Sorry but early early on Nifong knew what this was. He had enough skepticism about Mangum's story that he refused to hear exculpatory evidence thinking that would help him technically avoid violating one NC Bar cannon of ethics and then went to a Grand Jury so it was them not Nifong technically doing the charging. He knew what he had, a ticket to election. He was not going to let the facts get in the way of his election.
I'd agree with you if he was willing to nolle prosequi this thing once the election was behind him. But he has hung in here with this case well beyond any political advantage and well into professional disaster. Nifong has gone nuts apparently. Much like the Boulder DA ( Who I can't believe still has a job.) If this were entirely motivated by poltics he would have polygraphed the accuser the day after the election and elicited the discrepancies in her story then and then chucked the case.
Frankly I don't think Nifong is a malicious as he'd stunningly stupid.
Holloway's sweet boy of a son: http://www.doc.state.nc.us/NEWS/1999/99releases/odomesca.htm
I wonder if Bem Holloway's co-scum is any relation to Irving Joyner?