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Tawana Brawley (born 1972) is an African-American woman who, at the age of 15, received national media attention in the US for her claim that she was raped by six white men, some of them police officers, in the village of Wappingers Falls, New York. The alleged incident soon became a media sensation, championed by Reverend Al Sharpton and by attorneys Alton H. Maddox and C. Vernon Mason. There were no indictments in an investigation conducted by a grand jury in October 1988, who cited a lack of evidence, concluding she had not been abducted, assaulted, raped or sodomized. Image File history File links Tbrawley. ...
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Languages Predominantly American English Religions Christianity (predominantly Baptist), Islam Related ethnic groups Sub-Saharan Africans and other African groups, some with Native American groups. ...
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Wappingers Falls is a village located in Dutchess County, New York. ...
Al Sharpton Alfred Charles Al Sharpton Jr. ...
Alton H. Maddox is a lawyer who was disbarred following his involvement in the Tawana Brawley alleged hoax. ...
C. Vernon Mason is a lawyer who was disbarred following his involvement in the Tawana Brawley hoax. ...
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Origins of the case
On Saturday, November 28, 1987, Brawley, who had been missing for four days, was found lying conscious but unresponsive in a garbage bag several feet away from an apartment she had once lived in, her clothing torn,ripped, and burned, her body smeared with feces. She was taken to the emergency room, where various slurs and epithets were discovered written on her torso with a black substance described as charcoal.[1] November 28 is the 332nd day (333rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
A detective from the Sheriff's Juvenile Aid Bureau, among others, was summoned to interview Brawley, but she remained unresponsive. The family requested a black officer, which the police granted. Brawley, described as having an "extremely spacey" look on her face, communicated with this officer with nods of the head, shrugs of the shoulder, and written notes. The interview lasted 20 minutes, during which she uttered only one word: "neon." Through gestures and writing, however, she indicated that she had been raped repeatedly in a wooded area by three white men, at least one of them a police officer. A sexual assault kit was administered, and police began building a case. A Sexual assault evidence kit, often referred to as a forensic exam or sexual assault forensic evidence (SAFE) kit, is a set of items used by medical personnel for gathering evidence following a sexual assault. ...
Public response Public response to Brawley's story was at first mostly sympathetic. Bill Cosby, among others, pledged support for her. Articles about Brawley captured headlines across the US. Public rallies were held denouncing the incident. However, racial tensions also climbed, and when up-and-coming civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton, with attorneys Alton H. Maddox and C. Vernon Mason, began handling Brawley's publicity, the case quickly took on an explosive edge. William Henry Bill Cosby, Jr. ...
Al Sharpton Alfred Charles Al Sharpton Jr. ...
Alton H. Maddox is a lawyer who was disbarred following his involvement in the Tawana Brawley alleged hoax. ...
C. Vernon Mason is a lawyer who was disbarred following his involvement in the Tawana Brawley hoax. ...
Under the wing of Sharpton, Maddox, and Mason, a full-fledged media sensation was born. The three claimed that the entire case was a coverup going all the way up to the state government. They named New York prosecutor Steven Pagones specifically, calling him a racist and a rapist, among other accusations. [2] Steven Pagones was an Assistant District Attorney in New York who was falsely accused in 1987 by Tawana Brawley and Al Sharpton of raping Brawley. ...
Grand jury hearings On October 6, 1988, the Abrams Grand Jury released its extensive and thorough 170 page report concluding that Tawana Brawley had not been abducted, assaulted, raped and sodomized as had been claimed by Brawley and her advisors. The report further concluded that the "unsworn public allegations against Dutchess County Assistant District Attorney Steven Pagones" were false and had no basis in fact. To issue the report, the Grand Jury heard from 180 witnesses, saw 250 exhibits and recorded over 6,000 pages of testimony. [3]
In the decision, the grand jury noted many problems with Brawley's story. Among these were the results of the rape kit, which did not indicate sexual assault. Also, despite her claim of having been held captive for days, Brawley was not suffering from exposure, was well nourished, and appeared to have brushed her teeth recently. There were no burns on her body, despite her clothing being charred. A shoe she was wearing was cut through, yet she had sustained no injuries to her foot. The racial epithets written on her were upside-down, which lead to suspicion that Brawley herself wrote the words. Testimony from her schoolmates indicated that she had attended a local party during the time of her supposed abduction, and one witness claimed to have observed Brawley climbing into the garbage bag.
A total of 180 witnesses were called during the hearings. Brawley herself never testified.[4]
Aftermath Brawley and her mother were issued subpoenas to testify in front of the grand jury, and refused to do so. This may have prompted Brawley and her family to move hastily to Virginia, taking with them a "defense fund" of $300,000 which had been contributed by well-wishers. There is still an outstanding warrant in New York against the two for ignoring the subpoena. Official language(s) English Capital Richmond Largest city Virginia Beach Area Ranked 35th - Total 42,793 sq mi (110,862 km²) - Width 200 miles (320 km) - Length 430 miles (690 km) - % water 7. ...
The case still hangs over Sharpton, particularly following his entry into mainstream politics (his race for the 2004 Democratic Presidential nomination involved his addressing the convention from its podium), not merely because he defended Brawley's story well after its veracity came into question but for the unfounded accusations he leveled, and, according to some of his critics, his "playing the race card". (Redirected from 2004 Democratic Presidential nomination) The 2004 U.S. Democratic Party presidential nomination process was a series of primaries and caucuses culminating in the Democratic National Convention that decided which pair of candidates would represent the Democrats in the 2004 election for President and Vice President of the United...
Playing the race card is an idiomatic phrase, referring to an allegation often raised against a person who the accuser feels has unnecessarily brought the issue of race or racism into a debate so as to obfuscate a matter of debate. ...
Maddox was later disbarred after failing to appear before a disciplinary hearing to answer allegations regarding his conduct in the Brawley case.[citation needed]
In 1997, Brawley changed her name to Maryam Muhammad [5].
In 1998 Pagones was awarded $345,000 (he sought $150 million) through a lawsuit for defamation of character that he had brought against Sharpton, Maddox, and Mason, in which the jury found Sharpton liable for making seven defamatory statements about Pagones, Maddox for two and Mason for one. The jury deadlocked on four of the 22 statements Pagones had sued over and eight statements were found non-defamatory. [6] 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean [1]. // Coated in ice, power and telephone lines sag and often break, resulting in power outages. ...
Pagones had also sued Brawley. She defaulted by not appearing at the trial, and the judge ordered her to pay him damages of $185,000. As of 2003, none of the award had been paid. [1]
Maintaining innocence Brawley maintains she did not invent the story, and she still has supporters.[2] Sharpton has never apologized to Pagones for naming him a perpetrator.
References - ^ Fried, Joseph P. "Hoping Brawley Thinks Of 'Damage She Caused'", New York Times, March 2, 2003, p. 29. Retrieved on 2007-03-20.
- ^ Margolin (AP staff writer), Josh. "I'm not a liar", Times Herald Record, December 3, 1997. Retrieved on 2006-01-14.
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See also Miranda Prather is an American woman who gained national attention in July 1997 after police accused her of faking a hate crime. ...
Crystal Gail Mangum - March 16, 2006 Crystal Gail Mangum (born 1978) is an African-American woman known for her controversial accusations[1] that three Duke University lacrosse players raped her in March 2006. ...
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