The defense lawyer for a wealthy Memphis businessman accused of rape has used his closing arguments to explain to a jury, which included 11 females, that his client was innocent because “women are good at lying,” and females are “the weaker sex.” Steve Farese, the defense lawyer that made the closing remarks in defense of Mark Giannini, tossed out shocking comments meant to sway the jury in his client’s favor, as the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports:
“There’s always a reason behind the lie. People can be very good at lying,” “Women can be especially good at it because they’re the weaker sex…That’s what the books say. And we want to protect them and not have anybody take advantage of them, at least I do.”
A disgusted Deborah Clubb, the executive director of the Memphis Area Women’s Council, was quick to respond to what she found as an outrageous, and odd, defense tactic.
“It’s despicable. It’s absolutely despicable. I’m stunned. I really am … He stood in front of 11 women on a jury and said women are liars? That just doesn’t even make the first bit of sense and it’s despicable. Doesn’t even sound like professional strategy for an attorney.”
When told of the blow-back coming after his comments, Farese told the Commercial Appeal, “My job is not to care if anybody gets offended,” adding, “Smart people will see it for what it is.”
Giannini is accused of choking and raping the victim in an assault so graphic that local news outlets couldn’t report the testimony. The woman in the Tennessee case is the third woman to make such allegations against multi-millionaire. In addition to the comments getting headlines, Farese has called the victims “porn stars” and “prostitutes” while hinting that their claims are all about get-rich schemes and are not based on truth.
(Via Memphis Commercial Appeal and VICE News)