Is this America or some banana republic?

I cannot take credit for that question, because it came from a post made by Thomas Sowell over at Jewish World Review. He is writing about 'the biggest scandal' about the Duke University lacrosse players, and possibly a race card being played.

According to Newsweek, the young man at NCCU said that he wanted to see the Duke students prosecuted, "whether it happened or not. It would be justice for things that happened in the past."

I thought that this was America, the place where you could get a fair trial - where you were 'considered innocent until found guilty'. Perhaps not. At least, Prosecutor Nifong is using this incident of the accusation against the lacrosse players to further his career. Why else would he postpone the trial until next year?

It is not hard to explain politically, however. The District Attorney may well owe his recent election victory to having tapped into the kinds of racial resentments expressed by the young man at North Carolina Central University.

Now Mr. Nifong is riding a tiger and cannot safely get off. His bet best may be to let this case drag on until it fizzles out, long after the media have lost interest. His extraordinary postponement of the trial for a year suggests he understands that.

The police have even taken the taxi driver in for questioning about the case - the guy who can substantiate one of the players alibi! How can they stop his testimony, since the surveillance camera at the bank shows the truth?

If nothing else, the harassment can serve as a warning to anybody else who might feel like coming forward with testimony that undermines the prosecution's case.

Is this the way we now do things in America? Or, is this how cases have always been handled? Will these boys get a fair trial? And, if they are found innocent, which the last boy to be accused has attested to, how will they ever get their reputations back? Will the courts reprimand Nifong for his handling of this case? I doubt it!

Thanks to John In Carolina for the link to the Sixth Amendement of the Constitution, which does say these boys have the right to a speedy trial. Go over to John's and read the response he got from a law professor.

Linked at Conservative Cat
Wednesday Specials at Jo's Cafe

Technorati Tags: America, Duke University, Lacrosse, Speedy Trial, Constitution, Sixth Amendment