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Duke Invites Charged Players Back to School

By Jeralyn, Section Duke Lacrosse
Posted on Wed Jan 03, 2007 at 03:15:26 PM EST
Tags: Duke Lacrosse Players (all tags)
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Duke University has asked Reade Seligman and Collin Finnerty, charged with sexual assault, to return to Duke.

This is a stunning turnaround, since they are still charged with felonies. From Duke's letter to the boys and its public statement:

As circumstances have evolved in this extraordinary case, we have attempted to balance recognition of the gravity of legal charges with the presumption of your innocence," Duke officials wrote to the Seligmann family in a letter obtained by ABC News Law & Justice Unit.

"Now with the approach of a new term, we believe that circumstances warrant that we strike this balance differently. At this point, continued extension of the administrative leave would do unwarranted harm to your educational progress. We decided…to lift the administrative leave," the letter states.

"We have decided that the right and fair thing to do is to welcome back Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty to resume their studies at Duke for the spring semester,"

TalkLeft reported this on the Duke Forums Monday night, having received the tip from reporter Cash Michaels. (Thanks, Cash.)

Reade Seligman's family released this statement:

The Seligmann family issued a statement thanking Brodhead for his recent comments about the case. "We are also glad that Duke University has now made it clear that Reade is welcome to return to the University and look forward to the day that he can return to living a normal life and continuing his education as a full-time student," the statement said.

"By now it should be plain to any person who has any objectivity that the charges against Reade are transparently false," the statement continued. "Reade is absolutely innocent and we will continue to fight this injustice. We are not going to rest until Reade's good name has been cleared and those who have been responsible for this injustice have been held fully accountable."

Collin Finnerty's lawyer had this to say:

This announcement speaks to Duke's integrity as an institution, to its mission and to its belief in Collin Finnerty's innocence and that makes us very glad."

The third charged student, David Evans, already has graduated.

Let the lawsuits begin. This case has been a textb