Nifonged No More
Surprise. Once Mike Nifong turned the case of the three Duke lacrosse players over to the state, the folks doing the new investigation have determined that all charges should be dropped.
April 10, 2007 — The office of North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper will announce that he is dismissing all charges against three Duke Lacrosse players, ABC News has learned from sources close to the case.
The three players, Reade Seligmann, David Evans and Collin Finnerty, were facing charges of first degree kidnapping and first degree forcible sexual offense. The charges stem from an off-campus party on the night of March 13, 2006.
In the hours after the party, one of two dancers hired to perform for the players claimed she had been violently raped in a bathroom by members of the lacrosse team. The players had also been indicted for first degree rape, but that charge was dismissed on Dec. 22, 2006.
Special prosecutors from the Attorney General's office took over the case after Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong recused himself in January, citing charges of unethical conduct filed against him by the North Carolina Bar. Since then, Jim Coman and Mary Winstead have examined the case from scratch, interviewing key witnesses and working through reams of evidence.
Now, how are the authorities going to give these three young men their lives back? Who among those who agitated for these wrongful charges to be brought will apologize for the scurrilous way they behaved? (And who do you think is going to get hit with the first lawsuit - because that is surely coming.)
Other Links to this Post
-
Sensible Mom — Wednesday, 11 April , 2007 @ 12:19 pm
By Rightmom, Wednesday, 11 April , 2007 @ 7:54 am
I knew those young men were not guilty and I love to be right however I would suggest they sue the accuser and the state to recoup the losses they no doubt incurred both by lost job opportunities and lawyers fees. Good for them!!!!
By Gayle Miller, Wednesday, 11 April , 2007 @ 9:20 am
The families have spent a bloody fortune defending these boys (estimates of $240,000 PER MONTH are prevalent), their lives have been damaged - perhaps beyond repair - and for what? So Crystal Gail Magnum could level false charges against 3 innocent young men and so Mike Nifong could be elected D.A.? President of Duke, Brodhead, and the Gang of 88 made all kinds of noise as a result of their ASSUMPTION that these three young men were guilty - in violation of the civil rights of Reade, Seligmann and Evans.
I hope the families sue anyone and EVERYONE to recover the out-of-pocket costs. I hope the lying accuser is prosecuted for perjury and slander. I hope the ENTIRE lacrosse team sues the University for canceling their probable championship season. I hope the lacrosse coach sues for his malicious and unwarranted dismissal. Nifong should be disbarred. Brodhead and the Group of 88 should be FIRED. The journalists who twisted and “nuanced” and “spun” and just plain LIED should lose their jobs.
And a HUGE REWARD should be given to those blogs who kept on pushing on this case. People like KC Johnson of Durham-in-Wonderland, and Liestoppers, and John in Carolina, just to name a few. They are the heroes of this tale and they are also proof that the blogsphere has a very definite effect. They kept everyone’s feet to the fire until movement occurred.