Originally Posted - February 12, 2007

return home

In regard to your commentary published on Feb 12, 2007, "Twisted Justice---Winning At Any Cost", you're right. http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/2007/021107TwistedJustice.html

But let me point out that the Duke lacrosse frame/hoax is STILL going on. The accused are STILL facing 30-year prison terms. And there still exists the very real possibility that the special prosecutors now assigned to examine the case are primarily focused on still finding SOME KIND OF CHARGE to get this case to trial and not on a search for justice.

One of the special prosecutors is James Coman, who earlier insisted on proceeding with a second trial for Alan Gell. Gell was released after serving nine years in prison, when it was discovered the DA had known in his first trial that there were 17 eyewitnesses who could prove his innocence, but had not disclosed this information to the defense. If convicted, Gell would have again faced the death penalty for a murder Coman knew he did not commit. Joe Cheshire and James Cooney were part of Gell's defense team (and are now part of the Duke defense team). Coman is said to harbor a considerable personal animosity towards both of them and also against Wade Smith, another defense attorney. (As a result of this case, North Carolina finally passed an Open Discovery law, in part because of the work of Cheshire in lobbying the legislature.)

Mary Winstead, the second special prosecutor, worked with Mike Nifong trying to secure a conviction in the Malloy rape case. Crucial taped evidence in that case was somehow erased by Winstead (recall the erased tapes and cell phone evidence in the Duke case); she protested vigorously against bringing in out-of-state experts to try and reconstruct the tape. When the tapes were restored, Malloy was acquitted.

These are about the last two people I would assign to examining the lacrosse case. So the question becomes, why did Attorney General Cooper select them? Can they be reliably expected to uncover all the wrongdoing by Nifong over the past two and a half decades? Or by the judges who appear to have collaborated with him on this case (Stephens, Bushfan, and Titus)? Or possible connections between members of the Durham civic administration and the prosecutor's office? And can they be expected to put a search for justice ahead of an attempt to rescue the state from liability and even a federal investigation?

OK. Final point. The lacrosse case is a political trial and in political trials, noise counts. If you want to get involved in helping raise the noise level (and maybe saving three innocent defendants from wrongful conviction, and an entire town/county from a corrupt oligarchy); please sign the following:

Petition to Attorney General Cooper of North Carolina to end the hoax :

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/208340697

Petition to the Public Integrity Section of the Justice Department to investigate corruption in the Durham city administration :

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/465788496

Petition to Attorney General Gonzales to investigate civil rights violations and hate crimes in the Duke lacrosse case :

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/728631166
2-12-07

Mr. Parrish is a resident of Scottsdale, AZ.

© 2007 North Country Gazette