I can't say that I'm sorry that Mike Nifong, the prosecutor in the now famous (or should I say, infamous) Duke lacross team rape case has just been disbarred. But I am sorry, no, I'm appalled that the story is apparently going to end here.
Mr. Nifong was found guilty today of "ethical violations while pressing a false accusation of sexual assault against three former Duke University lacrosse players." He deserves to be punished. But so does the young woman who started this whole mess by claiming that she was raped if she wasn't. Given the secondary assault that so many victims of sexual violence face at the hands of the criminal justice system under the "best" of circumstances, I can't for the life of me imagine why a woman would accuse someone of rape when no rape occurred. But sadly, that does happen. And every time it does, it's another knife in the collective heart of legitimate victims who must work twice as hard to prove that their allegations are credible because of women who "cry wolf".
I don't necessarily believe that the young men involved in this case are totally free of any responsibility for this mess, if the allegations of horrid, sexually-degrading and racially inflammatory comments and behaviors as reported by witnesses other than the dancers are to be believed. In an interesting article by Ann Coulter entitled Lie Down With Strippers, Wake Up With Pleas, Ann suggests that "You can severely reduce your chances of having a false accusation of rape leveled against you if you don't hire strange women to come to your house and take their clothes off for money... Also, you can severely reduce your chances of being raped if you do not go to strange men's houses and take your clothes off for money." Regardless of how I may feel about her style of delivery on many controversial issues, I've got to admit that I agree with her on this point. Hopefully these young men, and many others like them, have learned a painful but important lesson.
However, prior behavior leading up to the now-known-to-be-untrue allegations notwithstanding, I find it deplorable that this woman will get off scot-free, after having destroyed the lives of these three young men and cost their families millions in legal costs defending themselves against her charges. She has done a major disservice not only to those young men, their teammates and their school, and the judicial system, but also to every woman who is a true victim of sexual violence. And she, too, deserves to be punished.
Mr. Nifong was found guilty today of "ethical violations while pressing a false accusation of sexual assault against three former Duke University lacrosse players." He deserves to be punished. But so does the young woman who started this whole mess by claiming that she was raped if she wasn't. Given the secondary assault that so many victims of sexual violence face at the hands of the criminal justice system under the "best" of circumstances, I can't for the life of me imagine why a woman would accuse someone of rape when no rape occurred. But sadly, that does happen. And every time it does, it's another knife in the collective heart of legitimate victims who must work twice as hard to prove that their allegations are credible because of women who "cry wolf".
I don't necessarily believe that the young men involved in this case are totally free of any responsibility for this mess, if the allegations of horrid, sexually-degrading and racially inflammatory comments and behaviors as reported by witnesses other than the dancers are to be believed. In an interesting article by Ann Coulter entitled Lie Down With Strippers, Wake Up With Pleas, Ann suggests that "You can severely reduce your chances of having a false accusation of rape leveled against you if you don't hire strange women to come to your house and take their clothes off for money... Also, you can severely reduce your chances of being raped if you do not go to strange men's houses and take your clothes off for money." Regardless of how I may feel about her style of delivery on many controversial issues, I've got to admit that I agree with her on this point. Hopefully these young men, and many others like them, have learned a painful but important lesson.
However, prior behavior leading up to the now-known-to-be-untrue allegations notwithstanding, I find it deplorable that this woman will get off scot-free, after having destroyed the lives of these three young men and cost their families millions in legal costs defending themselves against her charges. She has done a major disservice not only to those young men, their teammates and their school, and the judicial system, but also to every woman who is a true victim of sexual violence. And she, too, deserves to be punished.
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