Folks here no doubt recall that two former Vanderbilt football players, Brandon Vandenberg and Corey Batey, were tried and convicted almost exactly a year ago for the rape of a passed out Vanderbilt coed, with the convictions being set aside in a mistrial ruling four months later, after it was discovered that the jury foreman had not disclosed his having previously been the victim of a statutory rape.
Batey was retried in April and found guilty of aggravated rape and other charges.. He is scheduled to be sentenced in July.
The new trial for Vandenberg, whose date was the rape victim, began yesterday.
I have no idea whether Vandenberg is guilty or innocent, but his luck is not running real strong right about now. The timing for commencement of this new trial could hardly be worse, at least from Vandenberg's perspective. Here's how the SF Chronicle put it: "The retrial comes against the backdrop of a furor over the perceived leniency of the six month sentence former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner received after being convicted of sexual assault." No kidding.
I'm wondering if James Franklin is likely to become personally involved in this new trial, and how it might affect him or PSU. What happened at the last trial? Is there much risk of another big PR shitstorm? I sure hope not.
Batey was retried in April and found guilty of aggravated rape and other charges.. He is scheduled to be sentenced in July.
The new trial for Vandenberg, whose date was the rape victim, began yesterday.
I have no idea whether Vandenberg is guilty or innocent, but his luck is not running real strong right about now. The timing for commencement of this new trial could hardly be worse, at least from Vandenberg's perspective. Here's how the SF Chronicle put it: "The retrial comes against the backdrop of a furor over the perceived leniency of the six month sentence former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner received after being convicted of sexual assault." No kidding.
I'm wondering if James Franklin is likely to become personally involved in this new trial, and how it might affect him or PSU. What happened at the last trial? Is there much risk of another big PR shitstorm? I sure hope not.
