Mike Tyson, the former world champion of heavy weight lifting had been accused of raping Washington Desire, the Miss Black Rhode Island. She alleged that Tyson had invited her to his room in the Canterbury hotel where the rape took place. Mike Tyson had been arrested in July 1991, for the charges. But what is the story about Mike Tyson Rape Case: True story of his 1992 rape conviction?
Mike Tyson Rape Case: True Story
It was 1991 and the Indiana Black expo was about to hold the Miss Black America pageant during its Summer Celebration. There were many celebrities in the town and amongst them was the most famous athlete: Mike Tyson.
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Early in the morning of July 1991, the famous athlete had invited Washington Desire to his room in the Canterbury hotel. The next day, on July 20, 1991, Washington checked into the Methodist Hospital in an emergency room. She reported that Mike has forced himself on her in the hotel room and she has been raped.
Mike Tyson denied the rape accusation. There were trials in the court that caught the attention of the media and became the headlines. Mike Tyson’s defense attorney was James Voyles and the special prosecutor was Greg Garrison.
In February 1992, Mike Tyson was found guilty of rape convictions. Judge Patricia J. Gifford had then sentenced to 10 years in jail, out of which, she suspended the last four years. “The law of Indiana is pretty clear, and it never mentions whether a defendant or a victim are acquainted,” she had mentioned. Mike Tyson was released in March 1995 after spending six years in prison.
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Mike On His Rape Conviction
Mike Tyson: True story of his 1992 rape conviction again caught the attention of the public in June 2021 when the documentary ‘Mike Tyson: The Knockout’ was aired. Mike Tyson has always maintained his innocence in response to the rape charges. In his book, Undisputed Truth: My Autobiography, published in 2013 he wrote “I did not rape Desiree Washington.” He further added, “She knows it, God knows it, and the consequences of her actions are something that she’s got to live with, for the rest of her life.”
“I have not raped anyone, tried to rape anyone by any means,” Mike said. “I’m sorry for Miss Washington as a person. I by no means meant to hurt her or do anything to her. I’m sure she knows that.”
Racial Nature Of The Verdict Of Mike Tyson Rape case
The conviction ignited instinctive discussions about racial perspectives in the law enforcement framework and what comprised assent, conversations which in numerous ways, actually go on today. “I knew from the start that I’d get no justice. I wasn’t being tried in New York or Los Angeles; we were in Indianapolis, Indiana, historically one of the strongholds of the Ku Klux Klan. I had been found guilty by a jury of my ‘peers,’ only one of whom was Black,” Mike had said in his book.
The case had sparked a lot of discussions and questions were raised about the jurisdiction system. However, it has been long forgotten now. Tyson had returned to the ring, five months after he was released. The real question is, have there been any changes in the jurisdiction since then?
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