JONATHAN TURLEY

Duke Lacrosse Team Accuser Crystal Gale Mangum Charged With Attempted Murder

Crystal Gale Mangum, 33, has been charged with attempted murder and arson. Mangum was the stripper who falsely accused members of the Duke lacrosse team.

Mangum allegedly assaulted her boyfriend, threatened to stab him and set his clothes on fire in the bathroom.

The fire department had to be called to put out the flames. There were three children — aged 3, 9, and 10 — in the house at the time. She is also accused of resisting the officers and identity theft after using a fake name (“Marella Mangum” and age). That last charge seems a bit questionable.

Mangum is the author of the memoir “Last Dance for Grace.” I remain completely astonished that prosecutors, after finding that she lied about the rape, refused to prosecute her for the false claims. Ironically, the 2006 case was taken from the Durham D.A. Mike Nifong because he violated ethical rules and politicized the prosecution. Yet, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper took the politically expedient move of refusing to indict Mangum. The result was that she was allowed to ruin the lives of players like David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann and seek their long incarceration on false charges — only to be given a pass by the system.

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