More than 18 years after the Duke lacrosse players allegations, their accuser Crystal Mangum has come forward and has admitted that she made it all up.
Mangum has said "I testified falsely against [the lacrosse players] by saying that they raped me when they didn't...I made up a story that wasn't true...I hope that they can forgive me."
Was her story to get attention? Was it racially motivated? Was it simply because she is an awful person? It almost doesn't matter why, because the fallout was greater than anyone could have imagined. Her lies ruined the members of that team's lives and tarnished their reputation forever.
Mangum is a horrible human being, I'm not sure anyone would now argue that point. Not only did she lie and destroy these boys, but she later stabbed her boyfriend and is now serving a prison sentence. That is a jail cell she should never be allowed to leave.
She should serve life in prison for what she has done. Lying about a crime and being caught lying, or admitting to it, should then have the same punishment as the crime itself. Far too many people in today' society are freely lying to get their way and then they have a "woops, I'm sorry" sort of blase attitude later on, with no real connection to the devastating wake they have left in their path. Just recently ABC news were caught in a similar spot when they agreed to pay a defamation lawsuit to President Trump after correspondent George Stephanopoulos said on the air that Trump was a racist. That was an out and out lie.
Mangum's lie was even worse and having the book thrown at her should be the only course of action. I understand the notion that she came clean and there has to be some leniency for that, but none will come from me. The damage will never be undone. You have to remember the psychological damage that this had to take on those young boys and the strain it put on not only themselves but their families and friends. When a lie is told like this people look at you differently, and in many cases things can never be repaired. There are people who are collateral damage just because Mangum decided that today was a good day to ruin lives.
The North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, at the time, did not prosecute Mangum for perjury after the case was dismissed, saying at the time that the investigators thought “she may have actually believed the many different stories that she has been telling.” Now coming clean 16 years later and showing she knew the truth the whole time can't impact her criminally. It's ridiculous that the statute of limitations on perjury charges last only two years in North Carolina. So in essence she gets off scott free and is able to clear her conscious. Isn't that convenient? It's pretty easy to come clean when there will be no repercussions.
What's worse than that is Mangum is not alone in pushing the lie. The media showed its ugly head in the matter when they all but convicted the boys before a trial. The 'Duke Lacrosse team' became national news, and fodder for comedians for years after that. The salacious, blood thirty "journalists" didn't wait for evidence, because the juicy story was too good not to run with.
I hold a similar contempt on them as I do the accuser herself. While I stand by the statement that Mangum should never leave her jail cell, I also would like to see some punishment for the media who spread those lies and helped force a narrative that was built on a fabrication. At least for Mangum's sake she admitted this and is seeking some form of forgiveness, I am fairly certain we won't see any media outlets asking the Duke players to forgive them and admit their wrongdoing. It will be business as usual. Just like I am sure there will be no admission or wrongdoing for one of her biggest supporters Al Sharpton. These leaches will always grab hold and then release waiting for the next story.
The North Carolina Department of Corrections' website lists Mangum's projected release date as Feb. 27, 2026.