Defense blames campus culture in rape trial of college football players
A defense lawyer in the rape trial of two former Vanderbilt University football players is blaming college culture for encouraging binge drinking and promiscuity.
Prosecutors say the sexual assault took place in the dorm room of the two men on trial, former wide receiver Cory Batey and star recruit Brandon Vandenburg, the Associated Press reports. Two other former players charged in the alleged assault have not yet been tried.
On Friday, defense attorney Worrick Robinson asked an expert witness, neuropsychologist James Walker, whether anything in the culture could affect the actions of the football players, according to the AP account.
Walker responded that peer pressure is critical at the age of the football players. “You tend to take on the behavior of people around you,” Walker testified. After prosecutors objected, Walker acknowledged he had not studied the culture at Vanderbilt.
The defense has suggested that drunken sex was apparently common since at least five people saw an unconscious woman being carried into the dorm without reporting it, AP says. The alleged rape came to the attention of university officials when they were examining tapes to find out who damaged a door and saw the unconscious woman being dragged into the hallway, where photos were taken, and then into a dorm room. Photos of the alleged assault were found on cellphones and laptops.
Testifying in his own defense on Monday, Batey apologized to the alleged victim and said he doesn’t remember the incident because he was “drunk out of my mind,” according to Courthouse News Service, the Tennessean and a separate story by the Associated Press. Batey carried a copy of The Bible Promise Book in the courtroom on Monday, the Tennessean observed.
The alleged victim appeared to vomit during Batey’s testimony, the AP story says.
Lawyer Fletcher Long, who represents Vandenburg, told jurors his client took “deplorable” photos of the assault but did not take part in it, the Associated Press reports.
Updated at 11:20 a.m. to include argument by lawyer Fletcher Long.
