There’s no treatment harsh enough for Wanetta Gibson
Hardly a week goes by when I don’t receive a nasty and haughty message attacking me for harshly judging the unethical conduct of another. “Who are you to judge?,” the critic will write. “Are you so perfect? Have you never made a mistake? How can you know what was going on in that person’s life, or how bad she (or he) feels? What right do you have to find fault with someone else?” My answer, if I bother to send one, seldom varies. I tell these correspondents that all of us have a duty to judge others so that we are qualified to judge ourselves, to make certain that societal standards are carefully considered and vetted, and to identify conduct that we believe is destructive to society. Refusing to judge others makes it easy for the predators around us to take advantage of our ethical laziness, and people get hurt as a result.
And in those dark moments late at night, after a difficult day when my confidence is at low ebb, as I begin to doubt the purpose of my life and question my own values, I think about people like the horrible Wanetta Gibson.
From the New York Daily News:
“The kidnap-rape conviction of a once-promising prep football star was dismissed Thursday following a recantation by his accuser. Brian Banks collapsed in sobs on the counsel table during a court hearing where a prosecutor quickly conceded the decade-old case and moved for the dismissal.
“In the summer of 2002, Banks’ future looked bright: He was a 17-year-old high school football star being heavily recruited by a number of colleges. But in a single day that changed with the accusations of kidnapping and rape by a female student. He maintained there was no rape and their sexual contact was consensual, but his lawyer urged him to plead no contest rather than risk a sentence of 41 years to life in prison if convicted. He followed the advice and went to prison for six years, shattering his dreams of gridiron glory.”
Then, we learn, the former student, Wanetta Gibson, contacted Banks on Facebook after his release. They met, and she confessed that she had lied to prosecutors about the rape, that as he knew, she had consented. But she told him that she didn’t want to confess to prosecutors, because she didn’t want to have to return the $1.5 million damages award her mother obtained from Long Beach Polytechnic High based on her lies and Banks’ conviction. It took the dedication of the California Innocence Project to get the truth to court and exonerate Banks, who has had to wear a monitoring device while he was on probation and register as a sex offender.
There are not sufficient laws, nor words in the dictionary, nor public shaming, shunning and condemnation to do justice to the likes of Wanetta Gibson. She ruined a young man’s life and stole $1.5 million in the process. She can recant, apologize, say that she found God, weep, express regret and anything else, and it should not insulate her from societal rejection. No one should hire her. No bank should give her a loan or a credit card. No taxpayer should have to contribute to her health insurance or food stamps. No one should befriend her. Absolutely no one should forgive her, consort with her or trust her. The kind of organized hatred that was manufactured against George Zimmerman is appropriate in her case. The Golden Rule? If I behaved like Wanetta Gibson, I would deserve everything I have described, and more.
There is no law that can place her in prison long enough; the Constitution prevents us from indenturing her to Brian Banks for life; we don’t allow torture or tar and feathering. She can change her name and identity, and still lurk among decent people, until another impulse provokes her to ruin someone else’s life. We require convicted sex offenders to register, and they post photographs of these people, many if not most of them harmless and law abiding citizens. Why isn’t there a Terrible Human Being registry for Wanetta Gibson? Even if hers were the only name on it, it would be worth having.
When she has given all of her earthly possessions to Brian Banks, and paid back all of the money she fraudulently took from the schools that could have used it to serve its students’ needs, and dedicated her life to charity, the poor, sick and dispossessed, maybe then we should consider whether she deserves a nod when we pass her on the street, rather than a sneer. Maybe. But even then she will not have erased to consequences of her intentional, malicious, anti-social act to destroy a young man’s future for her own selfish gain.
What can we do with people like her? How can we protect ourselves from them? We can begin by judging them, condemning them, stating loudly and firmly how terrible and unforgivable their conduct has been, and never, ever, trusting them. It is not enough, not by a long shot. But it’s a start.
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Pointer: Legal Ethics Forum
Facts: New York Daily News
Ethics Alarms attempts to give proper attribution and credit to all sources of facts, analysis and other assistance that go into its blog posts. If you are aware of one I missed, or believe your own work was used in any way without proper attribution, please contact me, Jack Marshall, at jamproethics@verizon.net.
Ethics Alarms 
One problem in all this retribution is her children…if all the punishments as outlined are visited upon her, you also punish her innocent children and I feel very sorry for them.
It’s not a problem for anyone but her—they’re not my kids. She’s the one who placed them in this situation, one more reason she is despicable. Kids aren’t “get out of jail free” cards, and the system shouldn’t consider impact on others as an excuse to let wrongdoers avoid justice. That’s a terrible argument and a terrible social trap. If they end u with foster parents they may be spared the fate of ending u with her toxic values. That’s in everyone’s interest.
I don’t think they are her kids anymore either. The story suggest the County has custody.
Agreed.
Why is everyone worried about HER children? I am worried about MY future children and MYSELF. This crap could have happened to anyone, and I am sorry to say, but if your black or some types of Hispanic than this could really happen to you. This is ridiculous, last I checked lying under oath was a crime, falsely accusing someone else of a crime is a crime, scamming the government is treason-a crime. Dont worry about her kids, shes broke therefore they wont notice the difference when the state becomes their parents.
Julie you are right, but I agree with the author, Wanetta needs to be vilified and ostracized forever. A relative can raise the kids; wWth a mother like Wanetta, they will probably be better off.
Leaving aside what the others have already said, that just means that the state and/or community has a responsibility to make sure the fallout to her children is minimized as much as possible. It does not mean that she deserves to have her punishment mitigated.
Bingo!
Don’t worry about her children. They would be happy to call me mommy again. I had the baby his whole first year of life. We were going to adopt them. They were removed from her home for abuse. The courts gave them back to her after listening to more of her lies.
As much as people would like to call for her blood, the one person she damaged the most has forgiven her. To me, that’s powerful.
That speaks well of him, which only means that she destroyed the life of a great person, making her atrocity even worse. His generosity and kindness does absolutely nothing to reduce the amount of contempt and condemnation due her by everyone else.
must also agree with the author in setting a presedent for being responsible for our individual actions & their impact to others. What Ms. Gibson did to Mr. Bank’s life, spirit & future is inexcuseable. Yes she finally admitted she lied, but the next statement she makes is in reference to “not wanting to have to repay all the money received back?!!!” So exactly where do those of you in support of her feel she is truly sorry or wanting to do the right thing. Ms. Gibson changed a man’s life, & not for the better. The Constitution is set to protect civil rights which are inclusive to the persuit of happiness. I would guess most are not aspiring to spend 6yrs in prison, never be able to cook a meal for themselves, forfeit the choice of who they associate with (most of who are in prison are NOT good hearted) & lose the ability to live your life the way YOU see fit..not an institution designed for those who cannot merge with societal standards. She deserves EVERYTHING THE AUTHOR SUGGESTS including the tarring & feathering in my book. Now you can judge me for my submission, but think about this when you do…I’m not a criminal, I have not lied, I have not ruined anyone’s life & have not received money under false pretenses…but you will not judge/fault Ms. Gibson for her actions?
Where did I judge anyone? Calm down. I didn’t do it. The anger you feel towards what she did will cause you more harm than anything. I don’t condone anything she did. I wrote two sentences speaking of forgiveness. So please spare me.
It’s unfortunate you didn’t read my response before attempting to reply. I didn’t say YOU did anything. My reference to judging is to the supporters of Ms. Gibson who view her actions of acknowledging she lied as courageous. Certainly everyone has the right to their own opinion, My statement clearly says if anyone’s opinion is that mine (OPINION) is too harsh to compare it to the ACTIONS of Ms. Gibson. P.S.=> I hope that you never do behave that dishonorably
I don’t think Banks forgave her. He said he wants to move forward in a more positive way for his life.
Sometimes i wonde what people would like to have in life… this gal has decided to right her wrong, and some people are crying for her head. How many people have done such wrong and are still holding to it while their victims are sufferring? We should appreciate for her brave to come forward and allow justice to prevail. We do not have to discourage others who would be willing to come forward to declare the truth!
She was not trying to right a wrong, she was trying to relive her guilt and keep all she took with her like and destitution.
Ugh. I discussed this horrible line of reasoning in the case of Cassandra Kennedy, the nightmare daughter who sent her father to prison by falsely claiming rape—for 10 years. Then she changed her mind—before he had to serve his full 15—and idiot prosecutors didn’t go after her using your “logic.” I wrote then:
“Letting her, or anyone, escape punishment for such heinous conduct is indefensible, muddle-headed and wrong. When one confesses, it is supposed to also represent an acceptance of just punishment. Some crimes, and this is one, simply are too horrible to shrug off and say, well, at least you finally did the right thing. Admitting your father has been rotting in prison for nine years because you haven’t told the truth isn’t doing the right thing.It’s stopping the wrong thing nine years late.”
Same here. The objective is to discourage monsters like Wanetta or Cassandra from falsely accusing men of rape in the first place, not to make it easier for them to confess and get off the hook once they do. And this “Gal” DIDN’T decide to “put her right wrong”—she wasn’t willing to come forward to authorities because she wanted to keep her blood money—which, outrageously, she may get to keep, in part because the logic defect you show by advocating kid-gloves treatment infects far too many others.
Confessing a wrongdoing means nothing if you aren’t also willing to accept the just consequences, including punishment.
Dear Leone in response to your nonsense.
1- Each person is responsible for his or her actions.
2- What made that girl to come out, is guilt that every normal human has, and God sees things and will make you pay in this life before the afterlife.
3- She just destroyed the youth and life of young, hones,t good man.
4- This girl is a criminal, and should pay for her crime. Crime number one is the theft of 1.4 million$ of a hard-earned taxpayers’ money.
5- Second crime, the priceless crime, is the life, the future, the stolen youth, and years of Brian Banks.
She must pay for her crime, and be set as an example for all the women out there. Those women, hypocrites, evil girls, they plant traps for honest men and use the judicial system to their best benefit. And they know our system is built to screw men and benefit women.
Yet I have to agree to one thing she was stupid to send an apology on Facebook thinking she would not get noticed. She deserves 41years in prison sealed. This is my comment. I hope you don’t take it personally, but it is sent from a young man’s point of view.
Cheers
Except she didnt come forward… as i understand it, Banks had to record her saying he was innocent and then take it to a lawyer. Not to mention that she doesn’t want to pay all her stolen money back. This dumb b**** deserves everything she gets.
Why don’t we let all criminals who confess to their wrong doing go free?!?! If she is not willing to pay back the money or accept punishment for her role in destroying someone’s life, then she is not truly sorry! She wasn’t even willing to go to the prosecution!!! She is far from courageous!! She is disgusting and your thinking is completely repulsive!! It would be a crime to not pursue charges against this poor excuse for a human being!!
Right, she’s so “brave” for doing the “right thing”.
You do realize that after she confessed that she lied on tape, she still refused to admit it to prosecutors and even accused Banks of bribing her with 10k to confess, as if accusing him of rape and kidnapping which condemned him to prison for 6 years wasn’t enough.
Make no mistake, she’s rotten through and through.
I totally agree with the author. Surely this woman can be prosecuted for slander, perjury, and fraud (the lawsuit against the school). At the very least, she should have to serve the same amount of time Mr. Banks did and she and her mother should be relieved of any remaining funds received by fraud.
Do you think she cares about her kids? From the LA Times on line “Court records suggest she has few assets: She received public assistance for a time and her children, ages 4 and 5, still do, according to two suits brought by the county in an attempt to collect child support. Gibson, who could not be reached for comment, was ordered initially to pay a $600 a month toward their support. But in the last year, county officials said she didn’t have to pay anything, citing a lack of income and employment.” From this I would suspect she must not even have her kids with her.
I agree…let’s start a Terrible Human Being registry on line and she can be the first. I like you suggestion for making amends. I’m not one to hold a grudge, but if she did do all you suggest, I would think her life has changed and could be noted on the list as a “Recovering Terrible Human Being.”
I must also agree with the author in setting a presedent for being responsible for our individual actions & their impact to others. What Ms. Gibson did to Mr. Bank’s life, spirit & future is inexcuseable. Yes she finally admitted she lied, but the next statement she makes is in reference to “not wanting to have to repay all the money received back?!!!” So exactly where do those of you in support of her feel she is truly sorry or wanting to do the right thing. Ms. Gibson changed a man’s life, & not for the better. The Constitution is set to protect civil rights which are inclusive to the persuit of happiness. I would guess most are not aspiring to spend 6yrs in prison, never be able to cook a meal for themselves, forfeit the choice of who they associate with (most of who are in prison are NOT good hearted) & lose the ability to live your life the way YOU see fit..not an institution designed for those who cannot merge with societal standards. She deserves EVERYTHING THE AUTHOR SUGGESTS including the tarring & feathering in my book. Now you can judge me for my submission, but think about this when you do…I’m not a criminal, I have not lied, I have not ruined anyone’s life & have not received money under false pretenses…but you will not judge/fault Ms. Gibson for her actions?
Absolutely disgusting excuse for a human being! Put the bitch in jail and let her know what it’s like to have freedom taken away. And for the morons who are preaching that she should be commended for being brave and doing the right thing…SERIOUSLY??? She’s not brave…she’s a gutless, greedy woman who cared about money and nothing else. And it’s clear that she’s lost custody of her two kids…I’m sure she’s actively trying to get pregnant again…more kids equals more state money. Sterilize the bitch if nothing else. Rot in hell Wanetta Gibson…the definition of a hideous, ugly troll!
This is the living proof that we must change our laws. Our laws must be just, fair and equal for both men and women, for now women been given so much power they don’t know what to do with it. They commit crimes and come out like they were the victims. She must be judged. Brian should be compensated for his life. $2 million.
I read some women’s comments and they are so hypocritical it is just amazing! How much you can learn about the female brain…totally evil, as if they were working with SATAN himself.
The brains don’t actually work much differently. There’s no reason to slander women as evil here.
This horrible human being is testiment to the selfishness that has become so prevelent in our “enlightened” society. Severe punishment and ostracism is the only way to handle this problem. However this will only impact the part of society which follows this case and none of those who ignore unpleasant areas of life.
Jack, you are mighty in your rightful wrath. Terrible human being, and she needs to do time. Can’t some good soul somewhere charge her with perjury, at least?
Someone can, but almost certainly won’t. Maybe I’ll be surprised. Yes, I find this case especially upsetting, and the fact that some people want to make excuses for her even more so.
The whole affair makes me sick.
Wanette Gibson alone should be made to pay everyone back including Mr. Banks whether he wants to sue her or not. Why should Mr. Bank’s even need to recover anything from the state for wrongful incarceration when Ms. Gibson, and not the state, committed perjury.
Remember, we are the state, and that money (close to $200,000) Mr. Banks seeks to recover from the state will come out of taxpayer’s pockets just like the $1.5/$750,000 from the school district did. Let’s also not forget the thousands of dollars it cost to the try the case and imprison Mr. Banks for five years.
To all you bleeding hearts out there remember this: We put Bernie Maydoff in jail for stealing his investor’s retirement money, why not Ms. Gibson for stealing taxpayer monies not to mention the Banks family who reportedly sold their home and automobile to pay for their son’s defense.
If she can’t come up with the money-what happened to the money is anybody’s guess-then she should be made to do community service work, and since she is reportedly unemployed, that shouldn’t be much of a problem.
As for her children [whose father(s) she probably never intentionally married so she could collect state aide] she’s not supporting them anyway (and probably even received pre-natal care at taxpayer’s expense) so the money she owes Mr. Banks, his family, and the state, won’t come out of their support either (L.A. County has brought two suits against her for back child support which she refuses to pay because she’s indigent.)
At 15 years old, you know what a lie is. I understand from other posters that her mother played a big part in that $1.5M settlement. Nevertheless, Ms. Gibson knew she was lying when she did it. Not to mention, she compounded that lie with the financial settlement.
For people not understand why many commenters want retribution from Ms. Gibson? She blatantly acknowledged that she didn’t want to speak with prosecutors because it would jeopardize the money. How misguided to contact this man on Facebook! How misguided to say she wants to help him be exonerated for the crime she accused him of! But only if she doesn’t have to give up the money.
Mr. Banks should sue her! And as for her children, if she raises them is she not just raising them in the same way her mother raised her…to lie, cheat, and try to get around the system?
I read in another article she is broke, and has received help from the government in the past to support her children. Regardless, she needs to pay, if not her stolen money with her time, then she should sit in jail the same time Brian did, and be an example for any females who in the future plan on accusing an innocent man of rape, simply because he broke her heart or didn’t like her or whatever the reason. These young girls need to know there are consequences for falsely accusing someone of a serious crime . If Wanitta goes unpunished, young girls will see that they can go around accusing men of falsely raping them and get away with it.
Or, in the alternative, they could learn not to do it because it is a wrongful and terrible thing to do to any man, whether they can get away with it or not.
I just read about this story this AM at NPR.org and have been trying to find out more about Wanetta Gibson. I do not know what provoked her to lie about her encounter with Brian Banks because she could not possibly have foreseen the financial payoff. I read somewhere that she had gotten upset about something he said to her but there were no specifics. I have to believe that her mother (or some attorney who saw dollar signs) was the brains behind the lawsuit they won. That is not to say that Wanetta Gibson didn’t enjoy the money because she obviously did. I just don’t think that it was her idea.
Another thing that is interesting about Wanetta Gibson is that she went on Facebook to find Banks and instead of just stalking, sent a friend request. Then, she agrees to meet with him. She apparently believed that if she did not recant to a prosecutor her lawsuit money would not be jeopardized. Banks, of course, benefitted from her not knowing what she was doing. But what I wonder is why did she want to talk to Banks? Was it a guilty conscience needing to make amends? Was she lonely? This is what I do not understand. If you are enough of a sociopath to ruin a person’s life and accept 1.5 million dollars you are not entitled to for ruining the person’s life, then what possible reason could there be for you to contact that person? I really do not understand this girl.
Oaccam’s Razor suggests that she’s just not very bright. She’s like Hoover in “Animal House,” after the Deltas have wrecked the parade, embarrassed the school and caused utter havoc, asking the Dean for “one more chance.” “Yes, I know I sent you to prison and ruined your life, but can’t we let bygones be bygones?” There really are people like that—they don’t want any negative consequences for their own terrible deeds, even for their victims to be angry at them. They expect to keep conning everybody, forever. If you’re not like that, of course you can’t understand it. It’s pathological.
Lisa,
The reason is simply guilt. Surprisingly, this animal has one human feeling.
Leone, what I’d like in life is for women like this to be punished for the crimes they commit. ‘At least she admitted it, and others haven’t’ is really digging to put a nice face on this. Comparing a situation or an act to the worst possible scenario and coming out smelling a tiny bit sweeter is really not saying much . Is it so hard to say ‘What a horrible woman, I want her to see jail time’? It must be, because when a woman is accused of something the first thing that meets the eye on most comment threads is women making comments like yours, ‘At least she came forward, we should commend her for that’ or, ‘We shouldn’t judge, because we have no idea of what drove her to it’ ‘She must have snapped’, ‘She must have been abused’ etc, etc. Like clockwork……I don’t think I’ve EVER seen this kind of logic applied to a man accused of a crime. When a man is accused comments immediately go along the lines of him ‘getting what he deserves from his cellmate Bubba’, which I find totally repugnant. One sex should be handled with kid gloves, the other ‘deserves’ prison rape? A crime is a crime. Why shouldn’t this woman be punished!?
This stupid, lying bitch belongs in prison. She lied and then watched a person’s life get ruined. I hope she loses everything that she has and dies cold and alone. She is reprehensible and deserves to pay for this.
I’d rape and murder her in a heartbeat.
Now, let’s be a nice Klansman, and cool the violent rhetoric.
I agree there isn’t a punishment suitable enough for this woman. It’s women like her that make it hard for actual rape victims to come out without being given a hard time. This man had a bright future ahead of him and she destroyed it. If he doesn’t regain his football career, then just the fact that he was accused of rape will be enough for no one to want to hire him, even if he was acquitted. Records are things you don’t want to mess with. The excuse, “well, she was only 15,” is such a major cop-out because if she was going to use the rape call then she had to have had some idea what it would mean for them both, and if she didn’t she had ample time to figure out what she did wrong and would received the proper punishment. Even if it caused her the discomfort of working her butt off day and night to pay back the money she received. College graduates have to do so for student loans, why can’t she?
Imagine how much angrier Jack would be if Mr. Banks was white! He probably try and shoot this bitch. Right jack?
Oh, that would obviously depend on whether SHE was white, and, of course, whether she was a Yankee fan. Right, Rick?