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Prosecutor: On second thought, nevermind about that Duke rape case



“Rogue prosecutor” Mike Nifong

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper dismissed all criminal charges against the three Duke lacrosse players who were accused of raping a stripper from nearby North Carolina Central University. Cooper took over for former District Attorney / overzealous idiot Mike Nifong after Nifong was charged with ethics violations in his handling of the case. Finding nothing to collaborate the stripper’s case, Cooper concluded no attack occurred.

The three lax players accused are breathing a huge sigh of relief but they must also feel a lot of anger at a “rogue prosecutor” that used their case as a means to further his own agenda. They have every right to be angry, and we would be too in their shoes. (It is estimated that one family spent $3M on legal fees.) But in the end, justice was served. They were not convicted and sent to jail. Whether they were unfairly tried in the papers shouldn’t change the fact that the legal system worked. This isn’t the first time that someone has been unfairly accused and it won’t be the last. Let Bob Dylan tell you the story of the Hurricane.

This is an ugly ugly story. So much so that the Attorney General isn’t going to charge the accuser of any crime because she “may actually believe” the stories she told. He wants to just put this in the rear view mirror, and who can blame him? Everyone is a loser in this case.

Finally, an article in the Baltimore Sun said that some news outlets leapt to conclusions. Some? We would guess more like ‘all’. Everyone loved this story. It had sex, race, and class. Throw in some drugs and it would have hit for the cycle. Plus, it was Duke of all places, the southern bastion of white privilege. And on top of that, it was a lacrosse team, a sport aligned closely with prep school wealth. It was a story we all ran with, not quite presuming guilt but highly skeptical of innocence nonetheless. Well, in the end, we were all wrong — journalists, reporters, and bloggers alike. So David Evans, Reade Seligmann, and Collin Finnerty, we (at least here on SC) apologize.

Links:
[AOL]: Prosecutors Drop All Charges in Duke Case
[CNN]: Duke lacrosse players: Case closed

By Vin

Vin is a Philly boy who shouldn't be invited into your house because he'll judge you on your book and music collection. He owns Dawkins, Utley, Iverson, and Lindros jerseys, which is all you really need to know about him. He can be reached at [email protected].

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