***OFFICIAL SYMPATHY THREAD FOR THE MAN WHO COULD HAVE BEEN WRONGLY IMPRISONED***

I'm seeing quite a few threads expressing sympathy for B-Girl but not a whole lot for the man who could have been wrongly charged, prosecuted and imprisoned for assault with a deadly weapon and attempted rape if this woman had been a better liar.

So I'm going to express my Official Sympathy for every American in prison today for a crime he did not commit.

I'm expressing my sympathy for every black man who has been wrongly accused merely on the basis of his skin color.

I'm expressing my sympathy for that 6'4" black man in dark jeans and black tank top shirt with the 4"-5" knife who really did exist but would never have dreamed of assaulting Ashley Todd. He was lucky this time, but the next time the accuser may lie better than she did.

And yes, kick and recommend this if you feel the same. It's time to let these apologists know that there was a real man in danger yesterday who, only by the grace of a bad lie, may have escaped with his very life.

K&R!!!

Charles Stuart murdered his pregnant wife on the way home from a birthing class in Boston, MA on 10/23/89 and blamed it on a black man. He jumped to his death from a bridge on January 1990 when it became obvious that he was on the verge of being arrested for killing his pregnant wife.

Susan Smith murdered her two young sons when she drove her car into a lake in South Carolina while the children were strapped in their car seats on 10/25/94. She blamed it on a black man who carjacked her and took off in her car and she stuck to her story for 9 days before confessing that she killed her children.

Now we have Ashley Todd who claims she was attacked in Pittburgh for being a mclame supporter and had the letter B carved backwards onto her cheek and beaten up---on 10/24/08. She was vetted within 36 hours.

Is there something about the 3rd week of October that brings out the liars?

He wrote some gripping poetry about the first two cases from the point of view of the imaginary black man. Powerful stuff, must read. I think it's called Brutal Imagination.

Welcome to DU

Thank you!

maybe there is some connection to that? Something based on fear?

milwaukee man that did about the same i think in fall. i know he was killed with jeffrey dahmer thanksgivingish or xmas.

the camden county prosecutor-the head dude-was found disheveled in an abandoned area. he claims he was beaten and robbed by some black guys. there was a media frenzy and a dragnet for some black guys. turns out old boy was lying. they shipped his butt to the mental hospital. he still practices law in camden county it is absolutely shameful. all the lawyers fall all over themselves talking to him WWW. it makes me sick.

worse than what we're already witnessing. All thanks to the Mccain/Palin ticket.

They are explicitly egging this kind of thing on.

Susan Smith, the child drowner, and the ruined lives of the Scottsboro Boys, and countless other trumped up claims come to mind. The 'B' woman should serve time for this.

Thank you for this post.

I hope she gets the same punishment that black man who could have been wrongly imprisoned would get.

I think she needs to be put away for a long time but it appears her punishment will be minimal. I just watched a video of the arrest. They said they'll arraign her tonight but are asking to keep her in jail because she's a flight risk and they fear she may harm herself because she says she has a history of mental illness.

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/video/17797914/index.html

She deserves to be treated exactly like a wrongly imprisoned black man would be. I think that's the only way to make people like her understand the consequences of their actions.

That says to me that she's been deemed a possible danger to herself, or that a hate-crime charge could be in the works.

"she should be whipped as a strumpet at Bridewell".

How many would be stopped in the streets with no warrant or even likely suspicion so that this hateful woman could get attention for herself and mcRacist?

"people who think like us..." "people like you and me..."

ain't that what their girl, mooselini, has been saying? "Teach that uppity Obama where his place is..."

by a policeman (oops, I thought he was armed), or some nut out to avenge white womanhood?

Remember all the innocent Middle Easteners who were attacked after 911?

and I don't even want to imagine how this could have been, had it not been for the insight of the Pittsburgh police for seeing through the BS.

Thank you for also bringing up the post-911 attacks on ME Americans and immigrants

most of whom are black. :(

This time. All it would have taken is to have been the next guy to use the ATM, roughly matching the description, B-
girl gets egged on by hannity, rush, billo, gets in so deep she can't get out and save face. Not like it hasn't happened before.

But you are right - she put every black man in a 100 mile radius who is over 6 feet tall in harm's way.

as is. Who knows? Hopefully, the cops bullshit meters activated before they bothered to hassle people.

I've worked with cops -- they get bogus reports all the time. Her story was full of holes from day one.

The things that set off my bullshit meter were (1) the story -- just too pat, to convenient -- muggers are rarely politically motivated and (2) the B was just too perfect. Look at the B. The lines are neat and clean. That means she would have had to have held completely still while it was being done. Slashers are rarely that neat unless the victim is unconscious or completely restrained. Even then, someone acting from rage isn't going to be that neat. They are going to "mess her up." So, right off the bat, the story smelled to high heaven. The backward B was another dead giveaway.

Of course, the cops can't just tell her to get lost. They have to investigate, but the focus of the investigation is her story. With this bimbo, I'm guessing they got her to contradict herself in about five minutes. From that point on, the only real suspect was her.

I'm guessing the cops didn't roust anyone as a result of this, but she didn't know that. She was trying to frame a black man. John McCain has a favorite epithet that describes her precisely.

I said this in another thread as well.

about their day yesterday and today, because some idiot made this accusation? How many times does it have to happen before people see it for the outright racism that it is? Poor girl, my ass.

...as a tall african-american who's not only been racially profiled before but has been assaulted by a cop before...

This story turning out to be fake helps highlight racism. But it still hurts women.

Let's think about that. :(

The damage done in terms of exploiting racism is actually undone by the story being so widely publicized as a cynical hoax. But the damage done to women who are victims of assault and sexual abuse is NOT undone. It's compounded.

I don't think this really is nearly as big a deal to black men, in general. It's not exactly NEW nor surprising. Nor is this story going to suddenly change the reality of racial profiling. I dont think blacks in western PA were suddenly more scared than on any other given day. This is 2008 not 1920.

This woman's actions were destructive not just in terms of raw racism or in terms of minimizing violence against women, but also in terms of insulting the faith we have in democracy and the truthful discourse required for healthy democracy.

It's an expression of cynicism and disregard for the truth... on so many levels.

I sincerely think she's at least a little mentally disturbed. I also don't perceive this to be some carefully pre-meditated political stunt. The girl barely had a single coherent story from the start and none of it seemed to have been carefully planned.

as the "black, bushy-haired stranger" of so many lies, we can honor the brutalized women who had to fight to be believed because of all the previous lies.

As my AA ex would say, "Black folk have enough problems without shit like this happening."

falsely and wrongly accused and incarcerated. It is outrageous that it could occur in our America.

My sympathy for Ashley T. extends only so far as she might have a severe mental illness. If she doesn't or if it is a mild personality disorder, and she knows right from wrong, then I hope she ends up facing hate crimes charges. I have no sympathy for her.

kick

:kick:

And I'm glad Ashley the lying GOP racist has been arrested.

Recommended.

if she would have done it up right, they would already have someone in custody..and can you imagine Pat Buchanan and Lou Dobbs?

They just love to hate other people.

Thank you for this thread.

Lynn Swann is 6 feet 4 inches and black. It was him. I'm sure of it!!!!! The cop should arrest him before he hurt another dumb McCain worker!

:rofl:

This is the REAL victim of this hoax! K&R

Which, I think, makes mcRacist Bob Ewell in this case.

:kick:

The United States is a LIBERAL Country.

:dem:

-Laelth

because I'm a fucking nimrod and actually felt compassionate for Ashley Todd.

You showed compassion to a young woman who looked as though she had been assaulted. You gave her the benefit of the doubt because the "evidence" was there in front of your face. That's in no way a bad thing to do.

This is just the other side of the coin. Her actions could have led to the incarceration of an innocent man - just because he happened to be black. I merely want everyone here to understand who has the greater need for compassion right now.

:hug:

I felt compassion after it was revealed to be a hoax because I thought she was mentally ill.

Then I saw the perp walk video where she wasn't wearing makeup for the balck eyes...

We just need to remember that despite any illness, there was a real human being out there in Pittsburgh who matched her description and he was in danger. From what I've read, she's expressed no sympathy for that man, only regret that she was found out.

Maybe I'll feel sympathy for her when she apologizes to that guy. Until then, I just don't think she deserves our sympathy, mentally ill or not.

she admits she loves lying on her myspace page.

some people are just plain despicible.

But I was commenting on the previous poster's belief that she was mentally ill, not stating it as my own opinion. So far as I've seen, B-Girl is the only one who's claimed that she is mentally ill so I'll take that with a very large grain of salt.

If she was mentally ill such that she actually believed that happened to her (i.e., delusional) that would be one thing but knowing full well that she was lying? That may be pathological but it's not the kind of mental illness that makes someone unaccountable for their actions. So now she's been racist, she's contributed to societal doubt when a woman claims assault and now she's going to contribute to the abuse of claiming mental illness. To make it clear, I truly believe that some people are mentally ill in such a way that they cannot be held responsible for their actions but I think that kind of distance from reality is pretty rare. For what it's worth, I've been under psychiatric care for chronic depression for 20 years. I think that qualifies me as mentally ill but I sure as hell don't think that it would excuse any wrongdoing on my part.

nah, that was your human side coming out.

Imagine if she'd have picked someone out of a police line-up? :(

This young lady told a lie that could have had serious repercussions in society. She needs to face up to what she did. There are a lot of folks of color who get "racially profiled" because of her lies and more.

so true. Some real black man could get arrested because she created a fictional black man.

:toast:

It's disgusting, what this woman did, first because of the reasons you cited in your OP. Black men are wrongly arrested far more than white men; add to the chance of getting arrested for being black the kind of lies this woman told, and even more harm could have been done.

And second, because it also does harm to women of ANY color who actually are attacked. How much more difficult might it be to convince someone they are telling the truth, after Ashley Todd lied like the scumbag she is.

Thank you for this thread last1standing. I have sympathy for the person who's life could have been ruined because of this lie.

I would also like to point out that false accuasations make life that much harder for true victims of violent crimes. Todd's crime was blatantly racist, but I would like to make the case that her crime was harmful against women as well when she added the sexual assault charge to her lie.

of her actions on this innocent man. It's like drunk driving but with a hate crime element.

..like my brother, neighbor, and son....

geez we need to get a clue about who deserves what sympathy....

:thumbsup:

and see what can happen when a liar isn't vetted until it's too late.

occurred. Race-baiting of any sort pisses me off.
I'm also a historian, and I know that stupid B-girl's story could have resulted in the serious injury/death of innocent people. It is a disgrace that anyone thinks this is acceptable behavior. It is a sin that in 2008, in the USA, race relations are still in such disrepair that these stories occur and that people believe them. I am a white woman, and a little one at that. I have walked through what some deem the worst parts of America with no fear of "the black man". It sickens me that African American men have that bugaboo hanging over their head, and that crazy women (and I use the term loosely) like B-girl make it worse.

It's not too much of a challenge to support the innocent, after all.

May I propose that the Judge who said "Innocence is not a defense" be disbarred. That ought to get some controversy up here.

Once for "him" and once for living in the general vicinity of the brain dead twit that kicked his legacy.

Isn't it getting a little old?

I am sorry. I see this not just as a deluded or neurotic 20 something, but as having the potential to serve as an excuse for bigots to hurt people ("well, it could have been true so WHACK!"). I am sorry.

I was gloating over the fuck up by the McCain campaign and then got serious about the implications of such an accusation and this fucktard responds: "Well, I bet a lot of black men are thinking about doing that" I came so close to punch the guy out!

it would have been easy to get a "confession"

anything from mccain campaign denouncing todd's stunt?

I know several people who got into deep shit because of false accusations by someone who "seemed credible" (law enforcement's words). The accuser was not even where she said she was (proven) and the accused were about 4 miles away watching a ball game (also proven).

But, the accused were Alaska Natives; the accuser was a white, well-to-do student at a local college.

Two of the accused lost their jobs. For all of them, their names are forever smudged with this dirt.

Why did she do it?

One of the accused didn't want to date her, and told her so.

I don't care how young or old the woman was who pulled this shit. She needs to spend time in jail, and then more time in a locked psychiatric ward.

My heartfelt sympathy toward those men this lie was directed at. This wasn't simply political - this woman was already locked and loaded - but the Repukes pulled the trigger.

You've summed up my feelings exactly

to the Innocence Project for information on a whole host of ones who have been falsely accused. Read their sad stories if you have time. Once in a while, there's a happy ending.

http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/858.php

The Innocence Project is incredibly important. It's also possibly the number one reason for doing away with the death penalty. Far too many innocent men and women are behind bars as we speak with an unknown number facing death.

Thank you for posting.

both of them, actually.

The B girl is obviously sick in the head

BUT

that doesn't excuse what she could have done to some innocent man


He might have ended up in prison, yes

but worse...he might have ended up on the losing end of a crowd of vigilantes who beat him to death.


That's what scares me.

There will always be sick people in this world who act out their sicknesses on a more or less solitary basis...it's the mob mentality though...the people ready and willing to band together to attack innocent people based on nothing more than rumors...or outright lies...that are most frightening.

And that applies in other circumstances as well...

like "fans" of sports teams that riot when their team wins

riot when their team loses


any occasion is good enough for a riot, apparently


Anyway, yeah...I do feel sympathy for the innocent man who might have been victimized by this girl's lie.



On another note, I'm sitting here wondering something....

who would be blamed for shit if there were NO black people in the world?

Please! More like Crazy Like A Fox. She planned this, there is no excusing what she did.

:kick:

"We gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing."

- from "Chimes of Freedom," Bob Dylan, 1964

This is what I thought of, too. All the poor terrified guys who got questioned when that asshole killed his wife in Boston and claimed a black dude did it. All the guys who saw their lives flashing before their eyes when that nutcase woman drowned her kids in the car and claimed a black man did it. All the people whose lives were diminished by the Willie Horton ad. All the family trees that should be flourishing today but never came to be because an innocent black man was lynched. The whole sick legacy of racism that continues to fester inside this country.

Jesus Christ, this can't end soon enough.

Thank you so much for this thread.

in America's prison is a huge black eye on the American judicial system. I hope Obama will address this.

it brings up so many past memories. My husband and I are up in years.We have lived through
what happens to a black man in these cases.

We have an adopted son that fits this woman's profile.As do thousands of other black men fit the
profile. Here is what would have happened and still happens. The police would have quickly
rounded up several six foot black men, put them in a line up. She would have picked one and that
man's life would be over. This could be my son, your son,brother or your husband.

Forget the political impact of this. Wrap your head around the fact that this could be you
or someone you know and it happens everyday.

Our son is safe for today.

What does it say about our society that this woman was so sure she could pull this off?

played out. I didn't believe her for a second. And in a very rare display of justice, a police force was skeptical and suspicious. There have been far too many cases where blacks are routinely framed and imprisoned. I am so ashamed of our society sometimes but do see a glimmer of progress from time to time.

Best of luck to you and your son.

Love, power, and then peace.

Your post touched my heart. Our son is so precious to us.

May you always
walk in
beauty and light

The most chilling, and yet mostly untold, part of this entire sordid affair. If I handed out DUzy Awards, your post would be at the top of this weeks list.

and some of them have been executed....

Otherwise FOXnews would be running with the story on the recently jailed black man found walking the streets. Intense questioning and polygraphs were found to be not necessary when the man was found in plain site.

:kick: I cannot believe that there are actual threads where people are expressing sympathy for that girl. What she did was racist and premeditated. Her actions, had they succeeded, almost resulted in yet another innocent African-American being incarcerated and who knows how many race related assaults! There are far too many who are innocent or incarcerated for very minor crimes for long sentences simply because of their race. This disparity is a blight on and a disgrace for this country. Also, because I so strongly agree with your post, another :kick:. Too bad I can't rec this thread again.

:kick: :kick: :kick:

Especially coming from the most read poster at DU. I'm humbled. :blush:

... a startlingly real premise, jarringly fleshed-out to perfection.

Well done, my friend. :patriot: Well done indeed.

to the people who looked at the fact that the B on her face being backwards could mean she was looking in the mirror, and checking the ATM video, rather than taking a reactionary stance and arresting every 6'4" black man who lives in the area of the supposed "attack".

Here's to cooler heads actually prevailing, saving some innocent guy jail time.

:toast:

Ain't it sweet when justice happens!

Who Am I?
Cornelius Eady


Who are you, mister?
One of the boys asks
From the eternal back seat,
And here is the one good thing:
If I am alive, then so, briefly are they,
Two boys returned, three and one,
Quiet and scared, bunched together
Breathing like small beasts.
They can't place me, yet there's
Something familiar.
Though my skin and sex are different, maybe
It's the way I drive
Or occasionally glance back
With concern,
Maybe it's the mixed blessing
Someone, perhaps circumstance,
Has given us,
The secret thrill of hiding
Childish, in plain sight,
Seen, but not seen,
As if suddenly given the power
To move through walls,
To know every secret without permission.
We roll sleepless through the dark streets, but inside
The cab is lit with brutal imagination.

But you're getting one from me anyway.

I posted a thread here re her, and not one comment. I am sorry for this man! This should never fucking happen! What if we had killed him? We need to put an end to the death penalty. Good luck with your future dude!

This thread will disappear from the Greatest list soon but maybe a few of us will at least have a chance to read it.

I always find it hard to believe how easily our rights and our freedoms can be taken from us. Courtney Bisbee at least deserves a retrial before a jury.

was some nutball. I insulted some of them when I said to him, "they stand there like ghosts in disbelief like nothing like this would ever happen to them." Thanks for your interest here, as something is dreadfully wrong with this case.

Just finished reading. This is an outrage. We will add our voice,in hopes that
Courtney Bisbee will freed.

Apparently that's just me.

:shrug:

I merely agreed with her. If she cannot find it within herself to understand that there was a real person out there who could have been wrongly accused and imprisoned because of B-Girl's lies then I can only say that it seems the vast majority of DUers can. So I agreed with her comment. :shrug:

skanky woman and her imaginary attacker.

student claimed to have been attacked recently in the bathroom of her college?

Are you just making up wild conjecture or is there a point to this? Is this "masked gunman" a reality or did your "Muslim student" make him up? I really have no idea what you're trying to get at.

A muslim student claimed to have been attacked by a "masked gunman."
Now police say that didn't happen.
I am just wondering how many imaginary people should I feel sorry for?

Is that so hard for you?

..there ought to be a "poster figure" for the black man who could have been falsely arrested and charged for such a lie.

evidence, particularly those freed years later, AFTER DNA technology came on the scene.

(I know this is not the topic, but it is within the realm of freeing wrongly-imprisoned people.)

donate to the INNOCENCE PROJECT,....