Duke Lacrosse Rape Case: Nifong Heads to Trial

His trial that is for ethics charges. I bet this is not at all what Nifong saw as the future when he took over this case about a year ago.

“This didn’t have to happen and the horrible consequences were entirely foreseeable,” State Bar Counsel Katherine E. Jean said during her opening statement. “The harm done to these three young men and their families and the justice system of North Carolina is devastating.”

Gee ya think?

I think the only way to repair all the damage done is to punish Nifong as harshly as possible. Make an example of him, to crucify him in the public eye and destroy his reputation beyond all hope of repair. Anything short of that the damage done by Nifong and his enablers will likely be very long lasting. That and Nifong deserves nothing less.

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Steve Verdon
About Steve Verdon
Steve has a B.A. in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles and attended graduate school at The George Washington University, leaving school shortly before staring work on his dissertation when his first child was born. He works in the energy industry and prior to that worked at the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the Division of Price Index and Number Research. He joined the staff at OTB in November 2004.

Comments

  1. “Without passion or prejudice” needs to be kept in mind here. Not acting thusly is what what got Nifong in trouble to begin with. Acting similarly towards him doesn’t advance the cause of justice.

    Now, how does one right the wrongs of the Gang of 88 and other Nifong enablers?

  2. legion says:

    Unfortunately, this is just a trial at the state Bar, so the worst they can do to him is take his license to practice in the state. While not a small punishment, it hardly seems enough…

  3. Wyatt Earp says:

    Nifong deserves MUCH worse, but as a lacrosse coach and a police detective myself, I will settle for him losing his license.

  4. Eneils Bailey says:

    It is hard to speak of retribution for Nifong and his family.

    But, think about what he has done to the mothers and fathers, the bothers and sisters, the extended families of these three gentlemen. The coach also suffered personal humiliation and what could be considered a professional setback.

    Would it be correct to assume that an individual that has inflicted so much personal harm to gain personal political advantage in an upcoming election should not be given the same punishment he doled out?

    I hope there is not a whitewash given to him in this trial. When the trial is over, I hope these players secure good lawyers, and extract from him in a civil suit pain and suffering damages and enjoy every minute of it.

    If this comes to past, I hope his family shows as much class and composure as did the player’s families.

  5. Greg Tift says:

    Nifong created this problem for himself by not getting a gag order. A gag order would have put a cap on the defense team and key witnesses in the case and there would have been a strong chance this case would have made it to trial.
    The defense team was allowed to give press conferences and put a spin on the case. This spin was accepted as truth by the public in general. After all it was only a black woman’s word against the white elite. Nifong should have been aware of this, because this case had elements of race as a factor.
    I do not believe for one moment the accuser made up the whole thing no matter what the media or district attorney says.
    The media is not the tier of facts and the case should not have been decided because of public opinion.
    The judicial system does not work like it suppose too when you have powerful white people pulling strings behind the scene. This is what happened in this case and it is obvious, otherwise this case goes to court like many cases before this one.
    If these defendants are so “innocent” they should have no problem proving the accuser a liar in a court of Law, where it counts the most.
    Their behavior on the night of the crime would have exposed these defendants as degenerates.
    People would have little doubt that they may have committed the things they were accused of.
    This is why they did not want a trial; plain and simple.
    Not to defend Nifong but I don’t see him any different then most prosecutors who want to take a case to trial. And like most prosecutors wining is not a sure thing. They know that going in.
    Most people say Nifong had no case at all, yet they were afraid of him presenting his case in court. Why is that?
    If people are certain he had no case they should welcome a trial so they can laugh at him make a fool of him self. Since that wasn’t good enough for them it became clear to me that the defense team was afraid of trial.
    Many defendants claim they did nothing wrong before going to court, but when they finally go to trial it turned out they are guilty as charged.
    It is a sad day in America when people and the media rather attack and discredit a woman crying for help then support her right to a fair trial.