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September 18, 2007
Until Proven Innocent
Jeffrey Rosen reviews Stuart Taylor and K.C. Johnson's book on the angry mob that nearly lynched the lives of several young men in the Duke lacrosse team case:
At least “many of the journalists misled by [former DA Mike] Nifong eventually adjusted their views as evidence of innocence” came to light, the authors conclude. That’s more than can be said for Duke’s “activist professors,” 88 of whom signed an inflammatory letter encouraging a rush to judgment by the student protesters who were plastering the campus with wanted posters of the lacrosse team and waving a banner declaring “Castrate.” Even when confronted with DNA evidence of the players’ innocence, these professors refused to apologize and instead incoherently attacked their critics. In the same spirit, the authors charge, the president of Duke, Richard Brodhead, fired the lacrosse coach, canceled the season and condemned the team members for more than eight months. The pandering Brodhead, in this account, is more concerned about placating faculty ideologues than about understanding the realities of student life on his raunchy campus.
Does the foregoing remind you of the actions of another group of self-righteous crusaders?
Posted by Tom at September 18, 2007 12:10 AM
Comments
I wrote, for whatever it's worth, a brief Amazon.com customer review on this book. Needless to add, I praise it highly. I also cite the capitulation of the hard science departments of Cornell to the radical crazies over 40 years ago. This may be when the serious damage started. The situation has only worsened considerably since then.
Posted by: David Thomson ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://blog.kir.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at September 18, 2007 2:55 PM
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