Durham, NC (TLS). The District Attorney that charged three Duke University students with rape should be removed from office. In a case that has been plagued by negligence, scant evidence, and incompetence, the latest news is that the DA withheld key DNA evidence that clears the names of the three suspects.
The bottom line? The evidence shows that the DNA does not belong to any of the three who have been charged.
This begs the following questions--why were the charges against the Duke Students not dropped? Why did the DA withhold evidence from the court and from the defense? And finally, why does the DA persist in prosecuting three innocent young men?
These questions need immediate answers. But at the very least, District Attorney Mike Nifong should be investigated for prosecutorial misconduct, gross negligence, and incompetence. If he deliberately went after three men he knew to be innocent, then the possibility of criminal charges against the DA should be reviewed.
In order for our criminal justice system to work, the men and women who prosecute cases against citizens should be persons of honor and integrity. If this is not viewed as a minimum requirement, then the entire system of justice fails. All too often in recent years we have seen aggressive prosecuting attorneys and police departments incriminate innocent people with a vengeance. Apparently it is all about winning and not about real justice. This presents a dangerous scenario in which ALL Americans are at risk from having their lives ruined by being charged with crimes they never committed, and then either having evidence buried or manufactured.
The mindset that prevails is 'let's just get a conviction.'
This is a travesty of our criminal justice system.
The Duke students should be set fee, the charges dropped, and their names cleared. But that's not all. They are due monetary damages for having their names dragged through the mud and their lives nearly brought to ruin.
If the state of North Carolina buried its head in the sand over this case, then citizens in this fine state should take to the streets. This is a stain on the system from which emanates a rank stench of corruption. It needs to be corrected quickly.
Saturday, December 16, 2006
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2 comments:
It is unbelievable that anyone could be so incredibly stupid or arrogant (even if he is a unc grad). With some new idiocy being revealed almost every day and absolutely nothing being done by the state or federal government to stop this lunacy, you have got to believe that the guy has photographic evidence of the lax 3 and the accuser in the act. Why is nobody doing ANYTHING to stop this??? If I were these kids, after all is said and done, I would file civil suits against the city, state, brodhead and Duke that would bankrupt all of them.
I agree with you fully. This is shaping up to be an unmitigated disaster for the DA's office and anyone who participated in this manufactured scheme.
Martyn
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