Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong, who attempted to railroad the three Duke lacrosse players, issued a statement claiming to apologize "...To the extent that I made judgments that ultimately proved to be incorrect, I apologize to the three students that were wrongly accused".
Let's get this straight. Nifong withheld evidence that specifically and explictly exonerated the three players. He knew for weeks and months that the three did not commit rape and yet continued to make statements that suggested that the rape case was going forward.
Nifong's prosecutorial misconduct was extreme and abhorrent and violated the ethical and moral obligations of an officer of the court. He abused his power and three people - the three Duke players - had their lives irrevocably harmed.
This non-apology apology is insufficient.
North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper was explicit in stating that the three players weren't simply not guilty of a rape, but that no such attack ever even occurred. It was the figment of the accuser's imagination, and that Nifong didn't even bother to interview her until months later and even then she couldn't keep her story straight from one version to the next.
No, Nifong can and should suffer the consequences for his actions. Disbarrment is a very definite possibility as is the possibility of criminal charges. That's how seriously this case should be treated.
No comments:
Post a Comment