In the wake of the second Kevin Driscoll rape trial, in which he was acquitted by jurors in less than an hour, it is fitting that USA Today has reported that they have uncovered over 200 cases of prosecutorial misconduct in which state officials subverted justice by any means necessary, including lying to juries and judges, hiding evidence, breaking plea bargains and enticing testimony from felons by promising early release from prison.
Those abuses, often criminal in nature, not only imprisoned the innocent but set guilty people free. And it happened to the tune of millions of dollars in taxpayer money.
Judges involved in the cases were livid, condemning the misconduct as “outrageous” and “flagrant.”
But the problem is not by any means isolated. Says Pace University law professor Bennett Gershman, an expert on misconduct by prosecutors, “It’s systemic now, and … the system is not able to control this type of behavior. There is no accountability.”
That statement is buttressed by the fact that of all these documented cases, not one prosecutor lost their license to practice law, or even their job as prosecutor. In fact, there was only one case where a prosecutor was temporarily suspended.
Remember Mike Nifong of the infamous Duke Lacrosse Rape Case? It took a story that had saturated the media, and public criminality on his part to create enough pressure to get him disbarred. And he spent one day in jail.
This story is a reminder, though, that the travesty of sending innocent men to prison is not just a symptom of feminist governance. It certainly plays into their hand, and I am sure that the Catherine MacKinnon’s of this world would gladly don cheerleader outfits at sentencing hearings if it would not so egregiously violate our sense of the aesthetic. But the fact remains that the entire criminal justice system is now in the hands of criminals. Either by action or omission, they are all complicit.
The rape industry is just an offshoot enterprise of a much larger and successful parent company. And the parent company, after all, makes men its stock in trade.
I recall the first Kevin Driscoll rape trial. I sent an email to Deschutes County Prosecutor Michael Dugan, asking him why his office would so fervently pursue the conviction of a man on nothing more than the accusation of a woman who had passed herself around at a party like a bowl of chips, and who also had a documented history of false rape accusations. I let him know in no uncertain terms that the world was watching, and that a growing number of people were taking a dim view of this kind of prosecution.
He wrote me back, his message saturated with the smugness of a criminal who just knows he can’t be caught. And he said something quite interesting as well.
He quoted Shakspeare. “Truth will out,” he said.
Indeed it will, Mr. Dugan. And it has. Driscoll’s jury didn’t buy your fraud, and were last seen hugging the man and shaking his hand.
And now, even a major player in print media isn’t buying the fraud, either.
Truth will out. And it will out more in the future.
In regards to the second Driscoll trial and acquittal, Deputy Assistant District Attorney Jody Vaughn, who actually prosecuted the case is quoted as saying, “I have no idea what happened back in the jury room.”
I do, Ms. Vaughn. Justice. And justice has a way of finding even the most well heeled of criminals.
So I hope all these prosecutors remain smug and sanctimonious. I hope they think they don’t need their raincoats. Because in the days ahead, the bills will all be coming due. It is becoming increasingly evident, in the immortal words of Bob Dylan, that “A Hard Rains Gonna Fall.”
