Posted on 07/26/2007 8:54:27 AM PDT by beaureguard
DURHAM, N.C. — Disgraced former prosecutor Mike Nifong acknowledged Thursday there is "no credible evidence" that three Duke lacrosse players committed any of the crimes he accused them of more than a year ago, offering for the first time a complete and unqualified apology.
"We all need to heal," Nifong said. "It is my hope we can start this process today."
Nifong's apology came as a judge began considering whether to hold the former Durham County district attorney in criminal contempt of court for his handling of the case.
Superior Court Judge W. Osmond Smith III has already concluded there is probable cause to believe Nifong "willfully and intentionally made false statements of material fact" to the court during a hearing in the case last fall. If he finds Nifong in contempt, the now-disbarred former prosecutor could face up to 30 days in jail.
The case started with a woman's allegations that she was raped at a March 2006 lacrosse team party where she was hired as a stripper. Nifong won indictments against three team members, but the charges were later dropped, and state Attorney General Roy Cooper went a step farther by declaring the three men innocent victims of Nifong's "tragic rush to accuse."
On Thursday, Nifong apologized.
"I agree with state Attorney General there is no credible evidence that (the players) ... committed any of the crimes of which they were indicted," he said.
Attorneys for the three falsely accused players, who had previously rejected Nifong's attempts to make amends, accepted his apology.
"For many months, we have sought a real and meaningful apology from Mr. Nifong, for the pain he has caused these families and these young men, the entire Duke lacrosse team, the state of North Carolina and others," said attorney Joseph Cheshire.
"We are very appreciative that Mr. Nifong decided to do that today," he said. "We don't deny it was a difficult thing."
The men's attorneys had asked Smith to hold Nifong in contempt for telling the court he had provided the defense complete results from DNA testing when he had not.
Nifong learned in April 2006 the laboratory found genetic material from multiple males on and about the accuser, but none from the lacrosse players. He didn't provide that information to the defense until October, and only then in the form of nearly 2,000 pages of raw DNA test data.
A disciplinary hearing committee of the state bar stripped Nifong of his law license last month after finding he had committed more than two dozen violations of the state's rules of professional conduct during the case.
Maybe I missed it.
Where did he offer an apology here?
I see an admission of the facts, and other lawyers calling that admission an apology, but where did he actually apologize?
Maybe I missed it.
Where did he offer an apology here?
I see an admission of the facts, and other lawyers calling that admission an apology, but where did he actually apologize?
Maybe I missed it.
Where did he offer an apology here?
I see an admission of the facts, and other lawyers calling that admission an apology, but where did he actually apologize?
I am sorry for the multiple posts.
I am sorry for the hurt it has caused my fellow Freepers to endure.
See...THAT’S an apology.
Nifong offered a statement of facts. Like: “I made a multiple post”
The courts solution for the imbalance of cost of defense vs cost of punishment is the “no contest” plea.
Essentially the defendant admits nothing but is telling the court it is simply easier to deal with the punishment vs the cost of PROVING their innocents. (lets be real because that is what is happening)
The judge, unless prohibited by law or sentencing guidlines, can do what is called “witholding adjudication” or “reserving judgment pending completion of sentence”. this trick of the word means the defendant has no actual conviction on their record. (except immigration treats it as a conviction for their purposes)
So the government gets their pound of fines, theprosecutor gets to pretend to be undefeated, the cop gets to keep his ego pumped with badge fever, the judge still thinks his/her poop does not stink, and the defendant gets to go home to the family and TRY to put the remnants of his/her life back together.
The DA went ballistic and persuaded my employer to give me thirty days off without pay.
I got the last laugh when the DA was found to be planning to slime an opposition candidate to his office and the voter heaved him from office.
(Goggle Dennis Stout for further details ;^)
The DA went ballistic and persuaded my employer to give me thirty days off without pay.
I got the last laugh when the DA was found to be planning to slime an opposition candidate to his office and the voters heaved him from office.
(Goggle Dennis Stout for further details ;^)
Say... maybe there’s a good reason for Nifong not giving a real apology or admission of guilt. Maybe he knows that when criminals confessed to him it never did them a bit of good, no matter what he had promised.
By saying "we," he erases the difference between himself, a villain, and his victims.
Scum to the end.
He’ll need to “heal” after his stint in prison.
The text of Nifong's apology:
''With the court's permission, I would have a brief statement:
The last 16 months have proven to be a difficult and painful journey for my family and for myself. I know this has also been a difficult and painful journey for Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and David Evans, for their families, for Durham and for the state of North Carolina.
We all need to heal. I believe, however, that this healing process cannot truly begin until all proceedings involving this matter are concluded and everyone is able to go forward. I have resigned my position as Durham's district attorney as a part of this process.
I have read the report released by the attorney general, including his recitation of evidence I did not have -- evidence that he obtained from his own investigation.
I agree with the attorney general's statement that there is no credible evidence that Mr. Seligmann, Mr. Finnerty or Mr. Evans committed any of the crimes for which they were indicted -- or any other crimes against (the accuser) -- during the party that occurred on March 13th and 14th, 2006, at North Buchanan Boulevard in Durham.
Mr. Seligmann, Mr. Finnerty and Mr. Evans were entitled to the presumption of innocence when the were under indictment. Surely they are entitled to more than that now as they go forward for the rest of their lives, and that is what the attorney general tried to give them in his declaration that they are innocent.
I have admitted on more than one occasion that I have made mistakes in the prosecution of these cases. For that, I sincerely apologize to Mr. Seligmann, Mr. Finnerty, Mr. Evans and to their families.
It is my hope that all of us can learn from the mistakes in this case, that all of us can begin to move forward. It is my hope that we can start this process today.
Thank you, your honor.''
As you can see, he apologizes because he made mistakes in the prosecution of these cases. Actually, if you want to be hyper-technical about it, he apologizes for having admitted on more than one occasion that he made mistakes. But he is still maintaining, apparently, that his malfeasance was nothing but a series of tragic mistakes.
Apologizing for being wrong doesn't cut it, IMHO. He willfully and knowingly persecuted these three, even though he knew he was wrong.
There may well be a fourth with the Gang of 88's libelous accusations in a local paper.
The young men might have decided not to go after them, but that was still libelous and slanderous.
LOL! I heard the boys families have been getting calls from lawyers around the country asking to be able to handle the civil suits gratis, it's such a slam dunk!
“what you said.”
rotflmao
1) He loses all his assets now and for the rest of his miserable life to the Duke 3 and
2) He serves 5 years in the county lock up
I agree.
The healing process can begin immediately after letting those three Duke kids beat the living shit out of him.
If it was two years ago he would have had to be a psychic prosecutor...
I’m with you...defense tactics may seem slimy, but as long as the burden of proof is on the prosecution, it’s the defense’s job to poke every possible hole in the prosecution’s case to attempt to either stop an indictment or plant reasonable doubt in the jury’s mind.
The three families’ settlement with Dook insulates the Gang of 88 from prosecution...the other 44 players, however, are under no such agreement. If one of them got dinged for a job or something because of their defamation, he can demonstrate damages and sue their fannies.
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