Merged Brian Banks case / What should happen to his accuser?

[kerikiwi]

This wasn't a "mistake", it was a deliberate deception upon the justice system, for profit.

Worse, much worse, than that: it was a deliberate attack on another human being.

 

[geni]

Not every cent that's left, but every cent she got, with interest. If she doesn't have the $1.5 mil left, well, too bad. The school district can deduct that from her paycheck.

Of course, she should also pay Banks for the loss of a football scholarship and missed earnigns opportunity as an NFL linebacker. I don't know what the scholarship cost would be, but let's assume that if it wasn't for the jail sentence, he'd have had a 6-year career as a back-up and a special teamer, making $600,000/year, so that makes $3.6 million + interest.

There may well not be enough money left in play to make the legal fees worthwhile.

A purjury conviction and jail term (courts have views about people lying to them) also aren't great in terms of employment prospects. Although the guity plea complicates that.

 

[geni]

Worse, much worse, than that: it was a deliberate attack on another human being.

The justic system has historicaly tended to disagre with that point of view.

 

[geni]

Did she at any point testify before a court? Because if not its entirely possible that no crime (filing a false report perhaps?) has been commited.

Brian Banks plead no contest so no statement from the accuser required there and the compensation payment may have been delt with in a (which the criminal conviction it is unlikely that the school would have tried to argue the act didn't happen).

 

[TragicMonkey]

Worse, much worse, than that: it was a deliberate attack on another human being.

Actually, by abusing the justice system she has attacked the whole of society. If we cannot have faith in our fellow citizens not to make up crimes for profit, then we can trust no verdict, no charges, no case, no testimony. That's why I think the least punishment should be a prison sentence equal to the maximum possible sentences for the crimes she invented. I would actually prefer the death penalty be a possibility here. Her actions demonstrate that she is inimical to orderly society.

 

[jasonpatterson]

He spent 5 years in prison and 5 years probation. She later friended him on Facebook and agreed to meet with him, later agreeing to help clear his name. She didn't want to admit to the lie because she did not want to return the 1.5 million.

What should be done with her?

She said that she would help him clear his name, but she didn't want to give back any of the money they had gotten out of it. He had a PI secretly filming everything. Banks said that she and her mother cooked up the plan so that they could sue the school, ultimately.

They pretty much wrecked this guy's life by intentionally falsely accusing him of an entirely fictitious crime. He was convinced by his lawyer to accept a plea bargain because the court would see him as a huge black man (he had a promising football career ahead of him at the time) and immediately assume he was guilty.

If there were any justice in the system, they'd serve at least as long as he did. I wouldn't be surprised if they agree to pay back the money and no charges are ever filed against them.

 

[angrysoba]

I don't know anything about this story but if it is as Tragic Monkey says then I would think there must be a way of sueing her in a civil court and maybe prosecuting her for perversion of the course of justice. I imagine the courts and the police don't take kindly to investigating false crimes. That said, the courts and the police should obviously take a long hard look at themselves if they were satisfied that the defendent was guilty.

 

[angrysoba]

I'm pretty conflicted. What I think she deserves and what should be done are two different things. She deserves to go to prison. But also she did try and make things right. And it would seem to me throwing the book a her isn't exactly going to help others sitting falsely accused in jail.

I find this a little bit of an odd statement. Do you consider the accuser's behaviour to be widespread and the number of people falsely imprisoned for rape to be very high?

 

[tyr_13]

The girl was fifteen at the time. I do think she should be convicted of the appropriate crime, but not jail time. That should be for the mother, the adult, who did the real evil here. She did it to Mr. Banks, the school and city, and actually to her daughter to a lesser extent as well.



EDIT: If I missed any misspelling s or other mistakes in the above I apologize. I was pushing carts all day in 95 degree heat without help and might have some heatburn issues.

 

[ddt]

Actually, by abusing the justice system she has attacked the whole of society. If we cannot have faith in our fellow citizens not to make up crimes for profit, then we can trust no verdict, no charges, no case, no testimony.

This. The girl filed a false accusation with the police - I assume that's as much a crime in the USA as it is in my country. Throw in perjury as well when she testified that under oath. Go for maximum possible sentence. To what extent this whole affair is of her making or of her mother's, well, that's for a jury to decide - but she's the one who claimed to be the victim, and with 15 she wasn't anymore a naive child.

On top of that, the school district should sue her to get the 1.5m back (plus interest), and Banks can sue for another couple of millions for loss of income. Has he still any chance at a football career? He's 26 now...

The problem with this scenario is that she only might be able to pay that all during her lifetime with a good career. However, she has no incentive whatsoever to make a career, as every penny she makes would go to Banks and/or the school district.

 

[Wildy]

If the penalty against a false accuser is too great, it may discourage one from voluntarily stepping forward.

Except in this case she didn't voluntarily step forward. He had to record her saying these things because she didn't want to step in a courtroom.

Perhaps a suspended sentence is appropriate for one who voluntarily recants his/her false allegation.

So they don't really get punished?


The problem is that we shouldn't be encouraging people to voluntarily step forward and tell the court that their statement was false, we should be making people not make false statements to begin with.

 

[timhau]

The problem with this scenario is that she only might be able to pay that all during her lifetime with a good career. However, she has no incentive whatsoever to make a career, as every penny she makes would go to Banks and/or the school district.

Why should we now start thinking about her incentives?

 

[JJM 777]

What should be done with her?

Pay back the money in double amount, half of which goes to its owner and the extra half to the man, plus spend in jail the time that she allowed the man stay in jail.

Ugh, justice has spoken.

 

[Roger Ramjets]

He was convinced by his lawyer to accept a plea bargain because the court would see him as a huge black man (he had a promising football career ahead of him at the time) and immediately assume he was guilty.

So she wasn't the only liar. If he was innocent then he should have pled Not Guilty. Perhaps if he had done so then the justice system would have been able to do its job, and none of the rest would have happened?

 

[Moss]

So she wasn't the only liar. If he was innocent then he should have pled Not Guilty. Perhaps if he had done so then the justice system would have been able to do its job, and none of the rest would have happened?

That would have been the correct and reasonable way. Which the attorney ruined. I wonder if there is a way to get back at that attorney for that harebrained advice.
Whether that would have prevented him going to jail is anybody's guess.

 

[tomwaits]

Who says the attorney was wrong? The whole case rested on "he said/she said" like so many sexual assault cases.

 

[timhau]

So she wasn't the only liar. If he was innocent then he should have pled Not Guilty. Perhaps if he had done so then the justice system would have been able to do its job, and none of the rest would have happened?

And maybe he would have gone to jail for 30 years, in which case he wouldn't have been able to confront and record his accuser for another 20 years or so.

 

[Chris_Halkides]

penalty for a false accusation

Except in this case she didn't voluntarily step forward. He had to record her saying these things because she didn't want to step in a courtroom.



So they don't really get punished?


The problem is that we shouldn't be encouraging people to voluntarily step forward and tell the court that their statement was false, we should be making people not make false statements to begin with.

Wildy,

She initially contacted him but did not follow through, and she also was only fifteen. Both of these are mitigating factors in the present situation (for me the second is of greater import than the first). I am not wedded to the idea of a suspended sentence in this case; I just threw it out for consideration. However, my understanding of a suspended sentence is that it hangs over one's head until the period of probation has been completed. It might be linked to her and her mother paying restitution, for example.

More generally, I would say that a false accusation is an odd-duck sort of crime. Most crimes I can think of hold out the possibility of being proved without the accused making a confession, and some confessions happen only after evidence has been accrued. Some false accusations would never be identified as such unless the false accuser spoke up. Even cases in which the accused had an ironclad alibi could be explained by the accuser making a mistaken identification in some instances.

Legal journalist Stuart Taylor and historian KC Johnson wrote a book about the Duke lacrosse case (Until Proven Innocent). On page 381 they wrote, "And even accusers who admit that they have lied should usually be given a break lest other false accusers be deterred from recanting by fear of punishment. But when it is clear that the accuser has lied and refuses to recant, the accuser should be prosecuted...to deter others from doing the same." Taylor and Johnson do not specify what they mean by break. Perhaps they mean a reduced sentence, but that is my speculation.

 

[Chris_Halkides]

two questions

Who says the attorney was wrong? The whole case rested on "he said/she said" like so many sexual assault cases.

Did the accused and accuser have sex, as opposed to making out? I was under the impression from the article that I read, that the two used to make out in the stairwell. Did the woman undergo a medical examination for rape by a trained nurse or doctor? The SANE program was designed for this situation.

 

[ddt]

Why should we now start thinking about her incentives?

That was purely about paying the huge amounts of money involved. The school district will want their 1.5m back. You made a back-of-the-envelope calculation that Banks' loss of income is 3.6m. Together: 5m.

Now, when someone is faced with creditor(s) demanding 10k, they can realistically pay that back within a year and be done with it: no more threat of debt collectors at your door, or of your creditors trying to repo your car, or to repo part of your wages, of whatever measures they can take to try to get at their money.

However, with 5m as debt there is no realistic horizon when you're done with repaying the debt. A good job would enable you maybe to repay that debt just around retirement. But when every penny you earn above welfare level income goes to your creditors, what incentive do you have to even try to hold a well-paying job?

That's the problem I see: both the school district and mr. Banks are, IMHO, entitled to that money, but the one who has to pay has no incentive whatsoever to earn the money they should pay in the first place.