A Tale of Two Cases

Mary Katharine Ham contrasts the treatment of Mohammad Taheri-azar, the UNC student who tried to kill several of his fellow students for Allah, and the Duke lacrosse players accused of raping a stripper. In one case, the school president refused to issue any judgments; in the other, he couldn’t wait to brand the accused. In one case, the school resumed normal activities and seemed to quickly forget the incident; in the other, candlelight vigils and protests are still ongoing.

Taheri-azar and the Duke lacrosse players were all technically innocent until proven guilty. In one case, public officials, the press, and the local community did their best to deny the accused that particular courtesy of American justice. Tellingly, it was not the case of the murderous thug who confessed to attempting to kill his classmates, in a fashion reminiscent of Mohammad Atta, just for being non-Muslims—and then detailed his plans and motivations in letters to a local paper.

Quite bizarre, indeed.

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.