Nifong, the Durham County D.A. whose shameless rush to judgement indicted, tried, and convicted -- in the court of public opinion -- the Duke lacrosse players of a sexual assault that they did not commit, has so far resigned and been disbarred. Now the lacrosse players may be on the verge of legal action against him.
Good. Go for it -- as much as you can. The resignation and disbarment, when I read about them, were gratifying, no doubt. But it's not enough. Not nearly enough.
Nifong: Don't let up!
The laundry list of bad behavior by Nifong in the Duke case isn't pretty. Lying to the court. Suppressing DNA evidence (Nifong says he was certain he gave defense attorneys everything; so at the very least he's incompetent beyond belief), keeping it from the defense. Lying to the bar. Making inflammatory comments in public about the players -- some even made when he was aware of evidence that suggested his case was crumbling.
Nifong should be hit with as many lawsuits and prosecutions as possible, because it's downright scary to think that he was a D.A. and may have done this to others, in lower-profile cases. Read: the ones whose defendants weren't white.
Of course, it's not as if you can toss Nifong into jail, dangle the key in front of him mockingly, and proclaim an end to maverick prosecutors for all time. But, by God, when you have a chance to unveil a new poster boy for such abhorrent behavior, you'd better do it.
Drew Sharp of the Free Press, while clearly anti-Nifong, also suggested that the Duke boys didn't do themselves any favors by hosting such a morally-loose party with an "exotic dancer" to begin with. Maybe. But has he ever heard of a "bachelor party"? Kids/young adults have done this for years, and will continue to do so. It doesn't mean their lives should be potentially ruined because of one man's twisted, warped, self-serving sense of "justice."
Count me among those who thought the Duke lacrosse players had been gotten dead to rights. I was looking at them as another cautionary tale of privileged athletes who feel that they are above the laws of decency and jurisprudence. I looked at them and saw a bunch of William Kennedy Smiths.
Now that the REAL facts have been out, and now that the spotlight of shame has been refocused, I look at Mike Nifong and I see something far more sinister than a William Kennedy Smith repeat.
I see evil. Evil cloaked in the sheep's clothing of justice.
And I wonder, how many more like him?
1 comment:
Two words here:
Rodney King.
What does he have to do with Nifong?
Well, after the cops were cleared of any charges by a local jury, Daddy Bush tried and convicted them in Federal Court for violating Rodney King's civil rights.
I don't like it but the situation as it currently stands is that for every local/state law, there is some national equivalent. I don't like it. It is defacto double-jeopardy and an intrusion into what should be the role of the states, but that is how it stands. So might as well make use of it in this case.
The Bush administration can and should arrest Mike Nifong for violating the Civil Rights of the Duke players. The fact that Bush hasn't done so when he so eagerly arrested the boarder guards (and convicted them) is a disgrace and an insult to all who voted for him. The public, ESPECIALLY REPUBLICANS should now demand that he steps in on this case and throw Nifong into a Federal Prison to await trial.
Bush has to be the worst President in America history. And the way that he is has personally betrayed his base is extremely offensive. Surely he could throw us a bone on this one couldn't he? We should demand that he does.
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