An accuser recants

A law blog reports:

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has reversed the 2002 rape and kidnapping conviction of former Long Beach Poly football standout Brian Banks.

Banks, now 26, was wrongly convicted of the charges based on the testimony of Wanetta Gibson, an acquaintance.

According to documents in the case, she met with Banks and said she had lied; there had been was no kidnap and no rape and she offered to help him clear his record.

But she subsequently refused to repeat the story to prosecutors because she feared she would have to return a $1.5 million payment from a civil suit brought by her mother against Long Beach schools.

There are many things wrong here. He should not have been charged without some hard evidence. He should have gotten a jury trial, with the jury being told that the accuser was going to make a million bucks on the deal. The taxpayers/school should not be liable for an isolated incident with one student. She should goto prison and pay the money back for ruining the man's life.

But of course she would not have recanted if she knew that she would be held responsible for what she did. So I guess that is a reason to let her off easy. But our justice system should not be dependent on the whim of some flaky girl who is abusing the system.