Nifong, Walters records add new dimension to the Jena 6
Is the notion of hypocrisy still evident even without the glowing glare of TV cameras and the hot air of TV pundits? An odd question to open a column with, I know. But it’s one that I bring up because of two lawyers who on paper have a lot of similarities, yet aren’t mentioned in the same sentence. The two men I’m talking about? Former Durham DA Mike Nifong and La Salle Parrish DA Reed Walters.
Both men have committed great acts of unconscionable stupidity that any sane person would never have attempted. Mr. Nifong went through with a rape case against three Duke lacrosse players this past winter with flimsy evidence at best.
With Mr. Waters, it’s hard to decide where to begin – the moronic quote to the protesters at Jena High saying he could end their lives with a single stroke of the pen or prosecuting black men on suspect charges while white men who committed actual crimes got a slap on the wrist. Too hard to decide.
Both men made quotes that were either way off or befitting the rantings of a two-bit hack televangelist. Mr. Nifong stated early in the case, knowing that he had flimsy DNA evidence, “The fact is, I didn’t pick the crime. I didn’t pick the time. But I’m going to do the case right.”
And Mr. Walters just a few weeks ago pulled this gem of holier-than-thouness: “I firmly believe and am confident of the fact that had it not been for the direct intervention of the Lord Jesus Christ last Thursday, that disaster would have happened. You can quote me on that.”
So, how does one lawyer have his reputation and career chucked into a paper shredder while the other gets off with nothing?
Both men engaged in gross acts of incompetence in their respective offices. Both cases should never have been prosecuted as far as they did. How does the victimization of justice of six black kids in Louisiana rank less than three white lacrosse players from one of the best universities in the country being bashed over trumped-up rape charges?
The media’s silence shows exactly what is wrong with this country.
The only advice I can give to change this utter lack of attention over Mr. Walters’ behavior is to ramp up the pressure similar to writing your Congressman about an important bill coming before Congress.
Call and/or write to his superiors at the Louisiana District Attorneys Association, telling them he should be fired. And if you have friends in Louisiana who also want him fired, spread the word to them as well. The more fire we can create under him, the better the chance will be that justice will come home to Jena and we can finally put Mr. Nifong and Mr. Walters forever in the same sentence.
Brian Ault is a columnist for The Nevada Sagebrush. He can be reached at editor@nevadasagebrush.com.
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October 23rd, 2007 at 2:40 am
“Both cases should never have been prosecuted as far as they did.”
The Jena 6 cases have only just begun. Five (and possibly six) others remain, four will be tried as adults because of their ages on the day of the beating, the other(s) will be tried as juveniles.
The prosecution of Mychal Bell has another possible perspective. Reed Walters could very well have been doing Bell a favor by charging him as an adult, but moreover, a first-offender adult with all the perks that go with that (even in podunk, racist Louisiana who just elected a non-white governor) with a chance for a cleared record and possibly allowing Bell to join a college football program straight from high school.
The alternative, we have learned, is to charge Bell as a fifth-offender juvenile. Walters already gave Bell four chances as a juvenile, agreeing to more and more probation with each subsequent adjudication rather than asking that his earlier probation(s) be revoked. Now charged once again as a juvenile, Bell went directly back to jail.
Further, the national press agencies are now suing to unseal Bell’s juvenile records. Juvenile records are sealed for a reason, but national attention has shredded Bell’s privacy. His crimes as a youth — including his reported beating of his girlfriend — could now be not only a matter of public record but read, analyzed and dissected before millions of news viewers. His character has been truly and completely assassinated. His shot at a professional football career has been pretty much obliterated.
Yes, this case has many parallels with Duke, but a rogue prosecutor? That has yet to be established, and equating statements like “stroke of a pen” or invoking Jesus to Nifong’s public condemnations establishes nothing.
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:53 am
The evidence in the Jean Six beating case, unlike the Duke lacrosse case, is hardly flimsy. The lacrosse case was about an alleged crime that never happened. There is no doubt that the Jena Six beating actually happened. About a dozen witnesses, including two coaches, positively identified the black students who took part in the beating of the white student at Jena High School.
Reporters, teachers and students who attended the assembly in which Reed Walters made his “stroke of my pen” agree the comment was made to the student body as a whole, not just black students or a group of “protestors.” Walters, who has apologized for making the statement, explained he made the remark because he was irritated by a group of white girls who were talking on their cell phones.
DA Mike Nifong was disbarred for bypassing standard procedures and rigging a photo lineup to ensure the alleged victim would pick members of the lacrosse team. He also manipulating the evidence to conceal excluplatory evidence from the defense team. No one has accused Walters of similar transgressions.