I write on a day when many in the United States are stunned that Casey Anthony has not been convicted for murder. Casey Anthony is the twenty-five year old woman who was accused of having killed her own child and disposed of the body. The case against her seemed so watertight. In America, however, we are made to believe that people who are accused are presumed innocent until they are declared guilty by a jury of their peers in a court of law. Today, a jury of Casey's peers declared that she is not guilty of murder. She is however found guilty of having lied to police in the process of the investigation. What this case says to me is that one can be found guilty of lying without being found guilty of having committed the crime for which they are accused. It is this realization that leads me to revisit the case of the the French man who is accused of having raped an African maid in New York City.
Last week, America was buzzing with claims that the case against the French man has collapsed because the prosecutors of the case discovered that the woman had lied on her asylum application about being raped in her home country, that she lied about issues immediately following the incident for which the French man was arrested, and that she talked to her boyfriend in an immigration prison, saying that the French man is rich and that she new what she was doing. The media, which judged that Casey Anthony was already guilty, has also declared the African woman's credibility to be so damaged that the case cannot be brought to court. Now, it seems clear that the case is all but over. It is said that the prosecutor would dismiss the case soon. However, if this is done, it would be a travesty of justice and very unAmerican. The fact that Casey Anthony was not found guilty in spite of the fact that she was convicted of lying tells me that one can be convicted of lying without damaging the substance of her case. The substance of Casey's case was that she did not kill her baby even though she lied. The substance of the African woman's case is that she was raped by the French man. She might have lied about a previous rape but it does not mean that she was not raped by Dominique Strauss-Kahn. It may also well be that the French man is not guilty of rape. But that is not a decision that should be arrived at based on the past history of the African woman woman; it should be made in a court, like Casey's. It would be a travesty of American justice if this case is not given its day in court. Some have seen racism and class playing in the case of the French man and the African woman. They may not be entirely wrong. In order to diminish concerns that this French man is being favored in this case because he is rich and white and the woman is black, poor, and African, let the case be brought to court. The woman's lawyer thinks that she has a case. His theory should be tested in a court.
Last week, America was buzzing with claims that the case against the French man has collapsed because the prosecutors of the case discovered that the woman had lied on her asylum application about being raped in her home country, that she lied about issues immediately following the incident for which the French man was arrested, and that she talked to her boyfriend in an immigration prison, saying that the French man is rich and that she new what she was doing. The media, which judged that Casey Anthony was already guilty, has also declared the African woman's credibility to be so damaged that the case cannot be brought to court. Now, it seems clear that the case is all but over. It is said that the prosecutor would dismiss the case soon. However, if this is done, it would be a travesty of justice and very unAmerican. The fact that Casey Anthony was not found guilty in spite of the fact that she was convicted of lying tells me that one can be convicted of lying without damaging the substance of her case. The substance of Casey's case was that she did not kill her baby even though she lied. The substance of the African woman's case is that she was raped by the French man. She might have lied about a previous rape but it does not mean that she was not raped by Dominique Strauss-Kahn. It may also well be that the French man is not guilty of rape. But that is not a decision that should be arrived at based on the past history of the African woman woman; it should be made in a court, like Casey's. It would be a travesty of American justice if this case is not given its day in court. Some have seen racism and class playing in the case of the French man and the African woman. They may not be entirely wrong. In order to diminish concerns that this French man is being favored in this case because he is rich and white and the woman is black, poor, and African, let the case be brought to court. The woman's lawyer thinks that she has a case. His theory should be tested in a court.
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