Libertarian Librarian

Though he's done a lousy job filling in for me over the past month, John H did do a nice job of filling in for me in the past-- so now that I'm, more or less, back I will update one of his stories of interest. The continuing saga of the rape allegations against the Duke Lacrosse team, and North Carolina District Attorney Mike Nifong whom pushed the case hard. So hard that many people, including John H., felt that he was simply grandstanding and attempting to make hay from a high-profile, racially charged case rather than dealing with it in an appropriate manner per legal precedent.

Today, there comes word that not only have the charges been dropped against all of the Duke students, they have all been invited to return to campus and finish their education. In addition, the North Carolina Bar Association took disciplinary actions against Nifong a few weeks ago.

All of which is well and good, but the fact remains that Nifong put these three students through the wringer, cost them money, reputation and part of their young life, for virtually no reason. Certainly the allegations needed to be investigated, and if proven to have foundation, then the full weight of the law should have been brought to bear, but when it quickly became clear that the allegations were suspicious at best, completely unsubstantiated at worst, Nifong should have backed off.

The Duke students weren't guilt free-- they put themselves in a bad place where bad things could happen and they shouldn't have been there in the first place-- but they did not deserve what they got. And that's Nifong's fault. Despite tc's... errrr... BP's protestations that he was just doing his job.

Labels: Politics