The Jameis Winston rape scandal

[LSN80]

Unless you've tuned out to ESPN or any other sports station, for that matter, you've undeniably heard the reports of Florida State QB Jameis Winston being accused of rape of an unnamed female(as is traditional in rape cases), and the events that have unfolded since as a result. One of the bigger things I want to touch on is the criticism of Winston in not addressing this previous, which analysts have taken him to task for. The event in question took place almost a year ago, and Winston was questioned by police in February, but a recently issued statement through his lawyer has said that Winston was told that the investigation was over. Now, sources have leaked that the investigation is being revisited strongly by Florida state attorney William Meggs, as not only has he had Winston's DNA tested by state crime labs, he's(Meggs) interviewed the accuser as well. All-the-while, Winston has remained silent throughout, and only recently has had his lawyer issue any statement as news of the investigation and Winston's DNA being matched have been leaked.

http://espn.go.com/college-football...te-attorney-interviews-jameis-winston-accuser

Winston's DNA has been ruled to be a match to that of the female accuser by the Florida crime lab, but in a statement issued by Winston's attorney Tim Jansen, this was expected by Winston:

"We are not surprised with the results of the DNA. We voluntarily submitted to a DNA [test]; the only thing we are surprised by is it was leaked out by law enforcement. The question the people should ask is why is it being leaked? For what purpose?"I don't think it's a secret what the defense is when I tell you that we are not surprised his DNA was found. We anticipated it would be found. We never, ever said he wasn't there."

So what's next? Based on the interview of the accused, and, more importantly, the results of the rape kit tested on her, the DA will decide how to proceed. If there appears to be vaginal bruising or tearing, the DA will likely file charges against Winston. By law, this will be an "innocent until proven guilty" for Winston if charged, but not so according to Florida State policy. Their Intercollegiate Athletics Policies and Procedures handbook says the following:

"Student-athletes charged with a felony will not be permitted to represent FSU Athletics in game competition until such time as the charge is resolved and all court, university and athletics department conditions for reinstatement have been met."

Other discussion around this has been around Winston's Heisman trophy chances, as he's been seen as one of the frontrunner's for the Heisman as the
QB for the 10-0 FSU Seminoles. Analysts and Heisman voters themselves have come out publicly and discussed the situation. The consensus has been that even if Winston hasn't been charged, they wouldn't vote for him unless the matter is completely resolved both legally and by the NCAA. Right now, Florida State has issued a statement that they're "aware" of the situation, but have refused to comment otherwise. Winston as well has continued to practice without restriction and is scheduled to start as planned in Florida State's next game.

I'm of two minds about this. It troubles me that Winston, knowing that the state had DNA evidence against him, even if the sex was consensual, didn't come forward and acknowledge the sex, but as consensual. However, Winston, as a high-profile athlete but still a young man, would understandably not want to bring possibly avoidable attention to himself, especially if he believed the investigation surrounding him was over.

The other problematic issue that has been raised is towards the Tallahassee police department, which alledgedly, with the backing of Florida State University(again, alledgedly)has tried to dissuade both the State Attorney and the lawyer for the young woman from pursuing this matter further.

Do you see Winston being charged here at some point based on the information thusfar, or do you believe Winston will be exonerated? What is of biggest concern here?

If an investigation against Winston was still open but he was not yet charged, and you were a Heisman voter, would it impact your vote?

Any other thoughts or discussion on this are welcome.

 

[Mustang Sally]

One of the bigger things I want to touch on is the criticism of Winston in not addressing this previous, which analysts have taken him to task for. The event in question took place almost a year ago, and Winston was questioned by police in February, but a recently issued statement through his lawyer has said that Winston was told that the investigation was over.

If he weren't a public figure, no one would expect him to address it at all. Since he is, and that authorities have taken a year to get the investigation cranking, I'd wonder whether his celebrity status and those who want to protect it are responsible for things proceeding so slowly.

Celebrities can't have it both ways (although they sometimes do). The people who want him exonerated because he's a Heisman Trophy candidate and an important cog in a major college football program, lead to the possibility he may already have gotten benefit of the doubt in the handling of this case.

Does that stink? You bet it does; if that's the way it's gone down. It could be that his accusers are making a bigger stink than they did at the beginning of the investigation. If that's the case, his celebrity status is hurting him more than would a regular person's.

I keep wondering: if he admitted "being there" from the start, why was there a fuss about the DNA test in the first place? Were Winston's people hoping against hope the test would show no DNA match even though there was virtually no chance of that? If so, they could trumpet his "innocence" and proceed full speed ahead with his football heroics.

That kind of thing smacks of his legal people "trying to make the whole thing go away" rather than getting to the truth. Of course, in today's legal system, making it go away is all that's required.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

This is still in the "he said/she said" area and it's hard to even speculate on guilt. It's likely that public opinion on whether Winston raped her will come down to how she is portrayed in the media or possibly other women coming out and speaking against or for Winston. At this point all I can do is hope the truth comes out and that the people from Florida State that clearly tried to make this go away get punished in a similar way the Penn St folks were punished. Maybe even going as far as punishing the program.

As far as the Heisman voting, I wouldn't hold this against a vote for him. If he did it and the truth comes out they can take it away later. However, if I was a Heisman official I'd be doing everything in my power to make sure he doesn't win. They don't want that controvery coming back in their faces.

 

[LoudClearVoice]

Do you see Winston being charged here at some point based on the information thusfar, or do you believe Winston will be exonerated? What is of biggest concern here?

Based on the evidence that has been released to the public so far, I don't believe he will be charged. Winston has admitted that he and the accuser had sex, which he claims was consensual. Right now, we don't know if there are any witnesses (was the sex in private, or at a party?), we don't know if the accuser suffered any injuries, did she immediately go to the hospital and was a rape kit done? These are some of the questions we need answered before charges can be brought. The DA won't bring a case soley on "he said" "she said." Remember, Winston is presumed innocent and his guilt would have to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

I do think it's a little odd that Winston hasn't made a statement. From a legal standpoint, he's not required to and his attorneys are probably advising him not to but if I was in his position and didn't do this, I would be calling a press conference immediately to say we had consensual sex, it was not rape, etc. etc. I think he probably doesn't want to create even more of distraction by doing a press conference or interview, that's the only explanation that makes sense.

What is troubling are the allegations that the police told the accuser's attorney not to pursue the matter. That sure makes it look like some kind of cover-up.

If Winston is charged, it will be very interesting to see what FSU does. I know you quoted FSU's collegiate athletics policy however on ESPN yesterday there were some analysts saying that there are loopholes FSU could use to allow Winston to play.

If an investigation against Winston was still open but he was not yet charged, and you were a Heisman voter, would it impact your vote?

Personally, yes it would impact my vote and here's why: Fair or unfair to Winston, if I voted in his favor, he won the Heisman, and then later he's charged with the rape and it comes out that he did it, stripping the Heisman from him deprives the runner up (who actually should have won) of the Heisman. They don't take the Heisman away and give it to the runner up. They just take it away. To me, it's more unfair to the runner up, than it would be to vote against Winston, even if nothing comes of this controversy.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

I think the way everyone has decided to perceive and project upon FSU and the Tallahassee police has been presumptive, and stereo-typical.

They said, in essence, You need to think long and hard about persuing this, because your life is going to suck if you do. To me, and seemingly, any other unbiased party, that says "you need to make sure you aren't simpy trying to make this person suffer for having a one night stand with you" etc, which happens to star athletes all the time.

To me, they were telling her you had better be sure this is the absolute truth, without outright calling her a liar.

It appears its gonna come down to he-said, she-said.....and HE has the witinesses on his side.

As far as his eligibility, he is innocent until proven guilty, and thus, should continue to play.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Do you see Winston being charged here at some point based on the information thusfar, or do you believe Winston will be exonerated? What is of biggest concern here?

I think charges will be formally filed at some point. I'm not an attorney, but I've escorted enough prisoners to & from various trials and/or hearings to know that DNA evidence is the Holy Grail of the justice system. People can swear up & down all the want about seeing this guy do this or that guy doing that, but eyewitness testimony is highly unreliable. DNA doesn't lie and I'd be very surprised if they ran the DNA tests more than once just to be absolutely sure. Every average Joe on the street knows the reliability of DNA evidence, so that alone will be enough to convince most people that a trial should take place.

As to why he kept quiet about it, he was probably told to by his attorney. Defense attorneys are often made to look like bad guys in movies or various television dramas, which they are sometimes. It's their job to sort of fudge the truth just enough without actually doing something that constitutes a full blown, 100% lie. However, a district attorney can be equally ruthless when it comes to doing his/her job. Some DA's are flat out assholes looking to move up in the world. Some want to run for public office at some point, some want their names in the paper, to be on the news, some are hoping to be judges, some are looking to have their rep built up so they can go into private practice as a defense attorney for big fees ranging anywhere from $200 to $500 an hour, etc. If those types of DAs see a possibility of advancing their ambitions by stepping on top of some poor schmuck that they're able to fit into the circumstances of the evidence they've got, or at least enough of the evidence in their minds, they'll do it and not think twice about it.

At the same time, a lot also depends on the credibility of the victim as DNA isn't some automatic slam dunk. The defense is going to do everything possible to discredit her. As a result, they'll comb over her past, speak to people she knows, ex boyfriends, family members, etc. in order to find as many skeletons in her closet as possible. Even if there are signs of vaginal bruising, that doesn't automatically imply rape. Some people like their sex hard and rough, which can lead to trauma that can easily be implied as rape if someone has a notion to do it. There's also the celebrity factor that has to be taken into account. Winston certainly wouldn't be the first well known athlete/celebrity accused of sexual assault by a woman. Maybe she was a one time fling or someone he played in order go get her into the sack and, if so, you have to wonder if she's feeling vengeful. I've actually seen this happen to a few inmates housed in the facility I work. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, indeed. You also have to wonder about the possibility of him being targeted because of his celebrity status and she's wanting some kind of payday at the end of all this.

If an investigation against Winston was still open but he was not yet charged, and you were a Heisman voter, would it impact your vote?

When it comes to "innocent until proven guilty", that's something that's really a technical phrase that's applied more to the courts. When it comes to 100% ordinary people, it's just simply not that way. Some people have a knee jerk reaction to some crimes, especially ones involving sexual assault. They want to see someone punished for it and in their zeal to see that punishment carried out, it's not at all uncommon to make snap judgments. Once they hear the cops have someone in custody and is being officially charged, a LOT of people say something like "I hope they fry his ass" without hearing ANY of the facts of the case. Until/unless he's formally charged, I believe he should still play and it wouldn't affect my vote. If I'd intended to vote for him, I still would.