Friday, December 13, 2013
Good afternoon:
Jameis Winston is the phenomenal Freshman quarterback for the undefeated Florida State University Seminoles, ranked first in the nation. FSU will play Auburn for the national championship on January 6, 2014.
Winston has already won two prestigious awards, the Walter Camp player of the year award and the O’Brien Award for the nation’s top quarterback. He will likely win the Heisman Trophy tomorrow evening.
Despite these remarkable achievements, a young woman has accused him of forcibly raping her a year ago. The Tallahassee Police Department investigated the allegation. Last week, Leon County State Attorney Willie Meggs announced that there was not enough evidence to convict the young man because there were too many gaps in the woman’s story.
He released 248 pages of discovery for the public to review.
The young woman’s lawyer, Patricia Carroll, has asked the Florida Attorney General to conduct an independent investigation regarding alleged discrepancies in the medical reports her client’s family received and the medical reports in the package of documents that Meggs released.
The Miami Herald covered her news conference:
“We perceive that as a problem that warrants further investigation,” said Carroll in a news conference Friday. “There is no other choice than to call upon the attorney general of the state of Florida to conduct an independent investigation into this case and the Tallahassee Police Department.”
You can read the 248 pages at Tallahassee.com
After reviewing the documents, I concur with Willie Meggs’s decision not to prosecute Jameis Winston.
What do you think?
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Frederick Leatherman Law Blog 
http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/21/justice/florida-state-university-quarterback-investigation/
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2013/12/13/family-of-accuser-statement-jameis-winston-case/4008855/
In reviewing the 248-page investigative file released by Meggs to the public last week, Carroll said she found 152 pages of documents related to her client, including her cell phone records, texts, emails and social-media posts, but only 11 pages that contained Winston’s name.
She noted that while Winston was identified by her client as the suspect in the alleged rape on Jan. 11, TPD Inv. Scott Angulo’s first search warrant five days later was for the complainant’s cell phone records. No search warrant, however, was requested to search Winton’s apartment, obtain his DNA or retrieve his phone records or those of his two friends who were eyewitnesses of the incident.
Angulo failed to interview both fellow football players at the time and also did not conduct interviews with friends of the women who first reported the incident to Florida State police and were with her at Potbelly’s bar earlier in the night of the alleged attack. By the time Winston was named as a suspect, the complainant had been interviewed five times, Carroll said.
Carroll said she specifically asked Angulo to obtain Winston’s DNA, but the detective refused. He also cautioned Carroll that going forward would the case would make her client’s life miserable because Tallahassee is “a big football town.”
“We felt then that we were up against a situation with the Tallahassee Police Department,” she said. “We didn’t feel we would get a proper investigation. We didn’t feel that we would get justice.”
Carroll called her client a “reluctant victim” and expressed “grave concern” about the validity of tests on the woman’s blood and urine, which found no drugs in her system.
Carroll said the woman’s spotty memory, confusion and headache after the alleged rape was consistent with someone who had been given a so-called “date-rape drug.”
She also questioned whether physical evidence from the woman’s sexual-assault examination, which remained at TPD for 39 days before being sent to FDLE’s lab for testing, was properly handled and secured.
“I don’t have any faith in the nature of this investigation,” Carroll said. “I told Mr. Meggs I had no confidence in this investigation.”
Medical records released by Meggs’ office, also were incomplete, Carroll contended, and left out details of the woman’s injuries and pain medication she received.
“We perceive that as a problem that warrants further investigation,” she said.
TPD’s Northway said the woman’s medical records were reacted to comply with federal health privacy laws. Meggs said such treatment reports were not part of the documents his office receives.
Carroll further questioned Megg’s handling of the case, which was turned over by TPD to his office Nov. 12 after nine months of dormancy, following media inquires for the initial police report. Carroll said Meggs’ 13-day investigation didn’t go deep enough and an inordinate amount of time and resources were spent tracking down the woman’s boyfriend, with whom she had consensual sex prior to the night of her alleged rape. DNA found on the woman matched both her boyfriend and Winston.
“That DNA (from the boyfriend) was from a time well in advance of the attack, yet that was the focus of the state attorney In this case,” Carroll told reporters. “All they did was continue to investigate the victim.”
Meggs said he had to determine the identity of the second male DNA sample to rule out likely defense arguments that the unknown person was the attacker. Meggs said the woman refused to identify her boyfriend.
“We can’t make a case against someone and have DNA of another male that is unidentified,” he said.
Carroll added the woman is doing as well as she can amid the media storm and vicious character attacks on social media websites. The 19-year-old dropped out her sorority, but is finishing her coursework remotely this semester.
“She’s not doing well but she is a strong girl,” Carroll said. “Her life’s been turned upside down, but she is going to continue to try to heal.”
JAMEIS WINSTON CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
Florida State Seminoles quarterback Jameis Winston (5) scores a touchdown as Duke Blue Devils cornerback Bryon Fields (14) and linebacker David Helton (47) and defensive end Kenny Anunike (84) and safety Dwayne Norman (40) defend in the third quarter at Bank of America Stadium.
Florida State Seminoles quarterback Jameis Winston (5) scores a touchdown as Duke Blue Devils cornerback Bryon Fields (14) and linebacker David Helton (47) and defensive end Kenny Anunike (84) and safety Dwayne Norman (40) defend in the third quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Bob Donnan, USA TODAY Sports
Fullscreen
Florida State Seminoles quarterback Jameis Winston (5) scores a touchdown as Duke Blue Devils cornerback Bryon Fields (14) and linebacker David Helton (47) and defensive end Kenny Anunike (84) and safety Dwayne Norman (40) defend in the third quarter at Bank of America Stadium.
Winston airs it out during the Seminoles’ monumental win over Clemson in Death Valley.
Winston warms up before Florida State’s game against Nevada, his first home game.
A two-sport athlete, Winston hit .235 in 119 at-bats for Florida State’s baseball team in 2013.
Winston gets mobbed after beating Clemson.
Winston was an MVP in the 2012 Under Armour All-America Game.
Winston was nearly perfect in his college debut, going 25-for-27 with 356 yards and four touchdowns against Pittsburgh.
Winston is congratulated by fans after his first career game.
Winston warms up on the sideline during his 2012 redshirt season.
Winston shakes a tackle against Miami.
Winston breaks into the open field against Miami, a 41-14 win over Florida State’s rival.
Winston pitched in 17 games in 2013, posting a 1-2 record with a 3.00 ERA and two saves.
Winston gets ready to take on North Carolina State on Oct. 26.
Winston with coach Jimbo Fisher.
Winston gets out of the pocket against Boston College.
Winston was all smiles on the sidelines during the Seminoles’ win over Bethune-Cookman.
Winston threw five touchdown passes in Florida State’s 63-0 rout of Maryland on Oct. 5.
Winston scrambles during Florida State’s 2013 spring game.
Winston threw two touchdown passes in Florida State’s 59-3 win over Wake Forest on Nov. 9.
This was not a case of “protect the footballer”.
Winston was just an ordinary player not someone particularly well known or expected to be a star — that all developed in the year AFTER the incident. He did not need “protection” as she never said it was him for at least a month after the incident.
She told a different story every time, and variously blamed it on a hit on the head or a date-rape drug, no evidence of either having been found by the medical examiners.
I see nothing nefarious about her phone records/messages being investigated — the police were trying to work out where she’d been and who with, as she was vague and confusing about it. They would have hoped this would help them identify the supposed attacker, seeing as she had not identified him.
Her not wanting to continue with the case fits in with her not wanting to involved the police in the first place…. it looks to me like she wanted sympathy from or an excuse for her friends, rather than having actually felt she’d been really raped. She never said anything about fighting back, and accepted a ride home from the “attacker” afterwards.
Doesn’t add up. Right decision not to charge the guy, and nothing to do with him being a footballer.
Aussie she never said she didn’t want to continue the case. she was told by a Detective she didn’t want to follow thru with it. this case was never close,
Jameis Winston wins the Heisman Trophy
What?
There were too many gaps in the woman’s story? Funny, it didn’t bother the SPD and the jury to swallow whole zimmerman’s multi-color stories. His got more holes than anyone can count.
There wasn’t enough evidence to prosecute. A conviction was out of the question.
Yep.
well this is something I can comment on, Im not buying this BS, first off if the TPD would have really been looking into this instead of telling the Victims Lawyer that she didnt really want to go through this because that area was a football town and then stalling for over 8 months this would have been handled sooner, that part can not be denied, review what happens when females report this stuff, Univ of Michigan, females reports it and teammate threatens to rape her again, case goes away, Notre Dame- female reports it, its ignored and female then kills herself, this is why females do not report this, and Ive also like to throw out this, if this was a case of trying to get even with Winston then why didn’t she have someone go to the media long before this came out in the public, she left the campus and transferred out, might want to look into something tho, it appears someone wanted to hand out a lot of money to make this go away, and if she doesn’t sue soon, it appears that did happen. and the farce of a press conf and the report they put out doesnt begin to cover what the family has in reports,
I reviewed the discovery and concluded that the case against Winston cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
I don’t know what happened that night and I’m not going to speculate about what happened.
If you’ve read my articles about the Steubenville, OH and Maryville, MO rape cases, you know that I do not support giving football players a virtual license to commit rape.
I believe this is one of the most important issues in criminal justice today.
Having said all of that, however, I cannot honestly conclude that Jameis Winston raped that young woman and that is why I support the decision not to charge him.
my comments were not directed at what you said, when this happened Winston wasn’t well known, he wasn’t playing yet, he is a red shirt Freshmen. I believe he was playing baseball.
someone from the media started looking into this after discovering the case number and finding out the case wasn’t closed. at this time FSU was undefeated and Winston was in the running for the Heisman, at first his lawyer said he didnt know this girl and that he had witness’s, that didnt change intil the DNA info came out then it became a one night stand, and she was upset his girlfriend was coming into town by then someone gave out this girls name, but failed to say she left FSU and the area to start over, the minute this broke out into the public all that ended, the DA press conf was a complete joke and grandstanding, I didn’t realize rape was a laughing matter, they looked foolish. the fact the TPD held this case for over 8 months is very telling and Winston lawyer said during that time they never questioned him.. I don’t believe this case would have ever been looked into if it wasnt for TMZ
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While I have not yet read the discovery, so I cannot comment on the article (yet) other than to say it is an unfortunate situation for everyone involved, I would like to extend sincere and heartfelt gratitude to our readers who have contributed during this time of year, when it is not easy for anyone to do so.
Things seem to come in threes, and the first of these was, I became very sick (the doctors said staph) and I was not able to be here for a while. I won’t go into the (gory, wet) details, but I am fully recovered and am back and able to participate. Still, it was a setback. Then, several things in a row happened with our only mode of transportation- our motorcycle. We had no choice but to fix these things, but then, we were seriously in a bad way. It was very very scary. We are so thankful and so blessed and grateful for help that we have received, thank you so much.
On the spam filter Fred mentioned briefly, yes, it’s true. We have to keep a separate folder for law enforcement, in fact, because, believe it or not, we both get called names, and we receive all sorts of horrible unspeakable insults and worse, on a daily basis. If anything happens to us, at least LE will know where to look first, and quite frankly, I don’t know why the haters torture themselves so, coming to this site in the first place. So, there’s that.
We are committed to doing the best we can; this site is not just a hobby, where we swing by once in a while. We are open to suggestions, and we are very thankful for our readers, commenters and lurkers. On that note, in the next comment, I will do a welcome to visitors from other countries!
Thanks again.
You wouldn’t believe the number of denigrating comments I receive about you and Fred. I don’t go into the spam queue. Those comments come for moderation. D.P. continuously searches for a proxy IP address website that hasn’t blocked him from accessing my blog. After about 10 of them did, he couldn’t control himself and sent comments through his Comcast IP.
The harasser mocks that he is able to harass and threaten a retired attorney and even someone educated in law has done nothing to stop him.
Because I and another blog administrator were hot on his trail, he incorporated the assistance of the harasser in the State of Washington to try to mislead us. She forgot to use a proxy IP address until her third threatening comment. Even in the third threatening comment, she forgot to change the handle and email address that she used in comments through her ISP. Got her!
He’s now going to unpopular proxy IP address websites hosted in countries such as Bulgaria and Egypt. They act faster than U.S. companies because they don’t want to be involved with U.S. law.
One website was terminated by the hosting company because of D.P. using it for illegal means.
Keeping harassing comments in a separate folder will not accomplish anything besides causing you more work. Using the method that I use, his comments will come through moderation because he has to seek a new proxy IP address website on the average of every two days. Actually, since Comcast received my most recent complaint, he is changing proxy IP addresses on the average of 3 per day. That decreases those available to him tomorrow, and the next day, so he is now working against himself.
Moderation has its own folder. The comments never need to be moved from there. Additionally, you will have the email notification for moderation as backup, even if you decide to spam or trash the comments.
Some of us blog administrators are now combining our efforts. It makes me feel good because for months, I felt as if I was fighting this alone. Many want to see the guy behind bars, but until now, few are willing to do all that they can for that result.
His local police dept. now has a file on him. Two people have reports in that file.
You know that I’ve given you info and tips previously that resolved issues. A community working together gets quicker action.
If you email me, we can discuss this more.
DP is using the handle “Conservative Outhouse” at Nettles’ blog and other pro-GZ sites.
DP may also be the new “I Am Not Trayvon” as well. Same writing patterns.
@Two sides.
He is. All you have to do is click his gravatar. No matter what handle he uses with that account, it’s always “stanyerground” in the URL. When he’s not using his Word Press account gravatar, he is “Self defense is NOT a crime” posting through proxy IP addresses.
Two sides. I know. Gravatar has been very cooperative in keeping track of the number of changes to that account.
For over a month now, there is no where, absolutely no where, that D.P. can go on the internet without it being known, and no changes he can make to his handle and/or gravatar without it being tracked.
Kudos to you, Xena.
I am glad you no longer feel you are fighting this alone and have been joined by blog administrators elsewhere.
@yahtc. I am glad too. For over a year now, so many have no problem contacting me when they are harassed and threatened, but when it comes to doing the work, they have other priorities or some other reason for not following through. I have no standing to submit complaints on their behalf. Now that we have contacts in one place, all victims can communicate with that contact rather than trying to get one state to extradite to another state.
Actually, if D.P. were to be extradited, it would be about 10 states involved.
Sorry for the late reply on this, but thank you so much, much appreciated!
@Crane-Station. No problem about the delay. Still feel free to email me.