On Friday, the Duke lacrosse players who were falsely accused of rape filed a lawsuit against prosecuter Mike Nifong, the city of Durham, and the police involved with the investigation. They are claiming their lawsuit on the grounds of misconduct and hopes to reform the way the Durham police department handles criminal investigations. It was filed about a month after city officials met with the families' lawers who were seeking a $30 million settlement along with these legal reforms. The attornies gave the city a month to respond or they would have to face a civil rights lawsuit.
Althought it is understandable that these boys went through a great deal of trauma and are very hostile towards the city for the way they were treated, making a crapload of money off of it will not make things right or erase what has happened in the past. The city made a mistake, but the police investagators were doing their job and attempting to get the people they thought were responsible for the supposed rape of this woman.
However, I do agree with the fact that some of the legal customs in such cases should be changed. It is rediculous to think that so many boys who were believed to be involved in the rape of this woman could be suspected, tried, and then foud guilty.
Situations like this are hard to find closure, yet these boys do not need to sue the city because they were wrongly accused. The right thing to do would be to simply move on and try and get their lives back on track. $30 million dollars wont fix the damages or erase the horrible incident they had to go through.
5 comments:
I believe that you are right in saying that the boys who are suing the town were treated unfairly and unrulingly, and as such they should get some avenge. I think that by suing the city, they are doing the right thing because if one is wrongly accused especially for such a big thing as rape it really does influence the way people react and the things that people will think of them. If they stand up for what they think is right, it can really change the way not only they think of themselves but what others think of them.
If I was in their position, and wrongly accused, I would probably feel that it was justified to pursue some type of reimbursement for the difficulties of being on trial. They really can't get back all of the ill opinions formed about them during the trial. Legally, they're allowed to sue and I don't see a problem with that. The amount of money they're suing for might be a little ridiculous, but I think they do have good intentions in suing and care that what happened to them doesn't happen to others.
I disagree with you that these boys should not recieve money from the city, $30 mil each is a bit steep though. These boys were wrongfully accused and the district attorney withheld evidence that proved that these boys were innocent. The district attorney knew all along that these boys did not rape anyone but he still put them through the anguish of a trial. These boys will never be able to walk down the street without their names being tarnished. The families deserve some compensation, especially because of all the money that they spent in legal fees. They deserve something for all the troubles that they were in, but maybe not $30 million.
I feel that I can sympathize with the boys, because they were found guilty of rape and their reputations were tarnished on a national level, but it does seem as though they have used this to their advantage. A subject as uncomfortable and touchy as rape should not be turned around to benefit a victim, and it is not right that the boys are trying to make money off the false accusations. Filing this lawsuit, even though they have a right to be angry, dehumanizes rape victims and makes the victim seem less important in comparison a nice payoff.
I think that compensation is due... but $30 million is way too much. They are just taking advantage of the city now, even if they were wronged and extremely inconvenienced. But it seems like this is another instance where people will sue someone else for just about anything.
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