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Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault - and...no charges to be filed...

Re: Jameis Winston investigated for sexual assault - update: DNA match found

DzynKingRTR said:
I can't help but wonder if the DA had graduated from any other college would there still be no case.
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I don't know the answer to that but this entire situation just looks bad and smells worse.
The DA is a FSU grad and a huge FSU booster. It's so easy for rational-thinking people to make the assumption that he put both his alma mater and his personal favoritism ahead of the law.
 
RammerJammer15 said:
All I have to say is, if y'all can assume he did rape the girl, I can assume that he didn't, and I believe he didn't. Girls can lie ya know. I'd be interested to see the comments if it was one of ours. I absolutely respect everyone's opinion in this thread though. :)
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I've read enough of the documents to have a good feeling the girl was raped.
 
RTR91 said:
I've read enough of the documents to have a good feeling the girl was raped.
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And, there's no doubt in my mind that, if it had been geology major John Smith who had been accused, the investigation would have been handled in a completely different manner. And, at the very least, the case against Mr. Smith would have been presented to a grand jury.
 
the victim's father is a better man than I am. If this were my niece I would be in jail right now.

Ok I am curious for all the legal eagles on here. Can the victim make a federal case of this? Like try to get the DA disbarred? This whole thing reeks of corruption.
 
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This lady needs to go to the airwaves and make life miserable for Winston and Meggs. She has not been done justice..
 
DzynKingRTR said:
Ok I am curious for all the legal eagles on here. Can the victim make a federal case of this? Like try to get the DA disbarred? This whole thing reeks of corruption.
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I am by no means a legal guru. But I don't understand how the state can tell a victim to shove off when the victim has been trying to get a rape charge for nearly a year. Its not like there is no evidence. Why not bring it to trial? How is the victim supposed to get closure? I guess I don't exactly get why the State gets to decide to press charges or not, and not the victim.

When this story first came out, I had my doubts. I thought it might possibly be a case of "get the famous guy". But that is clearly not the case. It needs to go to trial.
 
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RammerJammer14 said:
I am by no means a legal guru. But I don't understand how the state can tell a victim to shove off when the victim has been trying to get a rape charge for nearly a year. Its not like there is no evidence. Why not bring it to trial? How is the victim supposed to get closure? I guess I don't exactly get why the State gets to decide to press charges or not, and not the victim.

When this story first came out, I had my doubts. I thought it might possibly be a case of "get the famous guy". But that is clearly not the case. It needs to go to trial.
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In a civil case, it's the "Plantiff" vs. the Defendant. In a criminal trial, it's "The People" vs. the Defendant, because the defendant is charged with a violation of state laws.
What has evidently happened in this case is that the State's Attorney is a FSU grad and booster. As I've said in previous posts, this case stinks to high heaven. At the very least, the SA should have recused himself and sent the case to another authority to represent the State of Florida.
My own personal opinion is that IF JW manages to win the Heisman, it will cheapen both the meaning of the trophy and the pride of those who receive it.
 
This passage from the Deadspin article is basically exactly how I feel; any non-famous person in this country would be in jail awaiting trial, or at least out on bond.

It seems that every time we have a case where a woman accuses a high-profile athlete of rape, we get the inevitable "we just couldn't prove it" press conference. Where are the prosecutors who say, "I believe my witness, we're moving forward, and we'll let the jury decide who's telling the truth"? THAT's what prosecutors are supposed to do. Seek justice, not just winnable cases. In the event law enforcement hadn't noticed: Many woman get raped when they're drinking. Many rape victims are not virgins walking home from church. Some of us foolishly put ourselves in situations that we should not have. But the penalty for stupidity is not rape.

Frankly, I've represented clients charged with sexual assault on less evidence than Meggs had against Winston. Significantly less, actually. My clients, usually poor minority men with no shot at the Heisman, were never given the option of "declining" to be interviewed by the police. Meggs may not have been pressured to close the case against Winston, but given the knee-slappin' good time and Meggs's palpable relief at the press conference, it's hard to imagine that Meggs wasn't at least partly influenced by the public flogging he took from FSU fans and alums when he charged defensive tackle Travis Johnson with rape in 2003, and lost.
I don't know what happened between Jameis Winston and his accuser. Given what I've read in the police reports and the fact that the victim was clearly frightened, at least initially, of pressing charges against Winston, I'm inclined to believe her. I also know that, after a woman is raped, the prospects of a police interrogation and cross-examination are frightening. So frightening in fact, that many of us choose to keep quiet.
I know that every time we see one of these "we can't prove it" press conferences, it confirms what many rape victims have grown to believe: Unless there are severe injuries and/or witnesses to the rape, it's not even worth reporting it.


In fact, for any woman who watched Willie Meggs chortle his way through last week's press conference, the message was clear: When accusing someone of rape, bruises aren't enough. Blood in your underwear isn't enough. The rapist's DNA isn't enough. Your testimony isn't enough.
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