Cash Michaels has been absolutely and unequivocally in the AV's corner in the
Duke lacrosse case. Yet like many people who have looked closely at the
case, Michaels has concluded that district attorney Mike Nifong, and the police,
were
not entirely, shall we say, candid with the public.
Clearly, he still believes something happened. In his latest article,
even as he laments the devastating problems that Nifong and the Durham police
have created for themselves, he concludes by saying: "Indeed, if the
district attorney has no better than what has been so far shown, a trial in this
case may never be, and the African-American community will want to know why."
Well, here's why, in a nutshell:
- The AV can't keep her story straight. Critically, though she denied
having sex for a week before the alleged rape, her "driver" said
she had in fact had sex with three other men. - The D.A. has been less than upfront about the facts in his possession, and
his public statements don't match what he knew at the time. - Reade Seligmann has an alibi that even the Human Flash would have trouble
defeating. - The final photo lineup was a setup, orchestrated by Nifong, after the AV
could not identify anyone previously. - The witnesses are a disaster. Both "dancers" have rap
sheets, and the AV either was (or wasn't, depending on her version of the
story) taking muscle relaxants while drinking.
Despite disagreeing with him intensely, we have really enjoyed reading
Michaels' takes on the case. He's over the top sometimes, but he's also
passionate and full of beans. He's been fun to get to know, at least on the
page.
Michaels has been wrong about a lot, but he's right about one very important
thing: this case is falling apart and a lot of people who believed the AV
are going to be mad as hell.
And really, everyone in Durham should be. This case has been mishandled
from the beginning, and any chance of establishing clear, incontrovertible
truth, has slipped away.
Whether it's criminal misconduct or simple incompetence is something that
must be sorted out. But Durham needs a new D.A.
We've been asked to post links for both the Lewis Cheeks non-campaign and the
other guy who is running as a write-in. The problem is that they'll split
the vote. The two groups need to get together and figure out a way to
campaign without doing that.
The bigger problem is this: with news organizations like the N&O,
Time, and various others picking the case apart, it's pretty clear that while it
happened to "rich Duke kids" this time, it could happen next time, to,
oh, say...you.
Durham deserves better.