Thanks for this update, Lowell.  This story shows how important it is, when pols go far astray, to reign them in.  And this matters especially when he or she is on our side the the aisle.  There should be no double standard.

I wish the AG had acted sooner, but he did act.  The case went on way too long.  I think the pivotal moment was when Ed Bradley, in one of his last stories on air, rebuked the prosecution of the Duke players.  As a frequent visitor to the Triangle, an N & O Reader, and a future Triangle resident (3 more years), I have read much about this controversy.

Nifong was an out-of-control, abusive prosecutor.  He disgraced Durham, North Carolina, and the RTP.  And he embarrasses us all.

As a feminist, I believe Nifong has harmed the cause of advocating for women victims of violence.  Because of Nifong, many will refuse to believe women who speak the truth.  This sorry mess moves to the next stage.  How will the AG, the Bar, and the courts deal with Nifong?  May he get the justice he deserves in one sense, but doesn't in another.  He refused to deliver justice to the falsely accused.  And he'll get the justice he wouldn't give to others. 

These poor boys have been through hell over this.  They deserve some kind of compensation.

Once again, I agree with Dannyboy! :)

The thing that distinguishes this case isn't that the boys were unjustly charged; it's that they had the assets and resources to refute the allegations.  Nifong was careless and biased in this case from the outset - that kind of casual misfeasance means that it was habitual to him.  His other prosecutions should be reopened because if he did this to a bunch of rich, white kids you can guarantee he did it to a bunch of poor, black and other minority defendants who didn't have access to superior legal resources. 

And why didn't they drop the assault/kidnapping charges when they dropped the rape charges months ago?  They have known all along that this witness was not credible.  How many months does it take to slap a happy face on this sickening, sordid mess?  The long delay in owning up to the truth reminds me of our Virginia travesty, Earl Washington, Jr.
Here's a radical idea: investigate first, then decide who to charge.  They rushed to charge these defendants before they even got the DNA results back, and they have been scrambling to justify that decision ever since.

Too often they get "points" for closing cases, not for justice.

This troubled woman was used by these young men too cheap to pay for a stripper from a service that had bodyguards - who could have also refuted her story when it was wrong and who could have protected her those times she had really faced hooligans. Then she was used by the prosecutor to try to close a disturbing case so he could bank the public relations points.

This event is a toubling reminder of what is happening in the war on terror. As long as we continue to breathe sighs of relief at closed cases without looking at whether the system has caught the right guy, our security is false, and real bad guys go free while we aren't looking.

The public also has a perception of athletes that's been formed by high profile crimes committed by athletes.  We're constantly seeing news stories about jocks and guns, rapes, drugs, and assaults.  Sadly, there is likely a lot of truth to many of these stories and it creates an environment where the public assumes guilt for athletes rather than innocence.  That's not to say all athletes are criminals - just that a number of bad people have spoiled everyone's reputation.

What's this have to do with an out of control DA?  Nothing and Everything. 

Nothing in the sense that a DA should be focused on truth and justice and should treat every case equally without prejudice.  That's a tall order even for an honest DA in the real world. 

Everything in the sense that this DA was able to easily get away with his outrageous behaviour because much of the public took the "another privileged athlete breaks the law" attitude.  Guilt was assumed due to frequent bad behaviour on the part of other athletes so the public didn't question the prosecutor's actions.

On a very related note the NFL just cracked down hard on two of it's notorious law breakers, handing out a full year and a half year suspension.  The NFL is clearly taking a hard line against criminal behaviour in it's ranks.  If this filters down to other sports, and especially the college and high school levels, we may see significant improvements in some athletes behaviour leading to an environment where they are not presumed guilty.

It was kind of fun, kind of weird,kind of revolting for why it was in the news, to have Durham NC, the place where I was born, in the news. 

Anyrate, if you haven't done so yet, check out recent diaries about the Bushisms done to song by my uncle.