Brawley Camp Calls for Smaller Penalty

Lawyers for the men who accused a former prosecutor of attacking Tawana Brawley argued that the men should have to pay only a dollar for each of their defamatory statements. A jury has already found that the Rev. Al Sharpton, Alton Maddox and C. Vernon Mason defamed Steven Pagones by accusing him of raping Brawley in 1987. The penalty phase of the case is expected to continue through today in Poughkeepsie. Pagones wants $150 million in compensatory and punitive damages for defamatory statements made by Sharpton, Maddox and Mason. The trio argued that Pagones should be awarded the minimum allowed by law--a dollar for each statement--because he failed to show any damage to himself or his reputation.