Summary
Crystal Mangum, who accused three Duke lacrosse players of rape in 2006, admitted for the first time on a podcast that her claims were fabricated.
She said she lied for validation and apologized to Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty, and David Evans, acknowledging they “didn’t deserve” the accusations.
The case, which drew national attention, collapsed after evidence disproved her story, leading to the disbarment of Durham DA Mike Nifong for misconduct.
Mangum is currently in prison for a 2011 murder conviction.
Initial perceptions were they absolutely did it. Rich kids and university athletes, classic story of not being able to take no as an answer.
It took quite a while for the tide to turn from what I remember.
This is definitely a case of a lie travelling around the world before the truth has put in its shoes. Personally, I only heard the story of the lacrosse players (allegedly) raping her and charges being dropped.
I, like many others, assumed the charges were dropped because wealthy kids had good connections. I never recall hearing that the story was made up, until now. Poor kids.
Nah these guys were absolutely skewered and convicted in the court of public opinion before the charges got dropped a full year after the fact.
That said, there are still many things they did that were gross and reprehensible that evening. However rape was not among them.