Man accused of rape, spends 6 years in jail...

A former Long Beach high school football star convicted of raping a classmate a decade ago had his conviction dismissed Thursday after his accuser recanted her story.

Brian Banks trembled with sobs after a brief hearing in which prosecutors said they had no objection to his conviction being reversed. His mother and girlfriend, seated in the courtroom, let out cries of joy.

"My only dream in the world is just to be free," Banks said at a post-hearing news conference, his eyes red from crying, his face frozen in disbelief.

Banks was a 17-year-old college football prospect when, in 2002, a classmate accused him of kidnapping and raping her. Banks maintained the sex was consensual, but his lawyer suggested he take a plea deal rather than having the "he said-she said" case go to trial.

Banks pleaded no contest to one count of forcible rape, was incarcerated for about six years and had to register as a sex offender.

In a movie-worthy twist, his former accuser got in touch with him via Facebook after he left prison. The two eventually met in person.

According to court papers, she admitted to him she lied but later refused to tell prosecutors the same thing lest she have to give back the $1.5 million she and her family won in a civil suit against Long Beach schools.

But based on the new evidence, the California Innocence Project took on Banks' case.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2 ... -case.html

tldr version:

Man (aged 16) falsely accused of rape 10 years ago, goes to jail for 6 years.
Woman gets $1.5 million in compensation suing the school they attended.
After he is freed, she contacts him via Facebook, they meet and she admits it was all a lie.
Doesn't want to come clean to prosecutors for fear of losing the ill gotten money.

:evil:

Snakes with tits.

I like the fact she hasn't been named and shamed.

LAD?

That's some special kind of evil, that.

It's okay, he played football.

Baaashturd!

Last edited by Bigerich on Fri May 25, 2012 12:05 am, edited 1 time in total.

Mafro wrote:I like the fact she hasn't been named and shamed.

Yep. Unusual for the US that, IMO, but still welcome.

Here most people aren't named, and if they are it's usually because the case is very high-profile.

Reading news stories from the US you get the impression that those who are only charged with, or suspects of, a crime are named in the press.

Bigerich wrote:
Mafro wrote:I like the fact she hasn't been named and shamed.

Yep. Unusual for the US that, IMO, but still welcome.

Here most people aren't named, and if they are it's usually because the case is very high-profile.

Reading news stories from the US you get the impression that those who are only charged with, or suspects of, a crime is named in the press.

So... Who can HE sue?

TheTurnipKing wrote:
Bigerich wrote:
Mafro wrote:I like the fact she hasn't been named and shamed.

Yep. Unusual for the US that, IMO, but still welcome.

Here most people aren't named, and if they are it's usually because the case is very high-profile.

Reading news stories from the US you get the impression that those who are only charged with, or suspects of, a crime is named in the press.

So... Who can HE sue?

What do you mean? Because he was announced as a rapist? He did take the plea bargain, so he can't really sue the state, and the media might only have reported on the conviction.

The problem with plea bargaining.

I'd be interested in knowing why he took his attorney's advice, or why his attorney suggested the plea in the first place. Was it a case of take 6 years or risk 30? Or dodgy court-appointed representation?

This is all kinds of strawberry floated up.

The men a woman accuses should be afforded the same anonymity as women in these cases until it is proven that they are guilty. Crying "Rape" is a weapon in the hands of vindictive women and courts both in the US and the UK take a "guilty until proven innocent" stance in rape cases the majority of the time. A woman proven to be lieing should also be punished with imprisonment, perhaps the same imprisonment the male rapist would have received.

I know rape is very serious, and I have nothing but genuine sympathy for genuine victims of rape (both male and female) but the old argument of "Oh if a woman was proven to be lieing was punished or if men were given anonymity then genuine victims wouldn't come forward" is just bullshit to me.

This girl should be imprisoned for at least the amount of time the poor man spent in prison, and the payout should be taken from her and given to the guy.
At the very least, she most definately should be named.

Igor wrote:Was it a case of take 6 years or risk 30? Or dodgy court-appointed representation?

This is most likely. Some courts can be incredibly biased in favour of the victim when it comes to rape cases.

Lagamorph wrote:The men a woman accuses should be afforded the same anonymity as women in these cases until it is proven that they are guilty. Crying "Rape" is a weapon in the hands of vindictive women and courts both in the US and the UK take a "guilty until proven innocent" stance in rape cases the majority of the time. A woman proven to be lieing should also be punished with imprisonment, perhaps the same imprisonment the male rapist would have received.

I absolutely agree.

Somebody Else's Problem wrote:
Lagamorph wrote:The men a woman accuses should be afforded the same anonymity as women in these cases until it is proven that they are guilty. Crying "Rape" is a weapon in the hands of vindictive women and courts both in the US and the UK take a "guilty until proven innocent" stance in rape cases the majority of the time. A woman proven to be lieing should also be punished with imprisonment, perhaps the same imprisonment the male rapist would have received.

I absolutely agree.

I honestly can't see why it isn't that way. The life of a man accused of rape is typically totally destroyed by the press (who again, operate a G2uilty until proven innocent" policy in rape cases) even if he is proven beyond a shadow of a doubt to be innocent and the woman was lieing even for vindictive purposes.

Lagamorph wrote:
Somebody Else's Problem wrote:
Lagamorph wrote:The men a woman accuses should be afforded the same anonymity as women in these cases until it is proven that they are guilty. Crying "Rape" is a weapon in the hands of vindictive women and courts both in the US and the UK take a "guilty until proven innocent" stance in rape cases the majority of the time. A woman proven to be lieing should also be punished with imprisonment, perhaps the same imprisonment the male rapist would have received.

I absolutely agree.

I honestly can't see why it isn't that way. The life of a man accused of rape is typically totally destroyed by the press (who again, operate a G2uilty until proven innocent" policy in rape cases) even if he is proven beyond a shadow of a doubt to be innocent and the woman was lieing even for vindictive purposes.

I can't even begin to understand why this is the case.

It sounds like a sticky situation.

Sorry.

I feel for the kid

Being a college prospect meant that he was in with a chance of making the NFL where, provided you're good, the American law will turn a blind eye to all of your raping escapades.

Fatal Exception wrote:Snakes with tits.

And fannies.

Man accused of rape, spends 6 years in jail...

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