Paul Daugherty: Convicted without a trial

Friday, April 21, 2006

Convicted without a trial

Feed the media. Twenty-four hour news cycle, all day all night, all the time. Give us more video. Alleged Duke rapists, kids, in handcuffs, in jumpsuits, faces smeared all over every TV network with a news division. Don Henley's overwrought lyrics from 20 years ago, coming true: Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em when they're down. Haul out the usual stereotypes. If it's Duke, the kids must be spoiled, rich and above standards of justice and decency. The Today show does a report Friday, in which it is stated that lacrosse breeds athletes who rape women. It cites as proof a case involving players at St. John's University. One problem: The players were acquitted.

What happens if Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty are found innocent? They've been on the news and in the news for a week, charged with rape and kidnapping. What difference does it make now if they are set free? Everyone has seen them on TV, heard and/or read about their silver spoons: "privileged players of fine pedigree,'' wrote a NY Times columnist. Yeah? So what?

Seligmann has an alibi that looks solid. What about his life now? In our rush to quench the public's apparent thirst for juicy scandal, we in the press have done a number on 2 people. If they're guilty, let the legal system have its way with them. Problem is, if they're not guilty, we've damned near convicted them already. Shame on us.

9 Comments:

at 9:55 AM

Anonymous said...

I agree, they have probably been 'convicted' by the media already.
Obviously something happened to that girl. I could see a couple likely scenerios.
First scenerio, they didn't rape her, they probably did make some racial comments or just plain out treated like a low life. Now she is back for vengence. (Collin clearly has a problem with gays, so it wouldn't be a stretch for him to be racist)
Second, she selected the wrong rapists. Maybe the villian wasn't on the team, and that would explain why all the DNA tests were negative and the rock solid alibis.

Also, I wonder what kind of example Jesse Jackson was trying to set when he said that the rainbow colalition would pay for the rest of girls college whether or not the allegations were found to be true.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. The Duke LAX players parents are hiring top notch attorneys, but the jury will be made up of locals, which don't really seem to like Duke a whole lot. I wouldn't doubt it is the attorneys asked to move the trial elsewhere. The is some major potential for roiting at the Duke campus.

at 2:17 PM

Anonymous said...

Paul,

You are right on target here. Even if these kids are acquitted, their lives are forever tarnished.

Google Reade Seligmann or Collin Finnerty 20 years from now. What will come up is a list of articles concerning this incident.

Tis the price we pay in this age of modern technology and should be a lesson to everyone out there. Everything you do is recorded. You have to be extra careful with the decisions you make, and perhaps more important, the people you surround yourself with.

JD

at 10:24 PM

Anonymous said...

As Jim Tressel says, nothing good happens after 10pm!

at 12:47 AM

Anonymous said...

Observer
Agree, Paul. Another reason most daily newspapers do not reveal the names of alleged rape victims.
But aren't the accused's names easily obtainable by checking court records or arrest reports which are matters of public record. Is that fair?
It's another example of the fascination in this country with the gory details of sexual cases...There's a reason why Law & Order, Special Victims Unit has remained on television and is also in regular reruns. This is nothing new. Remember the Gibson Girl on the penthouse swing??

at 9:35 AM

Rob said...

hey paul,

i just wanted to say that you wrote a good article on cronin. nice work.

at 5:22 PM

Anonymous said...

I have the opposite take. The talk shows I have been looking at have been smearing the two women involved.

at 7:26 PM

Anonymous said...

Who cares about these punks. Think for a moment about the email that Ryan McFadyen wrote about killing and skinning those strippers. What if it was your mother or even worse a renegade daughter. These kids are exempt because they go to Duke and their parents have money. Frankly, rather then see them go to trial I would rather see some of the more violent gangs in Durham get ahold of these pampered punks, pummel them and send them home in body bags to their wealthy parents. To hell with them, I hope they rot in prison or commit suidice after the ordeal is over.

at 7:49 PM

Anonymous said...

ABC and CNN seem to want to give these kids a bye.

It sounds to me like the girl was raped and these jerks have everything that happens to them - coming.

Maybe the next set of athletes (prima donnas) will think twice.

I have no sympathy for them and the rape victims identity should be protected.

at 9:50 AM

Anonymous said...

Remember--to quote another well known broadcaster: "it's not the nature of the evidence--it's the seriousness of the charge". This is exactly what we have here--a politically motivated DA who has a case that will fuel his chances for re-election, and some kids that can be used to realize those goals.

Their guilt or innocence will become secondary to him once he wins re-election. Very sad.

It would be more informative to find out (if these charges prove to be false) what the motivation was for the false accusations--was it just money? Was it racial animosity? Was there a personal score to settle? Was someone covering for someone else?

Sadly, none of these aspects will be investigated once the case is over. Those players lives will have been trashed, and the public will never know the truth...

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Friday, April 21, 2006

Convicted without a trial

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