Brian Banks exonerated

[PaulaSB12]

A young man who's life was ruined by an idiot.
http://www.scpr.org/programs/patt-morrison/2012/05/24/26645/brian-banks-finally-exonerated/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...n-accuser-contacts-Facebook-say-happened.html
(I always look for at least two other stories to confirm anything read in the DM)
Banks was jailed after Gibson accused him of rape in 2002, when he was just 16 and being heavily recruited by a number of colleges, including USC, which had offered him a scholarship.
He was on the way to the school office to talk about his college applications when he bumped into Gibson, a fellow student, and they went to a stairwell to make out, Brooks told KPCC.
He explained that Banks said something to upset Gibson and they parted on bad terms. She later accused him of kidnapping her, dragging her across the school and raping her in the stairwell.
Investigators tested her but found no physical evidence of rape, Brooks said. Banks maintained they had not had sex and all sexual contact had been consensual.

So you are upset by a teenage man and get him sent to jail for rape? But thats ok because you get $1.5 million dollars

There's videotape of the woman saying she wasn't raped and that she is afraid of coming forward because she might have to return the $1.5 million her family won from the Long Beach Unified School District in a civil suit.

Long Beach judge Mark C. Kim exonerated the football star today after Banks' following a recantation from his accuser.

 

[SandrA9810]

Wow, it's scary how easily that word is tossed around by women. Yet they have no idea the consequences it can cause.

I can't believe she'd be so selfish to want to keep 1.5 million dollars over the freedom of other man's life. Hopefully she gets to live his nightmare.

 

[ladypage]

I hope this woman gets jail time. At least as long as he has faced so far, preferably as long as his original charge was for.

 

[Wish I lived in Fl]

Wow, it's scary how easily that word is tossed around by women. Yet they have no idea the consequences it can cause.

I can't believe she'd be so selfish to want to keep 1.5 million dollars over the freedom of other man's life. Hopefully she gets to live his nightmare.

Yes his accuser recanted her accusation and deserves jail time for accusing someone falsely and should have to give back any money that is recoverable.

BUT

Rape isn't a word easily tossed around by any woman I know or have ever known. And most rapes are not reported to the police according to FBI statistics.

http://www.rainn.org/get-information/statistics/reporting-rates

 

[torinsmom]

This is just crazy! I think the woman should go to jail for not only lying, but taking a settlement that she knew was based on a lie. That is fraud. Poor guy had a scholarship all lined up too and now he will probably have a hard time even transitioning to a world outside of prison. When I think of what he probably went through in there, it just makes me so sad for him and mad at this woman.

 

[donaldlovesdaisy]

I also agree she should definitely spend some time in jail for lying under oath and fraud. He should be the one getting the 1.5 million dollars. The sad thing is that I am sure this has happened before and will happen again. I have very little faith in our justice system these days.

 

[Heidict]

I hope they go after her for what she did and that her life is miserable. Karma and all that. She is a miserable and disgusting person. I can't imagine how evil she must be to accuse someone of that when nothing but some kissing even happened.

I also hope that he goes after them for a wrongful conviction (or what ever it is they sue for in these circumstances) considering they had no evidence but this girls word.

 

[Northstar]

I hope they go after her for what she did and that her life is miserable. Karma and all that. She is a miserable and disgusting person. I can't imagine how evil she must be to accuse someone of that when nothing but some kissing even happened.

I also hope that he goes after them for a wrongful conviction (or what ever it is they sue for in these circumstances) considering they had no evidence but this girls word.

Not going to happen. He entered a plea of no contest to avoid a conviction and possible 40 year sentence.

It just makes you want to bang your head against a wall and wail at the sheer unfairness of it all. So glad the truth has come out and his future is looking better now.

 

[Scurvy]

That woman needs to rot in jail and lose everything she has. She is disgusting and vile.

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

Not going to happen. He entered a plea of no contest to avoid a conviction and possible 40 year sentence.

It just makes you want to bang your head against a wall and wail at the sheer unfairness of it all. So glad the truth has come out and his future is looking better now.

Couldn't he file a civil suit against her for the wrongful accusation?

 

[Hannathy]

She needs to be charged criminally and then sued civilly for all the money back plus!

Also the DA in whatever county/city that took this to court when there was no rape evidence should be charged also. That is the real problem, there was no evidence (evidently, only going on what I read here) and the boy should never have been charged with rape. I would be very nervous if I lived in that area with a DA like that running around.

To many woman cry rape when they just have a change of heart afterwards, but you can't even say that about this witch because "it" never even happened!

 

[donaldlovesdaisy]

She needs to be charged criminally and then sued civilly for all the money back plus!

Also the DA in whatever county/city that took this to court when there was no rape evidence should be charged also. That is the real problem, there was no evidence (evidently, only going on what I read here) and the boy should never have been charged with rape. I would be very nervous if I lived in that area with a DA like that running around.

To many woman cry rape when they just have a change of heart afterwards, but you can't even say that about this witch because "it" never even happened!

ITA if anything shouldn't she be charged with giving false information to the police and wasting their time? Surely there is some kind of law to discourage that kind of behavior.

 

[Andtototoo]

Yes his accuser recanted her accusation and deserves jail time for accusing someone falsely and should have to give back any money that is recoverable.

BUT

Rape isn't a word easily tossed around by any woman I know or have ever known. And most rapes are not reported to the police according to FBI statistics.

http://www.rainn.org/get-information/statistics/reporting-rates

I have volunteered as a rape crisis counselor in more than one city and based upon my experience, I can tell you that the aftermath of reporting a rape is heinous. With my own eyes and ears, I have seen how police treat victims. Regardless of age, appearance or circumstance, the police treat the victim like a liar. Every. Single. Time. Even in this day and age.

So while I feel bad for this innocent young man, I feel far far worse for the thousands of women who get raped every day and are futher victimized by a system that assumes they are lying or that they "asked for it" because of how they were dressed, wehre they were walking or living, or because they went on a date with a man who paid for dinner or who took a ride home from a friend, etc.

 

[my3sonsagn]

If I were this guy and/or his parents I'd be filing suit against the DA and this girl. I also think criminal charges should be brought against her - she's pretty much admitted to fraud and perjury already; a conviction wouldn't be difficult.

She maliciously destroyed a man's future and his family then stole from the school district; she also could have caused future damage to one or more REAL rape victims who may feel they won't be believed (like "she lied; so they'll think I'm lying" whether that's true or not - fear thinks with emotion). Sadly, the fact that she's in hiding so as not to lose the money proves she feels no real remorse over the harm she's caused.

I'll step off my soapbox now; it's just that, as the mom of three sons, stories like this give me nightmares and make me want to insist that my children have consent documents signed and notarized before embarking on a physical relationship with anyone so that there's no confusion about who said yes to what.

 

[Spoodleink]

To many woman cry rape when they just have a change of heart afterwards, but you can't even say that about this witch because "it" never even happened!

This is completely untrue, the rate of false rape accusations is low and victims of rape are generally treated horribly in our justice system so many times sexual assault is never reported .

 

[Scurvy]

This is completely untrue, the rate of false rape accusations is low and victims of rape are generally treated horribly in our justice system so many times sexual assault is never reported .

One woman crying "rape" falsely is one too many, and sadly more than one woman has done this. The fact that true victims of rape are treated badly does not change that. It's people like this woman who contribute to a climate that causes true victims to be regarded with suspicion.

 

[gwynne]

So..is she going to keep the money, kinda a nice tidy profit for fraud and lies?

 

[PaulaSB12]

It happens more often than you think

http://www.theforensicexaminer.com/archive/spring09/15/

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,194032,00.html

 

[dennis99ss]

play devils advocate a bit.

It could very well be that she decided to help the guy out, so he could move on with his life, but did not want to jeopardise what she was entitled to.

there are always many different sides to the story, and we really don't know any side, but for a hidden camera of a meeting. Who is to say it was not staged?

 

[Too Far From Home]

If you have boys, this is a real fear and one that you need to discuss with them. This is not something that happens "rarely" - it happens every day.

Women should be outraged at other women like this. They have created an environment in which many are skeptical of any rape claim not backed by very clear physical evidence.

No one should ever go to jail based solely on the word of another person.