Duke Reaches Settlement With David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann
Cover letter from John Burness
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Dear Friends:
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As you know, this past year has been a difficult one for our university,our community, and particularly for the three young men - and their families - who were falsely accused of crimes by District Attorney Nifong anddeclared innocent of all charges by N.C. Attorney General Cooper on 11 April.
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After careful consideration, President Brodhead and the University's Boardof Trustees feel strongly that the unfair burden of restoring their good name should not fall only to the families of the young men and that eliminating the possibility of a costly and protracted legal conflict that would only continue hard feelings and prevent all sides from moving forwardis in everyone's interest. Accordingly, the University and the three students have reached a settlement that includes a payment to each student.
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Enclosed is a news release that includes the two statements announcing thesettlement that are being released today - one from the Duke Trustees and President Brodhead and the other from the three students. In keeping with Duke's normal practices, the details of the settlement are a private matter between Duke and the three families.
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As the Duke statement notes, there is much to learn from the past year aswe move forward. We hope these young men can get on with the rest of theirlives and that Duke and the Durham community can move forward as well. We also hope that some good can come of this case in terms of protecting others from future similar injustices in the criminal justice system.
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John F. Burness
Senior Vice President for Public Affairs
and Government Relations
Duke University
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This has been an extraordinary year for Duke students David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann, who were accused of serious crimes they did not commit. In April, after a thorough review, the North Carolina Attorney General declared that they were innocent of all charges and that the charges never should have been brought. We welcomed their exoneration and deeply regret the difficult year they and their families have had to endure. They conducted themselves with great dignity during their long ordeal.
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These young men and their families have been the subject of intense scrutiny that has taken a heavy toll. The Board of Trustees and the President have also determined that it is in the best interests of the Duke community to eliminate the possibility of future litigation and move forward. For these reasons, and after considerable deliberation, the trustees have agreed to a settlement with each student. Beyond this statement, the resolution is a private matter among the students, their families and Duke.
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This past year has been hard for many people who care about Duke -– for students, faculty, staff, alumni, families and friends –- and for the three students and their families most of all. We resolve to bring the Duke family together again, and to work to protect others from similar injustices in the criminal justice system in the future.
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Today, we are pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement with Duke University to resolve any differences between us.
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Years ago, each of us made a decision to attend Duke because it is one of the greatest universities in the nation. We chose to represent the University on the athletic field and in the classroom as student athletes. We were honored to be admitted and proud to wear the Duke uniform and to compete against the best lacrosse teams in the nation. Duke is a very special place. It balances top-notch academics and athletics, and it offers unparalleled opportunities to its students. We were drawn to Duke because of its sense of community.
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The events of the last year tore the Duke community apart, and forcibly separated us from the University we love. It is impossible to fully describe what we, our families and team endured. As we said from day one, we are innocent. But it took three hundred and ninety-four days, and the intervention of the North Carolina Attorney General, before our innocence was formally declared. We were the victims of a rogue prosecutor concerned only with winning an election, and others determined to railroad three Duke lacrosse players and to diminish the reputation of Duke University. Throughout our ordeal, however, we never forgot the lessons we learned, both on and off the field, about character, integrity, and honor. Those lessons, and the love and support of our wonderful families, friends, lawyers and supporters across the country helped us to prevail against those who refused to seek the truth and to protect all citizens from injustice.
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We hope that today’s resolution will begin to bring the Duke family back together again, and we look forward to working with the University to develop and implement initiatives that will prevent similar injustices and ensure that the lessons of the last year are never forgotten.
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For more information, contact: John F. Burness (919) 681-3788 john.burness@duke.edu
14 comments:
No mas!!!!
Now dump Brodhead & Burness and investigate those members of the Faculty and Duke employees who promoted this Hoax and incited the Duke Campus over an incident that didn't happen!
Start with those Profs at the Hope Franklin Center!
I realize that Burness is probably in a position such that a statement like this could not be released without his name on it.
If it could have been done, though, it should have. What administration figure went further out of their way to smear and slime the players than John Burness? I really hope that the three players and their families got a payment that was very substantial, to make up for the nausea that they must feel to see Burness's name attached to this statement about "moving forward" -- as if Burness's actions were not a sterling example of what they are "moving forward" from.
WOW - bet Butness hated puting out this letter - "apologize for what." The 88 must be crazed = hope someone sends Houston his own copy of the announcemnts.
I see the good families made Duke admit that they could have been sued if they didnt settle and say exactly what the finnerty's, evans and seligmann;s told duke to say. lets count the 88 faculty now and 1 year from now and see if they truely are part of the settlement.
Carolyn says:
Congratulations to Reade, Dave and Collin. Now at last you and your families can start to live your lives free from this hell.
Brodhead, Burness, Gang of 88, Steele, etc.? Go to hell.
The Duke Board-Brodhead statement says the 3 were subjected to "Intense scrutiny". I am startled their attorneys let that phrase stay in.
Arrogance, thy name is Duke.
7:52, I hate to put it this way, but the settlement probably had enough zeros on the end of it to give that term a meaning strong enough for the families to accept. And who knows what non-monetary compensation was included? This was about as close to a face-saving exercise as Duke was going to get, and they rightly took it, and if the settlement terms were right in monetary and non-monetary terms, so were the victims of the hoax and their families. Nevertheless, that was a matter for Reade Seligmann, Colin Finnerty, and Dave Evans and their lawyers and families to decide.
Any comments from the group of 88?
It's like coming up on a sinking boat after it has hit a reef and saying "well that terrible accident was too bad but now let's just move on forward." These events have been traumatic for the Duke community because our leadership and our students let us down to a degree that we are embarassed to be associated with Duke. We are dead in the water, and though we can go through the motions, things are not ever going to be the same. We are ashamed of our school. All the old optimism is gone gone gone, all made worse by the fact that nobody trusts anybody any more.
I am so pleased for David, Reade, Collin, and their families. At least they will not have to deal with the costly efforts of litigating with Duke University.
Hip! Hip! Hooray!
Now, if only the Group of 88, 87, or whatever, would resign.
It's dismaying that Duke's leadership is able to buy its way out of its predicament with other peoples' money.
They ought to pay a personal price.
What about the rest of the team? Were they not put through 'intense scrutiny"? Their pictures were on the Wanted Posters all over campus. Their dorm was opened to Durham police who threw them against the wall. Their season was cancelled-their coach fired. they lived in fear as to who was to be indicted without any support from the University. They are still being slimed by the likes of Burness and the 88. They haven't signed off on any agreements that protect the angry, agenda laden 88.
8:04 --
Since this is a settlement between Duke and the three indicted players and their families only, it can't be binding upon the rest of the team. If another player could show for example obvious grade retaliation like Kyle Dowd, they could bring their own legal action against Duke, and this settlement would not affect that.
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