In what may be one of the most difficult calls ever in the game of football, should Quincy, Michigan high school senior Mitchell Landis play?
…Mitchell Landis, is charged with rape and many parents are outraged that he’s still in school and that he’s still being allowed to play football.Landis has been charged with two counts of criminal sexual conduct in the third degree, each count is a 15 year felony, but Landis has made bail, he’s back at school, he’s even playing football and that has some parents extremely upset.
On the one hand, Landis has been charged but not convicted of anything. Legally, he’s presumed innocent.
On the other hand, the allegations are significant enough for the judge to have imposed $100,000 bond for his release, a not-inconsequential amount for a high school kid who’s not running away to his chateau in France.
On the other hand, he’s a senior in high school, a football player, a kid, and if he’s denied the opportunity to play ball, it’s not like he can make it up some other time. Landis has one chance to play football (or do anything else) in his senior year, and to deprive him of that while he’s presumed innocent is to cause irrevocable harm should he not be subsequently convicted.
On the other hand, if he is guilty of rape, having him in high school at all puts other people at risk. It would be unconscionable to risk the safety of another high school girl.
On the other hand, the allegations against Landis area kinda screwy, such as:
On Tuesday Newschannel 3 spoke to the mother of the alleged victim, who asked not to be identified for fear of causing further stress for her daughter. She says this all started on August 28th when her daughter was at a friends house for a small party. She says Landis was there.
“She had went to bed and the alleged person had went into the room while she was sleeping and woke her up by taking her shorts off,” said the mother.
She says her daughter screamed, but no one came to help.
High school kids in Quincy have co-ed sleepover parties? She screamed and no one came to help? It’s not to say that Landis didn’t commit the crime, but this, and more, gives some pause.
There is nothing at all unusual about release bonds including requirements that a limit the conduct of an accused, or come with an order of protection. Pre-trial defendants are regularly subject to limitations from loss of a drivers license to drug testing to staying 100 yards away from the object of their affection. Given the grave seriousness of a charge of rape of a high school girl, would it be inappropriate to protect others from Landis, and remove him from the high school environment altogether?
But once that’s done, and done to a high school boy, there’s no going back and giving him another senior year, another year of high school football and whatever comes long with it.
This is one of those litmus test scenarios, where you simply favor the presumption of innocence or the safety of others.
In Quincy, the presumption of innocence seems to have prevailed. And parents are not at all happy about it.
H/T Turley
Well first off, Mitchel Landis has never been in trouble in his life until now. Many unknowns about this story. First, how can you be actively raped at a strange home with other people around, yelling and shouting and nobody comes to your aid? Second, how can the alledged victim be assaulted by two men in hoodies right after you file a police report? Third, how can a rape test kit come back negative? Fourth, how can the rape victim have std’s and young Mitchel Landis does not?
This young girls story makes no sense. The kids in the community know the truth, and the truth is that this girl broke up with her bf the night this alleged rape took place. She was hanging all over Mitchel Landis and had sex of her own free will. She fabricated this entire rape story so that she could get back with her boyfriend guilt free the next day. Also, what the papers are not telling you, is that this girls mother bought the alcohol that was drank by underage teens at this house party.
If Mitchel Landis gets anything but an acquittal over this, I would be very surprised. The school was smart enough to know that this kid has a HUGE lawsuit when this is all over and done and he is found acquitted or innocent of all charges. The facts will ultimately come out in this case and in the end blind justice will prevail.
I plan on being at the court room during this concession to hear all of the facts first hand before I develop my opinions any further. Perhaps someone should also be looking at this girl and her family. Do the police know that her mom is an alcoholic, drug abuser and her adn her family holds no credible water in the legal world?
It is sad that these charges ever came to light in the first place.