All of a sudden, it's wrong.
A story in Slate sheds some light on what I've been wondering: isn't prosecutorial misconduct like Mike Nifong's pretty routine? I thought it was practically in a prosecutor's job description to play fast and loose with the evidence. I truly didn't even realize that what he did was illegal because I hear about it so often. It's nice to know that the North Carolina State Bar cares so much about prosecutorial ethics. But Nifong only got fired and disbarred because the Duke lacrosse players he prosecuted (and their daddies) actually had some pull, and they're supported in public opinion by the kind of people who can't stand the thought that it's a crime for white jocks to rape a black stripper.
That's just how I feel. And it's one reason why I don't want to move to Durham.
For more of what I'm talking about, here's an excerpt from yesterday's online chat with Eugene Robinson, my favorite columnist at the Washington Post:Washington: My recollection is that you wrote a column about the wider implications of the Duke lacrosse team "incident." Now that three players have been vindicated, Duke University has paid them some unknown amount of money to avoid a lawsuit and Mike Nifong has lost his job, his law license, and whatever credibility he might have once had, what are you current thoughts on this event?
Eugene Robinson: My views are that Nifong was an out-of-control prosecutor who brought charges against three young men without reliable evidence that they had committed a crime. Also, that I'm still disturbed by the idea of these well-to-do college jocks hiring strippers for their evening's entertainment.
And then:Washington: College fraternities or sports teams hire strippers all the time. You in the media are just as guiltiy as Nifong for jumping on the "three white kids vs. one black woman" train and using the media to destroy three lives. You saw the ratings that come from a "white vs. black" situation and exploited them for your benefit. Have you even apologized, sir? I hope this women is prosecuted to the full extent of the law. If the three kids were black and the womam white, this situation would be called racism. So why isn't this racism?
Eugene Robinson: I don't have anything to apologize for. And when I pay $40,000 a year to send my kid to college, I don't want him spending his weekend nights in drunken parties featuring strippers.
That's just how I feel. And it's one reason why I don't want to move to Durham.
For more of what I'm talking about, here's an excerpt from yesterday's online chat with Eugene Robinson, my favorite columnist at the Washington Post:Washington: My recollection is that you wrote a column about the wider implications of the Duke lacrosse team "incident." Now that three players have been vindicated, Duke University has paid them some unknown amount of money to avoid a lawsuit and Mike Nifong has lost his job, his law license, and whatever credibility he might have once had, what are you current thoughts on this event?
Eugene Robinson: My views are that Nifong was an out-of-control prosecutor who brought charges against three young men without reliable evidence that they had committed a crime. Also, that I'm still disturbed by the idea of these well-to-do college jocks hiring strippers for their evening's entertainment.
And then:Washington: College fraternities or sports teams hire strippers all the time. You in the media are just as guiltiy as Nifong for jumping on the "three white kids vs. one black woman" train and using the media to destroy three lives. You saw the ratings that come from a "white vs. black" situation and exploited them for your benefit. Have you even apologized, sir? I hope this women is prosecuted to the full extent of the law. If the three kids were black and the womam white, this situation would be called racism. So why isn't this racism?
Eugene Robinson: I don't have anything to apologize for. And when I pay $40,000 a year to send my kid to college, I don't want him spending his weekend nights in drunken parties featuring strippers.