Madison Brooks news: LSU student’s family is ‘blown away’ by victim blaming as they say ‘rape is rape’
Nineteen-year-old sorority sister was hit by a car and died on 15 January after alleged rape by group of men she met at Reggie’s Bar in Baton Rouge
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The grieving family members of Madison Brooks have said they were “blown away” by the suspects’ attempts to victim blame as they said “rape is rape”.
Kerry Miller, an attorney representing Brooks’ family, spoke out to “set the record straight” so that the Louisiana State University (LSU) student “is not blamed as a victim” for her alleged rape and death.
On Friday, attorneys for Casen Carver, 18, Kaivon Deondre Washington, 18, Everett Lee, 28, and the unnamed fourth suspect, 17, held a press conference saying Brooks “wouldn’t have complained” about the alleged rape “if she was alive”.
Mr Miller slammed the comment telling Fox News Digital: “I was blown away by that comment. I mean their clients gave sworn statements that they raped a young girl who was intoxicated.”
He added: “She was raped. Rape is rape.”
Brooks met the four men in Reggie’s Bar in Baton Rouge on 15 January. Investigators say the suspects raped her in a car and then abandoned her on a dark road where she was struck and killed by a car.
Madison Brooks was killed by a car. Now, four men who left her on the road are charged with rape
Madison Brooks family hits out at ‘smear campaign’ by alleged attackers as they say ‘this should never happen again’
Madison Brooks timeline: From Baton Rouge bar to alleged rape and death, what happened to the LSU student?
Lawyers for alleged rapists say community wants ‘somebody to pay for Madison Brooks’ death’
Attorneys Joe Long and Ron Haley claimed on Friday that the charges against the four men accused of raping Brooks were filed because prosecutors wanted “someone to pay” for her death.
“We believe that if Ms Brooks was alive, this wouldn’t be a crime. She wouldn’t have complained about it at all,” Mr Long said. “There is understandable anger in the community, and [they] want somebody to pay for her death.”
“We understand that, but our clients did not [commit a crime.]”
Mr Long represents 18-year-old Casen Carver, who is facing principal to rape charges.
Mr Haley is the attorney for Kaivon Deondre Washington, 18, and Everett Lee, 28, charged with third-degree rape and principal to rape, respectively.
Grieving mother of LSU student Madison Brooks calls for tragedy behind her daughter’s death to 'never happen again”
Madison Brooks’ devastated mother is calling for this to “never happen again” as she prepares to lay her daughter to rest this week.
Attorney Kerry Miller, who is representing the family of Brooks, told WAFB that the family doesn’t want any other family to go through what they are.
“Really the goal of Madi’s mom is to never have this happen again, to never have any family feel the kind of pain she is feeling right now,” he said.
He added: “People around her should not have taken advantage of her. They should have protected her.
“Gotten her home safely. Which is the opposite of what these individuals did.”
ICYMI: What happened to Louisiana State University student Madison Brooks?
Police investigating the tragic death of Louisiana State University (LSU) student Madison Brooks have arrested and charged four suspects with rape.
Brooks, 19, was allegedly sexually assaulted in a car on 15 January after a night of drinking in a Baton Rouge bar before being left on a dark road in the early hours of the morning, at which point she appears to have been struck by accident by a passing car, dying later in hospital of her injuries.
On 23 January, Kaivon Deondre Washington, 18, and a 17-year-old male who has not been named because of his age were charged with third-degree rape.
Mr Washington’s uncle, Everette Lee, 28, and Casen Carver, 18, were also charged with principal to rape.
“Madison was a daughter, a granddaughter, a sister, a niece, a classmate and a friend... By all accounts, she was an amazing young woman with limitless potential,” LSU president William F Tate said in a statement.
“She should not have been taken from us in this way. What happened to her was evil, and our legal system will parcel out justice.”
Madison Brooks’ alleged rape and death have brought awareness of ‘rape culture’ at LSU, students and parents say
Tiffani Carlini Roberston, the mother of a female student at LSU, wrote in a touching post that 19-year-old Madison Brooks’ memory “is in the heart of every woman attending LSU as well as their mothers.”
Ms Roberston said Brooks’s story had resonated with many in the local community and made them realise that there is a bigger conversation to be had.
“We may never rid the world of sexual assault, but Madi’s beautiful life is bringing awareness of sexual assault to a generation that till now has kept their pain to themselves,” she told The Independent. “Our hearts are breaking for this family we’ve never known.”
Meanwhile, an LSU student has created an initiative for fellow females to have a safer way to get home after a night out.
“If you go to LSU or have a daughter, friend, family member or any GIRL that goes to LSU, I’ve taken the initiative to make a groupme for girls to reach out to other girls for a ride home or just help getting out of an uncomfortable situation,” Alisha Ortolano, a pre-vet student at LSU, wrote in a Facebook post.
Mr Ortolano encouraged students to get in touch with her to join the group. Only those with an LSU email account can sign up and join the GroupMe chat.
They can then offer to give rides to women who find themselves in “any uncomfortable situations.”
“Feel free to message me and ask for my phone number to put in your contacts if you ever need a ride. Please share this. I want this to reach as many LSU girls as possible!” she added.