Did Ashley Move to Raleigh?

In a bizarre but brief article today, the News and Observer seemingly praises Mike Nifong for his unsuccessful prosecution of Timothy Malloy in 1994.

"Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong has never been afraid to take a case to trial. He has been criticized this year for pursuing a rape case against three Duke University lacrosse players despite evidence that defense lawyers say no rape happened.

This isn't the first time he has championed such a cause.

In 1994, Nifong and another assistant district attorney prosecuted a rape case against Timothy Malloy, a prison guard and convenience store clerk. Malloy was acquitted after a five-day trial. The testimony in the Malloy case was preserved on a court reporter’s audio tape. The tapes reveal a prosecutor who confidently prosecuted a rape case in the face of a strong defense."

While curiously finding it DA Nifong to be championing a cause with confidence, the News and Observer fails to point out that the prosecution of an innocent man was not the only similarity between Mr. Nifong’s case against Malloy and his case against the Duke Three.

From the recent hoax hearing we learned:

"...the "highlight" of the Duke Hoax hearing came with the announcement by the prosecution that the recordings of all Durham Police Department radio calls for March 13th and 14th had been destroyed."

On August 4, 1994 the News and Observer reported about the Malloy case:

"The state's case might be hampered by the fact that a prosecutor and a police detective accidentally erased parts of two cassette tapes that will be offered as evidence."

Why would the News and Observer present the Malloy case as an example of a prosecutor confidently championing a cause? Do they find something noble in the prosecution of innocent men while failing to see fault or ominous coincidence in the erasing of evidence tapes in both cases?