OUR OPINION: ACCUSATIONS

Last week's exoneration of the Duke lacrosse team members who had been indicted for rape, kidnapping and sexual offense offered a lesson for all of us.

That lesson is we shouldn't be so quick to judge others. Wait until the evidence is in before making a final judgment that someone is guilThe athletes were accused of sexually assaulting a stripper at a team party. The remainder of the lacrosse season was canceled and the coach was fired. Members of the Duke University community quickly took sides in the racially charged incident but after North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper took over the investigation it was determined last week the attack never took place. Cooper took over after the state bar charged Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong with ethics violations in relation to the case.

The Duke lacrosse players have been under a terrible cloud of injustice for more than a year. While they may have been guilty of poor judgment they have been declared innocent of the heinous crimes they were once accused of committing. They, in fact, were the victims of a terrible injustice.

The United States has legal system designed to get to the truth when accusations are made. And that system, although frustratingly slow at times, usually yields just results. All that's needed is a little patience on the part of citizens who are sometimes too eager for a quick conclusion.