Imagine being Nifong having a case with the only possible witnesses to support your case are stripping felons looking to avoid the drunk tank or jail for parole violations? Bet he has a few sleepless nights. Let's all hope the residents of Durham recognize this charade and end it on Nov 7th.
Kim will not be a prosecution witness. She's a hindrance, not a help, to Liefong's so-called "case" against the boys.
As long as Kim's faux pas list doesn't get much longer, she will be an acceptable, but controversial witness, for the defense. She has several strikes against her, with her criminal history - not the 911 call or the phony story about where she picked Mangum up - being the most troublesome, but none that can't be overcome to an acceptable (believable) presentation with the right rehabilitation by the defense. On a scale of 1 - 10, the value of her testimony is about a 9; her quality as a witness is about a 4 right now, although she could be bumped up to a 5 with some intensive work by the defense. They have to put her flaws and failures up front and square, then move on. That means the jury won't like her much, but they may mostly believe her and somewhat forgive her criminal conduct when she was younger (she never physically injured anyone - non-violent thief), especially if she has caught her restitution payments up and is working at a legitimate job. If her kid is doing well in school and not in trouble, all that sort of thing, enures to her benefit if those things can be honestly demonstrated. Remember, Kim was a military brat, and there may be more structure in her life than we are aware of at this time. Anyway, this is not an unusual situation with many witnesses, all of whom have barnacles and warts. It's all a matter of degree. Kim has plenty, but she's hardly hopeless. There are jurors who wouldn't even like the pope or Mother Theresa. Look at Amber Frey. Dumb as a brick, several illegitimate kids, posed nude for "modeling" photos, dated several married men, and so on, and she was turned into an angel on the stand, unimpeachable, impeccable integrity, all because she told the truth with her head held high. Granted, she didn't stumble out of the gate as Kim has, and her baggage wasn't as heavy as Kim's is, and she was younger at the time with a shorter track record, but the point is that people can be rehabilitated if their background isn't marred with violent acts or repeated serious criminal acts, and the lies they told were minor and not directly germaine to the case, especially when it's coming from somebody in a class of somewhat low expectations in the first place. Kim apparently isn't well educated or trained ina professional field. Kim's lie about how she came to have Mangum in the car won't be held against her when it's pointed out that she could have completely insulated herself against the warrant issue by simply dumping Mangum somewhere or leaving her at the party. That's rehabilitation of a witness.