Duke lacrosse players: We told you so

[Amianthus]

April 12, 2007

BY AARON BEARD
The Duke lacrosse rape case finally collapsed Wednesday, with North Carolina's top prosecutor saying the three athletes were railroaded by a district attorney who ignored increasingly flimsy evidence in a ''tragic rush to accuse.''

Attorney General Roy Cooper dropped all charges against the players, all but ensuring that only one person in the whole scandal will be held to account: Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong.

''This case shows the enormous consequences of overreaching by a prosecutor,'' Cooper said.

Defense attorney Joe Cheshire said: ''We're angry, very angry. But we're very relieved.''

Cooper, who took over the case after Nifong was charged with ethics violations that could get him disbarred, said his own investigation into a stripper's claim that she was sexually assaulted at a team party found nothing to corroborate her story, and ''led us to the conclusion that no attack occurred.''

''There were many points in the case where caution would have served justice better than bravado,'' Cooper said.

Later, at an I-told-you-so news conference, the three young men and their lawyers accused the news media and the public of disregarding the presumption of innocence.

''It's been 395 days since this nightmare began. And finally today it's coming to a closure,'' said one of the cleared defendants, David Evans, his voice breaking at one point. ''We're just as innocent today as we were back then.''

James Coleman, a Duke law professor who was one of Nifong's biggest critics, said he hopes the case makes the public ''aware and sensitive to the importance of public scrutiny of what a prosecutor can do."
Article

[Michael Tee]

Geeze, wonder if the same penalties for prosecutorial abuse will apply in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib?  Anyone holding their breath?

[Amianthus]

Geeze, wonder if the same penalties for prosecutorial abuse will apply in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib?  Anyone holding their breath?

What prosecutors are involved?

[Michael Tee]

<<What prosecutors are involved?>>

Ask the Pentagon.  Captain McThis, Lt. Col. McThat, how the hell would I know?  As if they would even give you their real names.

[The_Professor]

MT is diverting the issue here. The REAL issue is that these young men were put thru hell by an overly-political hack. I feel for both them and their families who shed many dollars and tears throughout this ordeal.

This is an unfortunate example of the raw powers available to the judicial system.

It is beyond sad and I hope the prosecutor's career is finished.

[kimba1]

doubtful
it`s not considered too much of a sin to falsely accuse people nowadays
ex. I know many people who don`t care that some deathrow inmates did not do the crime that got them there.
using the excuse their guilty of something and that`s enough to get them executed.

these boys are still guilty by the eyes of alot of people,so it`s doubtful they can ever get back to normal
just ask any dad falsely accuse of molesting his kids due to custody .

[sirs]

doubtful  it`s not considered too much of a sin to falsely accuse people nowadays

Boy, ain't that the truth.  It's done to messers Bush, Cheney, Rove, & Condi, on a daily basis

[_JS]

Boy, ain't that the truth.  It's done to messers Bush, Cheney, Rove, & Condi, on a daily basis

I almost got teary eyed there Sirs.