Oh no. Family wants to re-open Tawana Brawley case

The Tawana Brawley "rape" case is, like the Hitler Diaries, Piltdown Man, Clifford Irving's autobiography of Howard Hughes, one of the great hoaxes of the past century.

Tawana and her case faded away, thankfully. But her mother and stepfather want to have it reopened.

From AP:

Brawley was 15 (in 1987) when she went missing for four days from her home in Wappingers Falls, about 75 miles north of New York City. After being found, she made the shocking allegation that she had been abducted and raped by six white law enforcement officials.

The case quickly made headlines and drew the attention of the Rev. Al Sharpton, who became an outspoken advocate for the teen.

But a special state grand jury found evidence Brawley had fabricated her story. A former Dutchess County prosecutor who had been implicated in the case later sued Brawley, Sharpton and other Brawley advisers for defamation, winning a $345,000 judgment against the advisers and a $185,000 judgment against Brawley.

A spokeswoman for Sharpton, who was held liable for $65,000 in the case, did not immediately respond to an e-mail message early Sunday. The former prosecutor's lawyer did not immediately return a telephone message.

Like most people, I'd never heard of the Rev. Al Sharpton until the Brawley story hit the news. Twenty years later, that loudmouth is still popping up on television screens shouting out his nonsense.

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