Posted on 06/15/2006 2:22:31 AM PDT by abb
In the early days of the Duke lacrosse rape case, Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong's public statements appear to have contradicted certain facts in his own files.
After an escort service dancer said three men raped her at a lacrosse party, Nifong talked frequently with national and local reporters -- 50 to 70 interviews consuming 40 hours of his time, Nifong estimated. Nifong then went quiet in early April, refusing most interview requests.
A comparison of his words with documents that Nifong gave defense lawyers show that Nifong made what appear to be misstatements about condom use, a purported struggle and a 911 call made by a second dancer, among other things.
Nifong said the assailants might have used condoms; the accuser told an emergency-room nurse none were used, according to a defense filing. Nifong described a violent attack in which the accuser was choked and struggled to breathe; the accuser told a nurse she wasn't choked, the filing said.
Defense lawyers have filed some of the documents in court and characterized others, such as the medical exam, in affidavits.
Nifong declined through an assistant to answer questions Wednesday.
"Either he knew what the facts were and misstated them, or he was making them up," said James Coleman, a Duke law professor who has publicly requested that Nifong remove himself from the case. "Whether he acted knowing they were false, or if he was reckless, it doesn't matter in the long run. This is the kind of stuff that causes the public to lose confidence in the justice system."
(Excerpt) Read more at newsobserver.com ...
From the Amsterdam News
Pressure on Nifong to Drop Duke case
by CASH MICHAELS
Special to NNPA from The Wilmington Journal
Originally posted 6/15/2006
http://www.amsterdamnews.com/News/article/article.asp?NewsID=70323&sID=4
http://www.newsobserver.com/122/story/450763.html
Petition drive begins for opponent to Nifong
http://www.dansargis.org/column_files/2006_columns/sarg061506.htm
DNA Segregation – Separate But Not Equal
The statement "The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth" was written that way for a reason.
That's kinda the same thing the news media has done for years. I've often said what ISN'T in the news is more important than what IS in the news...
For the first time, the N&O is showing up on my computer as requiring registration. Are they trying to stop the flow of outraged readers from posting nagative comments on the editors' blogs?
She was telling me about animals going extinct. Told her it happens everyday...Things die!!
I noticed that this morning, too. Bugmenot fixed it right up...
What a disgusting story that is. How basic is it in our system that the same laws apply to everyone.
It seems somewhere along the line prosecutors went their own way and started doing whatever they wanted.
Jim Hammer, Lis Wiehl, Kimberly Gilfoyle, Nancy Grace, Susan Filan - these people were prosecutors - how scary is that?
They seem to not be able to string together simple thoughts, and they're prosectors?
Some very good reporting from the local paper. I'm glad to see that they have fully come around on this issue. When this case first hit all Nifong saw was the chance to lock up the huge black vote in Durham indefinitely (or at least till a strong black candidate took it). The whole case is nothing but an example of a prosecutor without strong morals in an election year.
ping
It's illegal for Nifong to have information he's kept from the defense since it's a mutual discovery state. How is he getting away with this?
This seems to ring true in many areas of North Carolina. If you (or someone you know) ever had a false charge filed against you, you would know that this is true. Sometimes cases can go for years before they are dropped -- or worse yet, innocent people end up in prison.
I would like to know the same thing. Where is the judge in this? Does he not see the outcry from the public? Does he even care that Nifong and/or Himan LIED in order to get the search warrants and indictments?
I notice the same thing. I guess Melanie's tired of taking the heat from anonymous posters.
You can be assured Editor and Publishers DO NOT like backsass from the lumpen. But they best get used to it. The old way is gone with the wind...
An interesting discussion this morning over at CTV about what Nifong may contend via expert witness SBI Special Agent Timothy Suggs, a forensic chemist:
http://boards.courttv.com/showthread.php?s=87cdbd0b6eb79fbe8212129811b533e2&threadid=267109&perpage=40&pagenumber=1
Will the pills found at the house be Nifong's silver bullet?
Let's analyze this. Why would anyone need a date rape drug to convince a whore to have sex? The only date rape drug that needs to be used on them is cash money...
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