Duke Lacrosse Rape Case: All Charges Dropped

Well, in my mind its about time. The state attorney stated yesterday that these men were "innocent," not that there was insufficient evidence or a weak case...they are INNOCENT.

Mike Nifong, the former prosecutor of this case, has completely undermined the integrity of the justice system. Not only was this a breach of ethics, it was also a breach of the law and the public he was supposed to serving. As a result, I believe he should be charged and prosecuted because this is nothing less than a crime at the taxpayers expense.

Here is a general time-line of events in the Duke lacrosse rape case of David Evans, Reade Seligmann & Collin Finnerty. Bear in mind that throughout this entire charade, Mike Nifong is constantly parading around in front of the media proclaiming the atrocities committed by these young men against this poor woman...

• March 13, 2006 - Duke University lacrosse players throw a party at an off-campus house, hiring two strippers.
• March 14 - One of the dancers tells Durham, N.C., police she was forced into a bathroom by three men and beaten, raped and sodomized.
• March 23 - Forty-six of 47 team members comply with judge's order to provide DNA. The sole black member is not tested, because the accuser said her attackers were white.
• March 28 - Duke suspends lacrosse team from play.
• March 29 - District Attorney Mike Nifong calls members of the team "a bunch of hooligans."
• April 4 - The accuser identifies her attackers in a photo lineup of Duke lacrosse players.
• April 5 - Lacrosse coach Mike Pressler resigns and Duke President Richard Brodhead cancels the rest of the season.
• April 10 - Defense attorneys announce DNA tests fail to connect any of the players to the accuser, while Mike Nifong attempts to sit on that information.
• April 17 - Grand jury indicts Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty on rape and other charges.
• April 25 - Granville County authorities confirm the accuser told police 10 years ago she was raped by three men when she was 14. None of the men was charged in that case.
• May 15 - Grand jury indicts team co-captain David Evans on rape charges. He calls the allegations "fantastic lies."
• Nov. 7 - Nifong wins his election to continue as district attorney.
• Dec. 15 - Director of a DNA lab testifies that, in an agreement with Nifong, he omitted from a report that genetic material from several men (none of them team members) was found in accuser's underwear and body.
• Dec. 22 - Nifong drops the rape charges after the woman (accuser) claims she is no longer certain whether she was penetrated or who may have done it. The players still face charges of kidnapping and sexual offense.
• Dec. 28 - North Carolina bar files ethics charges against Nifong, accusing him of making misleading and inflammatory comments to the media about the athletes. He is also later accused of withholding evidence and lying to the court.
• Jan. 3, 2007 - Duke invites Seligmann and Finnerty to return to school (They have not returned). The accuser gives birth. Both sides later say she was not impregnated at the party.
• Jan. 12 - Nifong requests to withdraw himself from the case because of the ethics charges.
• Jan. 13 - North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper takes over the case.
• April 11 - Cooper drops all charges, accusing Nifong of overreaching.

Seems a bit convenient that this whole case got thrown into the national media with Mike Nifong in the middle right around election season. The fact that he pushed so hard on the words of an unreliable source, no evidence and a fraudulent lineup show what type of individual we are dealing with here. Yes, there are others responsible in this case, but at the top of the food chain is Nifong and the accuser.

Bottom line: I believe its no holds barred at this point. These 3 young men have lost a great deal of the most pivotal time of their lives. They now must also live with the stigma that goes along with being accused and indicted in a sexual assault case. Nifong and this woman played with these boys lives, and they should pay dearly.

Now come the civil suits that these boys and their former coach can take advantage of in the attempt to regain their reputations. Millions will be paid.

By the way...Where did Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson go on this one? They were very high and mighty of themselves a year ago, saying every negative thing they could about these players and the team in general and their crimes against this black woman. Are they going to apologize? I didn't think so...

UPDATE:
4/12/2007, 3:39pm
Nifong has officially apologized for his role in this case (abomination). Too little, too late...right? I believe so, what say you?