Duke Rape Investigation Mishandled

[Old Corps Gunny]

This looks politics and media frenzy displacing legal procedure again. It starts out with a rape complaint, then is jumped on and made a national issue by the media because of the sensational elements: a black stripper, an all-white college team from wealthy or well-to-do families, and a district attorney who enjoys posturing in front of the cameras. Unfortunately, the further this investigation goes, the murkier it gets and the more I wonder if this is about finding the truth and rendering justice or about pandering to politics. Personally, I think the DA backed himself into a corner in his early press statements. He should have just said a investigation was ongoing and left it at that. Instead, he has gone ahead with an indictment that, as new evidence surfaces, appears to have little or no merit. If the accuser was in fact raped by members of this team, the guilty parties should be tried and punished; but first evidence must be found and presented to a jury in such a fashion that would prove the accused guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt." So far what I have heard from the media casts a great deal of doubt on the state's case and the accuser's credibility, and makes me wonder if either the state or the defendants could get a fair trial.