the wake of this gargantuan scandal. It will take literally years for Durham to heal from the carnage created by a rogue, opportunist District Attorney and his enablers in the community.
Positive signs have emerged, however, in the midst of this dark cloud. U.S. Senator and Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Hussein Obama has publicly called for a federal investigation into the actions of Mike Nifong and the Durham D.A.'s office. Activist Jessie Jackson endorsed the candidacy of Obama shortly after he called for such an investigation, which suggests the approval of Jackson.
The support of Senator Obama for a federal probe is an important addition to the chorus of voices from Republicans in Congress and in the North Carolina state legislature, who have been calling for such an investigation for quite some time. This turn of events shows that this is not a partisan issue. The fact that Democrats are beginning to jump aboard the bandwagon calling for a federal probe of Nifong is ample evidence that the unraveling of the hoax is taking a new turn.
Yet N.C. Attorney-General Roy Cooper remains silent. The Governor remains silent. The N.C. Democratic Party remains silent. And the Judge in the case remains silent.
Citizens all across North Carolina, and the entire nation, particularly those who care about honesty and integrity in the criminal justice system, are demanding the goods from Roy Cooper, or else a complete dismissal of the case. If he has evidence that no one knows anything about that justifies this foot-dragging, then he needs to immediately produce it for all to see. Otherwise, the charges against the three students need to be immediately dropped.
Thus, the following question begs an immediate response: 'Attorney-General Cooper, WHERE'S THE BEEF!?'
Liestoppers has complete, detailed info on the abandonment of the hoax here:
http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2007/04/supporters-abandon-hoax.html
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