Part of the right-wing apologist justification for thinking
that the professor made up the attack hinges on the assertion
that though the attack happened at "about 6:40 AM" the sun
didn't rise until much later. This is, unsurprisingly,
dishonest, while technically true.
The sun rose at 1:24 PM UTC, which is 7:24 AM Central. That
was the time in Lawrence, KS, which we can safely assume is
close enough.
But it doesn't just go immediately from night to day at
exactly 7:24 AM. There are 3 other times to consider. Civil
Twilight, which is defined as "the limit at which twilight
illumination is sufficient, under good weather conditions, for
terrestrial objects to be clearly distinguished." This
happened at 12:55 PM UTC, or 6:55 AM. Then there's Nautical
Twilight, about which the US Naval Observatory says "at the
beginning or end of nautical twilight, under good atmospheric
conditions and in the absence of other illumination, general
outlines of ground objects may be distinguishable, but
detailed outdoor operations are not possible, and the horizon
is indistinct." Nautical twilight happened around 12:21 PM UTC
or 6:21 AM Central. Since we're talking about the sunrise, the
"beginning" part of the definition applies. Then there's
Astronomical Twilight; USNO says "Before the beginning of
astronomical twilight in the morning and after the end of
astronomical twilight in the evening the Sun does not
contribute to sky illumination." This happened at 11:49 AM UTC
or 5:49 AM Central.
What's the point of all these times? Well, for one to show
the intellectual dishonesty of those accusing the professor of
making his story up. It's technically true that the sun wasn't
completely over the horizon until 7:24 AM. But it's also true
that it wasn't pitch black until that time. Starting at 5:49
AM Central, the sun began contributing to the overall
illumination in Lawrence, Kansas, and steadily increased until
7:24 AM.
And why does any of this matter?
Note that beating-denialist Sean Gleeson, in his
accusational tirade wonders how anyone could possibly have
found the professor to stalk him and beat him. Set aside for a
moment the fact that this idea that it was pitch black in
Lawrence prior to 7:24 AM. Gleeson's own words throw a wrench
in his theory. He says "Mirecki lives at point A, near
Naismith Valley Park, on the south side of Lawrence."
So if Gleeson can figure this out, why couldn't his
attackers?
Part of his rant also hinges on the notion that Mirecki
wasn't driving to work based on where he lives and which
hospital he went to. Perhaps if Mirecki had said that he was
on his way to work that would mean something... but he didn't
say he was on his way to work. He said he was on his way to
breakfast, not work.
Further the assertion that Mirecki had no idea where he was
and that he was merely "somewhere south of Lawrence" is
unsupported by the facts. There is some confusion about where
he was, probably in part because street names change outside
of town, but the Lawrence Journal reported that the sheriff's
office reported the location to be "south of 31st Street on
either East 1400 Road or East 1500 Road."
It is of course possible that the professor has
contrived this entire tale, and if it comes to pass that he
did, we will gladly reported it here, for that would be truly
moronic. There is currently no reason to believe he isn't
telling the truth, and those accusing him of lying have failed
even to begin to fulfill the burden of proof of their
claims.
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