Bowden Criticized for Reference Letter

Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden has come under fire for a “letter of reference� he wrote on behalf of former player Michael Gibson, who is awaiting resentencing next month for his attack on a woman who was shot, raped, robbed and left for dead in her apartment a few days before Christmas in 1993.

Gibson, 30, received six life sentences. Four were for rape, one for armed burglary and one for attempted felony murder. But the Florida Supreme Court recently ruled in an unrelated case that there was no crime of attempted felony murder, which prompted the resentencing hearing.

John Witherspoon, a South Carolina lawyer who is married to the victim, said he didn’t think Bowden had any business writing a letter on Gibson’s behalf.

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The Atlantic 10 Conference awarded Maine a victory for today’s scheduled game at William & Mary that was canceled in the aftermath of Hurricane Isabel. William & Mary came away with a no-contest. The William & Mary campus, located in Williamsburg, Va., has been closed since Sept. 17 and won’t reopen until Monday because of power outages and felled trees.