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Clarence Page, lamented that this case only served to trivialize legitimate cases of injustice, leading to suspicion of those claims.”346
Along with the many harms done by this case, Fine and Turner discuss
“the tiptoe effect,” where whites are afraid, perhaps for fear of being labeled racists, to confront false accusation made by blacks. Thus, even thought there was early suspicion that Brawley’s story was false, officials and observers were careful to avoid saying so explicitly and were afraid to claim that this young woman who falsely accused others as rapists and torturers was “evil” – a compunction not seen in discussion of white accusers. At least in cases of white accusers, once the accusations are proven false, their previous community support is replaced by scorn and anger.
Various groups have staunch support systems and appear to rally around the “victimized” until such time as the hoax is uncovered. Troubling in this case was that part of the black community continued to defend Tawana even after the hoax was exposed.
Steven Pagones, the Dutchess County District Attorney sued Sharpton, Maddox, and Mason for defamation of character as well. Pagones alleged that the Brawley trio of advisors, on thirty-three separate occasions, stated that he had abducted, raped and abused Tawana Brawley. The jury found in favor of Pagones and ordered Maddox to pay ninety-five thousand dollars, Mason to pay one hundred eighty-five thousand dollars, and Sharpton sixty-five thousand dollars.347 Each appealed and initially refused to pay adding interest to the judgment. Eventually, Sharpton, with the help of his wealthy supporters, and Maddox paid their judgments, and Mason’s wages would be garnished until he settles his debt.
346 Gary Alan Fine and Patricia A. Turner, Whispers on the Color Line, Rumor and Race in America, University of California Press, Berkeley, California, 2001.
347 Alan Feuer, “Advisor in Tawana Brawley Case Pays off Defamation Award,” The New York Times, November 7, 2001, p. D.2.
Object Description
| Title | An argument for the criminal hoax |
| Author | Pellegrini, Laura A. |
| Author email | user1963@yahoo.com; teachpolsci@yahoo.com |
| Degree | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Political Science |
| School | College of Letters, Arts and Sciences |
| Date defended/completed | 2008-08-20 |
| Date submitted | 2008 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2008-10-13 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Renteln, Alison Dundes |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Wong, Janelle S. Newland, Chester A. |
| Abstract | Hoaxes are part of the fabric of history. While many provide humor and lighthearted joy, the criminal hoax does not. To date, researchers have included aspects of the criminal hoax in larger academic works. This is an original typology that sets forth the criminal hoax as a distinct part of the larger field of law and public policy. This work provides newly created definitions including four distinct categories of hoaxes: the monetary hoax, the attention getter hoax, the hate crime hoax and the racial hoax. It further illustrates these types with actual detailed accounts of hoaxes and provides insights to each one. It makes policy recommendations concerning the four categories of needs: 1. legislative action, 2. a nationwide statistical database of hoax events, 3. media involvement, and 4. law enforcement training and action to deal with criminal hoaxes. Finally, it recommends further research to identify the causes and motivations of vipers. The ultimate goal of this project is to find ways to eliminate criminal hoaxes. |
| Keyword | criminal hoax; hoax categories |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m1659 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Pellegrini, Laura A. |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Pellegrini-2397 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume26/etd-Pellegrini-2397.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 126 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 120 Clarence Page, lamented that this case only served to trivialize legitimate cases of injustice, leading to suspicion of those claims.”346 Along with the many harms done by this case, Fine and Turner discuss “the tiptoe effect,” where whites are afraid, perhaps for fear of being labeled racists, to confront false accusation made by blacks. Thus, even thought there was early suspicion that Brawley’s story was false, officials and observers were careful to avoid saying so explicitly and were afraid to claim that this young woman who falsely accused others as rapists and torturers was “evil” – a compunction not seen in discussion of white accusers. At least in cases of white accusers, once the accusations are proven false, their previous community support is replaced by scorn and anger. Various groups have staunch support systems and appear to rally around the “victimized” until such time as the hoax is uncovered. Troubling in this case was that part of the black community continued to defend Tawana even after the hoax was exposed. Steven Pagones, the Dutchess County District Attorney sued Sharpton, Maddox, and Mason for defamation of character as well. Pagones alleged that the Brawley trio of advisors, on thirty-three separate occasions, stated that he had abducted, raped and abused Tawana Brawley. The jury found in favor of Pagones and ordered Maddox to pay ninety-five thousand dollars, Mason to pay one hundred eighty-five thousand dollars, and Sharpton sixty-five thousand dollars.347 Each appealed and initially refused to pay adding interest to the judgment. Eventually, Sharpton, with the help of his wealthy supporters, and Maddox paid their judgments, and Mason’s wages would be garnished until he settles his debt. 346 Gary Alan Fine and Patricia A. Turner, Whispers on the Color Line, Rumor and Race in America, University of California Press, Berkeley, California, 2001. 347 Alan Feuer, “Advisor in Tawana Brawley Case Pays off Defamation Award,” The New York Times, November 7, 2001, p. D.2. |
