Saturday, December 23, 2006

Nifong Confesses to the NYT

In a three hour interview with the New York Times on Thursday, Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong admitted that he was aware of the results of DNA testing prior to seeking indictments in the Hoax. DA Nifong also admitted that he knew the results to be both relevant and exculpatory.

"On Thursday, Mr. Nifong acknowledged knowing about those test results before any players were indicted last spring. He also acknowledged that the results were relevant and “potentially exculpatory,” and he said he should have given the results to the defense before May 18, the day he signed a filing that said “the state is not aware of any additional material or information which may be exculpatory in nature.”

District Attorney Nifong’s confession confirms the testimony given in court by Dr. Brain Meehan last Friday.

"Did Nifong and his investigators know the results of all the DNA tests?" Cooney asked.

“I believe so,” Meehan said.

“Did they know the test results excluded Reade Seligmann?” Cooney asked
"I believe so,” Meehan said. LS
While DA Nifong admits to his failure to comply with his legal discovery obligations, he excuses his illegal conduct as the product of an accidental oversight.

“But Mr. Nifong denied the defense team’s contention that he had deliberately tried to hide the results or delay their release. Mr. Nifong, who is personally overseeing this case, said that given the volume of evidence he had not realized that he had failed to turn over those specific DNA test results. “That wasn’t something I was concentrating on,” he said.”

Nifong’s transparent rationalization is belied by the continued testimony of Dr. Meehan.
"Was the failure to report these results the intentional decision of you and the district attorney?" Cooney asked.
“Yes,” Meehan replied." LS
Making Nifong’s anemic excuse more troubling, and highly questionable are his own actions to withhold the exonerating evidence from the defense. In court, DA Nifong mischaracterized his meetings with Dr. Meehan by specifically stating that those meeting did not include discussion of the evidence produced by Dr. Meehan’s testing. His false contention that the substance of those meetings were protected as work product, were readily accepted by a trusting Judge Ronald Stephens.

Conspiring with Dr. Meehan to exclude the exonerating results of the DNA testing from the reports, and denying that the meeting were evidentiary, were not DA Nifong’s only attempts to delay or withhold evidence. In September, DA Nifong offered a written objection, from Dr. Meehan to the court, in an effort to avoid compliance with the discovery statutes. In addition to presenting Meehan’s objection, Nifong also mocked the defense for wanting the information that he admits now they had rights to having several months prior.

The timing of this three hour interview with the New York Times appears to make clear that the spin which has followed the dismissal of the rape charges, and perhaps the dismissal itself, was a coordinated effort to undue the damage done by the latest indications of misconduct on the part of the District Attorney. As Nifong chatted with Duff Wilson, the recently promoted Linwood Wilson interviewed the accuser.

“As it happened, as Mr. Nifong made those remarks on Thursday afternoon, the woman was expressing new doubts to his investigator, doubts that forced him to drop the rape charges late Friday morning.”

Despite Nifong’s confession to knowing of the exonerating evidence prior to seeking indictments in April, Wilson allows Nifong to mischaracterize the DNA evidence as “new.”

“He also accused defense lawyers of using the new DNA test results as part of a campaign of “character assassination” against the accuser.”

The only thing new about the DNA test results is that the world now knows of them and the State Bar and Department of Justice now know that DA Nifong colluded with the lab to hide the results while he abused his prosecutorial discretion in bring charges against men proven to be innocent by those tests.

The magnitude of deception revealed by Nifong’s confession to the Times and Dr. Meehan’s admissions in court becomes crystal clear when the District Attorney’s, and Police Investigators’, knowledge of this definitive evidence of innocence is put into context of their subsequent words and actions. From an investigative standpoint, these test results, presented on April 10 to Nifong, Inv. Himan, and Sgt Gottlieb, offered concrete evidence of the innocence of each of the four players identified by the pseudo-victim as her three imagined assailants during the contrived lineup session of April 4, 2006. Addressing the press yesterday, defense attorney Joe Cheshire makes this point abundantly clear:

"Last week, it was clearly demonstrated that significant exculpatory evidence had been purposefully withheld from the defense in this particular case. It should not be lost on you all, who have covered this case, that significant exculpatory evidence proved that there was no sexual contact between these young men and this woman.”

With the knowledge that eighteen separate DNA samples recovered from the accuser’s nether regions within a few hours of the imagined non-event matched at least five other men but none of the forty-six suspects, Nifong, Himan, and Gottlieb proceeded willfully to frame innocent young men for a crime they did not commit. Consider some of the actions by these men in the days that immediately followed the revelation by Dr. Meehan.
  • Nifong, Himan, and Gottlieb met with the false accuser on April 11, 2006 to, if you chose to believe Nifong, inform her on how the case framing the innocent men would proceed.
  • Nifong, on April 11, 2006, stumped at a North Carolina Central University forum by laying out the “evidence” against the framed young men and assuring the community that he was certain a rape had occurred and that he would continue to seek “justice.”

"I assure you by my presence here that this case is not over."

“We're still waiting for the results of DNA tests.”

“In 75 percent to 80 percent of sexual assaults, there is no DNA evidence to analyze.”

"It doesn't mean nothing happened. It just means nothing was left behind."

  • Following the NCCU forum, Maj. Ron Hodge, the assistant chief of the Durham Police Department would add to Nifong’s message, "I don't think we would be here if it wasn't (a strong case)."
  • In an interview with the Charlotte Observer that ran on April 11, Nifong explained away the reported lack of DNA by stating, "I would not be surprised if condoms were used. Probably an exotic dancer would not be your first choice for unprotected sex."
  • On April 12, 2006, Nifong prepared the indictments, that Himan and Gottlieb would present to the Grand Jury a week later, and motions to seal the indictments he confidently expected to be returned from the Grand Jury as a true bill a week later. Sealing the indictments ensured the campaign serving perp walk photo opportunity rather than allowing the framed young men to surrender as they were willing to do.
  • On April 13, 2006, investigators working under the direction of chief investigator Nifong entered Edens dorm without a warrant and attempted to interview players without their attorney’s present after first perpetrating an email ruse, using a lacrosse players Duke University email account. The ruse appears designed to frighten a false confession or at least create panic as it suggested that the player whose account was used would come forward with false information.
  • On April 13, 2006, Nifong, with ominous foreshadowing, abruptly cut off Wade Smith and other defense attorneys when they attempted to show him additional exculpatory evidence. In refusing to view the evidence, Nifong told the attorneys that he knew more about the case than they would ever know and that he intended to indict two players.
  • Dr. Meehan, on April 14, 2006, asked for and was provided with a limited selection (24 pages) of the underlying data produced by the SBI during its regular autosomal DNA testing. Despite finding proof of actual innocence, Meehan continued with the quest to build a case against the innocent men.
  • On April 17,2006, co-conspirators Himan and Gottlieb testified before the Grand Jury. That a true bill was given the indictments reveals that they testified not to the innocence demonstrated to them by Dr. Meehan’s finding but rather to a false case showing the possibility of guilt.
  • On April 18, 2006, Nifong refused to meet with Reade Seligmann’s attorney, Kirk Osborn, who also wanted to share exculpatory evidence with Nifong. Dismissing Osborn by proxy, Nifong sent a messenger to say, “I saw you on the TV saying your client was absolutely innocent, so what do we have to talk about?”
  • Inv. Himan signed two sworn affidavits on April 18, 2006 that stated his belief in the guilt of Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann. These affidavits were used to establish probable cause for search warrants in an attempt to obtain additional evidence to help frame the young men he knew to be innocent.

Nifong’s attempt to spin his misconduct, via Duff Wilson, into a simple oversight of “something I was [not] concentrating on” appears to fail the smell test horribly. While it is clear that he did then, and continues to now, ignore the evidentiary value of the DNA tests, it appears that considerable effort was put into avoiding disclosure of that evidence. Not only was considerable effort put into not disclosing the evidence, but also the investigation and prosecution proceeded as if it did not exist.

Consider as well the efforts that were put into spinning the public perception of the value of the DNA testing.

"How does DNA exonerate you? It's either a match or there's not a match…If the only thing that we ever have in this case is DNA, then we wouldn't have a case."

"The absence of DNA doesn't prove anything."

"DNA results can often be helpful, but, you know, I've been doing this for a long time, and for most of the years I've been doing this, we didn't have DNA. We had to deal with sexual assault cases the good old-fashioned way. Witnesses got on the stand and told what happened to them."

"It doesn't mean nothing happened. It just means nothing was left behind."

"I would not be surprised if condoms were used. Probably an exotic dancer would not be your first choice for unprotected sex."

"To say, well, you know, her profession was not really the most honorable in the world, we really don't have the strongest case in the world because there's no DNA, so let's forget about it. Well, ladies and gentlemen, that's not doing your job."

Considering, in total, the extreme efforts by DA Nifong to spin the DNA test results, to hide the complete results, and now to lessen the implications of the revelation of his misconduct, it would appear that the exonerating evidence is, in fact, something that he was concentrating on. Concentrating on hiding, hiding from, and spinning, that is.

Adding to the comedy of the NYT story, is Nifong’s assertion, by email, that he was willing to follow the evidence. Quite clearly that has not been the case but rather the opposite of nearly everything he has done in promoting his Hoax.

"Mr. Nifong declined interview requests Friday, but said in an e-mail message that his decision to dismiss the rape charges showed he was “willing to go in whatever direction the evidence takes me.”

Perhaps the most curious item presented in the New York Times PR piece is Nifong’s assertion that he would drop the case if the accuser was unable to identify her “assailants.”

“If she came in and said she could not identify her assailants, then we don’t have a case,” Mr. Nifong said

Considering that on two separate occasions she did indeed come in a fail to identify her “attackers,” Nifong’s contention that her failure to identify would end the case is blatantly untrue. In fact, it has been demonstrated that the manufactured, made-for-video, lineup session on which the indictments were based showed a great deal of uncertainty on the part of the accuser. If identifying four people as her three attackers, inventing a mustache that never was, and “recalling” people who weren’t even at the party is not a clear indication of uncertainty, nothing is.

Curiously, Nifong appears to be trying to lend material to the defense’s argument that the photo identifications should be suppressed.

“You can’t always tell from a photograph,” he said.

Bizarrely, Nifong asserts that the accuser’s ability, or not, to identify the accused in court on February 5 will be determine whether the case continues or dropped.

“The only real time that you’re able to say if you have a misidentification is to put the person in the courtroom with the other people.”

Mr. Nifong said he intends to ask the woman about her level of certitude after February’s hearing. “It’s an opportunity to say, ‘Yes, I’m 100 percent certain these are the people who did it,’ ” he said. “It’s also an opportunity to express doubt.” Given the absence of physical evidence, he said, any doubts from the woman could end the prosecution for one or more of the defendants.

Considering the accused’s faces have been plastered on television screens, magazines, and newspapers nearly non-stop since Nifong’s false prosecution began, it hardly seems as if an identification now, or six weeks from now, would have any merit. At this point, if Reade Seligmann showed up at my door, my dog would be able to identify him. How Nifong could suggest that identifying three men, who will obviously be the youngest people sitting at a table of attorneys, is the only way to know whether there has been a misidentification is a mystery that defies comprehension. I wonder why the NC Actual Innocence Commission left that one out of their recommendations for eyewitness identification.

69 comments:

Anonymous said...

If somebody thinks Nifong makes sense, then that person is a lunatic like him.

If he was willing to "follow the evidence" why not talk to the defendant's counsel? I mean, this is sick stuff.

If photographs don't matter, why indict.


He specifically said he had medical evidence, now he has none?


He did not know what was exchanged because he was not "concentrating"?


Nobody asked her what happened for nine months?

If he was not talking to the false accuser and not looking at the documents for nine months, and not writing a response to a single motion, and not talking to the media for months, then for gods sakes what was he doing on the largest and most significant case of his whole career.

I am sure we could all go on and on, this is mindboggling.

streeeetwise

Anonymous said...

I should add, i was referring to Nifong's versions of events

streeeeetise

Anonymous said...

The judges need looking at. Stephens was a full participant in thios Hoax. We need to begin to look under every rock for info o9n Stephens, Titus, And Nifong. Let's review those transcripts word for word. Every dirty player needs exposing.

Anonymous said...

To Nylawyer

Absolutely,

I dont believe Nifong one bit when he says that it was a mix-up on the non-disclosure, this was a calculated unconstitutional false prosecution based on race. Just what many of us thought from the beginning. As Nifong himself said, he was not going let the image of Durham be that of white mena raping a black woman, and the said it for his own political advanatage.

Anonymous said...

We have needed to concentrate on Nifong. Very soon the energies and scrutiny must turn to Stephens and Titus.

They are vulnerable too.

Anonymous said...

As I said in the DIH post, the "interview" was more of a strategy session than a real interview. Both Nifong and the NY Times have teamed up to promote the hoax, and now they are trying to figure how to extracate themselves from this mess.

Remember, the Times still is trying to live down the Jayson Blair hoaxes. Now we see the Times front-and-center in trying to promote yet another false story. This is not good news for the "newspaper of record."

Anonymous said...

In reading the latest Liestoppers post, the more I realize just how much this thing just stinks. If one takes one event at a time, that is one thing, but when we look at these items in their totality, we see two things:

1. An attempt to "creat" crimes where none existed;
2. An attempt to frame three people for the non-crimes.

We now await the actions of authorities, from the DOJ to the NC Bar. If they sweep this dreck under the rug, then we know where the next Liestoppers target needs to be.

Anonymous said...

And where are all your trolls nows? Where is justice58 and all other annon posters, who guaranteed "egg on all our faces", and that these threeboys would "rot in jail for 30 years" for being "thugs" and that "nifong is a good lawyer and he will bring these three men to justice" and a "jury will convict them" and that we shouldn't believe the "defense spin"? Where are they now? What's their excuse now, when they are the ones with egg ont heir faces? Running with their tails between their tails.

Anonymous said...

Durham's AA community has been played for fools by Nifong and are now embarrassed as any of us would be. He created a fable to suck them into voting for him. They gave him their loyalty and their votes.

Now they see how from their church pulpits they have been praising a duplicitous lying Manipulator of a D.A. and a Pole Dancer with "multiple male DNA in every orifice and her panties."

He disrespected their intelligence and their loyalty. Once they begin to see the enormity of how he has made them look to the nation...Nifong will pay another price.

Anonymous said...

from a non-lawyer: This NYT's article is a damning indictment of Nifong's conduct. And sadly, his misconduct continues to this day.

Anonymous said...

3:22
I wonder if Cash Michaels can see the damage Nifong inflicted on his standing and credibility? On the standing ,and credibility of his "community?"

Now he will throw the accuser into the abyss and walk away, laughing. He won. He made fools of all of you and WON!

4 more years, Cash.And you helped make it happen.

Anonymous said...

For those wondering where Cash might be, look no farther than the latest edition of the Wilmington Journal. Cash has outdone himself, basically painting the defense as the second coming of the KKK:

http://www.wilmingtonjournal.com/
news/Article/Article.asp?
NewsID=74928&sID=4

You really have to read this thing to believe it. That is all I can say.

Anonymous said...

Great article Liestoppers! A clear road map for the AG.

The latest from Cash is so depressing. I don't know how or when race relations will reurn to Durham County.

Anonymous said...

I tried reading the latest from Cash.... the problems with his presentation of the case start almost from the start of his article.... it is too hard to read while you are shaking your head in disbelief!
I think the most damning problem for the DA and the FA ( and there are many!) is that she was so very consise and clear with her description of how she was raped when giving her statement in the Spring, and now not to remember just doesn't cut it... and Cash .... please.... the BROOMSTICK!??? not that sorry old story again... the victim has graphically recalled being ejaculated on, and last time I swept my floor, I don't remember any ejaculate coming from MY broom!!

Anonymous said...

Cash put a very large Lie in his piece. He said that the NAACP of Durham NC doesn't have a website.

WRONG I pulled it up and it is the offical site for Durham county.

http://naacpncnetwork.org/?u=DURHAM

I guess Cash wouldn't know the truth if it hit him.

Anonymous said...

the way this mess would be characterized down home would be half-assed and collectively they would all be one sorry lot

Anonymous said...

Cash who?

Anonymous said...

One of the networks had a clip of the FA driving in her car today. Does this mean her face can be shown?

Anonymous said...

Cash is retarded...as are the people in his article who say these boys are "pulling the race card" and that "the african mericans of durham are the most fair and unbiased people on the face of the planet.."

Was this before or after the NAACP, the black panthers, and every black aplogists in NC showed up, used the terms "rich white and elite", and said that these boys deserve to hang for the injustices of past blacks?

Yeah, real fair and impartial, I'm sure there wouldn't be any issues.

(smacks head-DOH)

Anonymous said...

Charles A Harris , foreman of the grand jury, please contact the liestoppers team. We would like to hear from you.

Anonymous said...

"Bizarrely, Nifong asserts that the accuser’s ability, or not, to identify the accused in court on February 5 will be determine whether the case continues or dropped."

Nifong is laying the groundwork for having to drop the case because of circumstances beyond his control. I'm sure he's sure the judge is not going to allow a courtroom ID.

Anonymous said...

It soon will be Sunday morning. Time for Nifong and a few others to confess. Perhaps some pot bangers will be out there to confess as well.

Anonymous said...

The Times tonight has finally turned against Nifong...

Anonymous said...

from a non-lawyer: The NYT just released an article titled "DNA witness jolted dynamics of Duke case". It is by Barstow and Wilson

Anonymous said...

Very nice work!!! You make the New York Times look like it is standing still. Sites like yours have given many in America who search for the truth an alternative to the MSM, which these days panders to a corporately-engineered, politically-correct agenda -- to the point where truth is merely an occasional byproduct. If the NYT had done ANY actual investigative journalism, the "real people of Durham" and "ordinary people" like me, would know that just because you're white and you happen to play lacrosse doesn't make you a rapist. The real story here, uncovered by dedicated bloggers like you, is not about a particular false accuser at all. The racist comments uttered by the "accused," while perhaps true and if so, unfortunate, pale in comparison to the deeper issues of the bigoted desire of a few for spiteful revenge based on the clear but remote past sins of generations long dead; and the result is that a runaway prosecutor is encouraged to torch anyone's rights, black or white, exploiting the very system of which he is an extension, i.e., the North Carolina justice system. But since those whose civil rights have been trampled are white, the MSM is blind. Keep educating the public!!! I shutter to think what might have occurred if Duff Wilson had ever been taken seriously by anyone following this tragedy.

Anonymous said...

Did anyone watch Nancy Grace last night? Did anyone else find it pathetic that Grace didn't even do the show, a substitute did? I bet she's hiding with her tail between her legs just like the rest of Crystal Mangum's supporters. I was shocked when I saw the commercial saying it would be on the show, but not surprised when she copped out of doing it. Haven't seen Wendy Murphy around either.


However, I'm getting pissed that everyone is solely blaming Nifong. Clearly he is a disgusting human being and this is a huge deal with him, but she was no angel, and easily, EASILY had the ability 9 months ago to say "i wasn't raped" or "this is a lie" or "drop the charges". She didn't. She went back to stripping, got knocked up, and probably saw some cash she would need for her illegitimate child that the case might be able to produce for her. SHe is just as bad as Nifong--two liars, I hope they share a cell together, then Crystal can do some bar dances for him...

Anonymous said...

from a non-lawyer: In the article just published this evening in the NYT, we find that Mikey has explained he is very busy and just didn't realize that he didn't release all the DNA information to the defense. yada yada yada

Anonymous said...

Mikey gave "the dog ate my homework" excuse. Of course, the NY Times seems to have bought into it.

I hate to say it, but those people did NOT spend three hours doing an interview. It was a STRATEGY session on how Nifong could back out and also how the Times could save face. Yes, I know I am being presumptuous, but as a former newspaper reporter, I can tell you that three-hour interviews are VERY rare.

By the way, as I look back, I realize this has not been much of a fair fight. Nifong had the vast resources of the State of North Carolina, as well as the U.S. Department of Justice, the Durham police, and the Durham County government, as well as Duke University, all on his side.

Reade, Dave, and Collin only had their attorneys, K.C. Johnson, Liestoppers, and a few others backing them up. K.C. was teaching four classes, and getting damned good ratings from his students (Quotes like: "Dr. Johnson offers Ivy League caliber classes. He represents the best of what Brooklyn College has to offer.)

Yep, had we wanted a fair fight, K.C. would have had to teach five or six classes. It really was unfair to have K.C. and Liestoppers and Johnsville and JINC to pick on those poor government police and prosecutors.

Dammit! It was an unfair fight, and Nifong should be protesting. K.C. didn't fight fair. He used FACTS and TRUTH. The guy just doesn't know anything about a prosecutor's life.

Yep, a very unfair fight. K.C., next time pick on someone of your mental capabilities, not a MENTAL MIDGET like Mikey! (After all, the only thing one needs to deal with Nifong is a can of Raid.)

Anonymous said...

The thing that has concerned me the most about this case is that, if Nifong and other unethical prosecutors are willing, and in fact eager, as Nifong has been to abuse the public trust through this willful, malicious, and unsubstantiated prosecution with these three, what have he and others done to other innocent people without the Duke Three's resources? How many innocent men, women, and children are behind bars for crimes they did not commit because of Nifong and others?

Oh, and I read Cash's article. It was an abortion, and characteristic of the type of reporting that once made a newspaper in my area a must-read for journalism schools nationwide... as an example of what NOT to do and how NOT to engage in responsible journalism.

Anonymous said...

Guy Fox,

You are exactly right. Ann Coulter once wrote that the probability of wrongful convictions are "about nil." I would say that they are very high. The system is much worse than people want to admit.

I have spent a good part of my professional career writing on this subject, and I am only barely touching it. Believe me, this situation is much worse than Americans want to believe.

Anonymous said...

Bill... you are right, I am sad to say, but the jury system in this country is broken. People more often than not, do NOT understand the concept of "beyond a reasonable doubt". People come into the jury box with their own agendas all the while holding the fate of the defendants in their hands. I think we need to go to a three judge panel or something similar.... IMHO

Anonymous said...

Chicago writes:

"Character assasination" huh Nifong?

What would you call what you put Duke Lacrosse, Duke University and specifically Collin, Reade and David and their families through over the last 9 months?

Anonymous said...

One cannot "assassinate" Michael Nifong's character. There first must be "character" to be assassinated. One cannot "assassinate" something that is nonexistent.

Anonymous said...

OK,

Nifong is just lying, everybody knows it. He didn't forget about the DNA, he opposed the release of the information using a Meehan letter. Are we to believe that not only is Meehan lying, but that Nifong understood that he was only opposing the release of information unrelated to the case.


Even the NY times seems to understand. It is totally impossible to commit a violent rape and leave no DNA if sampling is immediate.


And his version is equally awful because although he downplays his wrongdoing he is describing a standard method of operation that will lead and likely did lead to massive injustice. In the most important case of his career, he didnt even know what documents were produced, in addition to not interviewing the false accuser or filing any papers. Remember, this is his version of what happened. In his version, moreover, he indicted without a line-up and is willing to "follow all the evidence" which, by his own admission, does not include looking at defense information or talking with the accuser.

Anonymous said...

"America’s Injustice System Is Criminal" Just read this excellent piece of work by Paul Craig Roberts if you want to know what is happening to the justice system in the US. The Nifong Hoax is par for the course. see: http://www.lewrockwell.com/roberts/roberts187.html

Anonymous said...

There is no shortage of villans in this case, but surley Titus and Stevents are in the top five. Trusting Stevens - I remember his anger that the defense requested him to order Nifong fo turn over evidence. Which we know of course he did not. Nifong kept saying no DNA when there was a cart load - just not the guys.

Anonymous said...

The judges need to be our next focus. We need to parse every word. This is NOT just Nifong.

Anonymous said...

Wendy Murphy of " Tucker, they ripped her vagina" fame?
Beth Karas of CTV stating "Nifong was like David against Goliath( defense attorneys). Forgetting of course, he had the power of the state behind him. Are Georgia G. and Gloria Alfred still hanging out wtih Travis and Mary? We need a record of all these folk who betrayed justice.

Anonymous said...

I kind of have this theory about Nifong. By proceeding with this case. even knowing he can not likely win any conviction against anyone charged, I suspect that as long as he proceeds and claims his actions were “for the victim,” then he can probably not be sued afterwards by any of the defense members. I wonder if he were to totally drop all the charges against all three suspects, then Nifong might be susceptible to both possible civil lawsuits and possible criminal charges against Nifong. His “strategy” might be to proceed to avoid the potential negative sanctions against himself, and it really may be nothing about actually attempting to provide “justice“ to the alleged “victim.“ Anyone thinking the same???????

Anonymous said...

the victim supporters are not running away with their tails in between their legs. you would know that if you were actually local. If you were, you would be listening to the black listeners calling in on our local talk shows and they are mad alright but not at Nifong--they are mad at the defense. They intrepret this dropping charges as just Nifong ans the victim being threatened and harassed by the Duke 3 supporters to the point of giving up and they are correct. All of the outside pressure has "broken them down" so the victim is recanting and Nifong is no longer going to try to avoid the inevitable destruction that the whites are going to rain down on him for trying to prosecute on the word of a black woman againist wealthy whites in the first place. As a lot of people around here have said--something bad happened that night but Nifong brought charges againist people who feel the are above the law and now he will pay--in spades. Nifong is giving in and is letting his cruxifiction proceed. The only problem is some people in the black community are very angry and there may be violence.

Anonymous said...

To 11:54,

I AM local and YOU are full of sh*t!

Go to bed Cash.

Anonymous said...

It is Sunday morning. Time for Mikey to confess!

If the local blacks want to riot over the word of someone they know is lying, then let them. Usually, people will riot over a perceived injustice. In this case, it is people being angry because they believed they were entitled to a conviction of innocent defendants.

Are people still insisting there was a rape when the DNA evidence demonstrated otherwise? Just what are they insisting? That Reade Seligmann can be in two places at one time?

This also demonstrates once again that if there were a trial, Durham would not be the place for it to be held. If people in that city are going to defend a lawless prosecutor who had to resort to breaking the law so he could bring this case thus far, then they never could have served on a jury and been willing to do anything but convict.

Please do not tell me that you were wanting to "look at the evidence." You saw the evidence -- and decided to ignore it.

Anonymous said...

Michelle, that may in fact be Nifong's theory, but the fact is that he did violate the law in a willful and egregious manner, and he and the city are subject to massive lawsuits. Also, Nifong himself has engaged in criminal behavior at this point.

11:54, it isn't "outside pressure" that's destroying this case. It's a little something we here in the real world like to call "facts" and Nifong's own illegal behavior that have destroyed this case. It's the accuser giving around a dozen different accounts with differing numbers of supposed attackers, ranging from three to twenty. It's the type of prosecutorial misconduct that, were the accused and the accuser of different races, you would be joining us in our outrage. A founding tenet of our society is the belief that it's better for ten guilty men to go free than for one innocent man to be incarcerated. That's bad enough in the accidental cases where this occurs. People are human, and sometimes, innocent people are convicted through no fault of anyone. How much worse, then, is it when a rogue prosecutor, in a vain attempt to retain his seat, continues to pursue a case in light of mountains of exculpatory evidence and, in a case where the credibility of the accuser is paramount, the accuser has none? At this point, I can only conclude that the supporters of the accuser are willfully-ignorant bigots.

Anonymous said...

Judge Ronald Stephens. The judge of the Hoax!

What did he know & when? Maybe it's time to investigate him!

Anonymous said...

Well at least we now know Nifong's exit strategy. Soon Crystal will express some new uncertainty as to the identity of her "attackers" and Nifong will use that as an excuse to drop the remaining charges. Then the real fun will begin. (Fun for everybody except the Durham taxpayers, that is, since they are the ones who are going to be paying the very large bill for Nifong, Gottlieb, et al.'s
criminal misconduct in this case).

Anonymous said...

After this is over I think Collin, David and Reade should sue Durham, and all involved in tarishing their names.

Nifong is a very bad and dangerous mans. As for Cash Michaels when I figure out what he is I will let you know.

Merry Christmas Everyone

Anonymous said...

It's very sad. I live in Durham, it's my taxes you're talking about. But, I agree with you. These families deserve to be repaid for the injustice that's been done. I am ashamed of our justice system, ashamed of the city leaders that continue to support (at minimum not decry) this hoax. Duke, the Gang of 88, Durham, Nifong, and others should all pay these families for what they've gone through.

Sad, sad, sad...

Anonymous said...

4:45 Mike is your boy. Maybe you can start a recall campaign. What is sad is your justice system and its part of your job to improve it.

Anonymous said...

8:46, if I recall correctly, Nifong won with less than 50% of the vote because the anti-Nifong votes were split between two candidates instead of the more popular Cheek. As for 4:45's job being to improve it, I believe he's already started by making him- or herself aware of the problem and by starting to fight it.

Anonymous said...

if Nifong won by one vote, he is still the DA - 14 in Durham, NC.

Anonymous said...

To 11:54--who are these people who are angry about outside pressure. What planet are they on.

first, do they really believe that one can ejaculate in another person's mouth and not leave any DNA. Why do they believe that.


Do the believe that Reade Seligmann's pictures are forged


Do they believe that the 46 lacrosse players that said nothing happened are lying.


Do they believe that all the people, black and white, who speak of Reade Seligmann's character are lying.


Do they believe that all of Finenrty's alibi witnesses are lying.


Do they believe that James Coleman is the victim of the pressure, a black tenured professor at Duke.


Do they believe that Meehan was pressured into testifyng falsey and implicating Nifong


Do they believe that the doctors who found no injuries on the accuser are also lying.


Do they believe Detective Hinman lied when he listed the descriptions of the alleged attackers as totally different than the three.


let me put it differently. Do any of these other wordly people have a theory as to what happened that left no marks, and no DNA and dozens of witnesses lying to cover up the attack that left no marks and no DNA. I mean can they descrive a series of events that resulted in this happening.


I mean, come on, this is racism and self-defeating at that. All these protections, the line-u rules, DNA, probable cause hearings and on and on are there to protect all citizens but wealthy white lacrosse players rarely are treated like this. Blowing through these protections means that minority defendants will be victimized, dont' you get it.


dont you also get what this has done and will to Durham. Durham owes these three defendants and the other 46 lacrosse players who were subject to seizure without probable cause (the DNA) tens of millions of dollars. The Duke students subject to the Gottlieb hunt have a similarly large class action.

Be angry, but not at the people who did nothing wrong, who are being financially destroued, and who have told the same truthful story from day one.

SouthernGirl2 said...

3:03

What makes you think I've abandoned the victim? Are you that stupid?

It's Christmas b****! I have a family to take care of.

You're celebrating a little too soon b****, this case is NOT over. Yeah, you're d*mn right, I said it & meant every word. The remaining charges still carry the same equal punishment. May the b*st*rds rot in hell for 30 + years.

All you stupid f**** are idiots thinking the case is going away...please! Nifong's case just got stronger!

Sooooo f*** off!

Anonymous said...

Liestoppers can you please ban justice58 from this site?

The only reason she/he is back is because all of the pro Crysal Gail sites are closing down.

SouthernGirl2 said...

6:29

Ban me??? Whatever for???
You all talk about the rape victim in the same manner and I'm a little tired of it. If you can't take the heat...stay the f*** out of the kitchen.

Cash is so on point! The defense is distorting the facts...such liars. Mike Nifong is NOT dropping the remaining charges. The victim is going to appear in that courtroom on Feb. 5th and point their lying @$$ out. The duke 3 is NOT off the hook & money can't buy them off either.

Anonymous said...

Stephen LaRoque is going to be on the Greta show tonight and he will be speaking to Nifong on his choses of what will happen if he continues with this case. It is going to air at 10p.m.

Justice58 you have been kick off more boards because of you racist remarks.

Now that all of the Pro Crystal Gail site are shuting down you have no one to listen to you. I don't feel bad for you at all.

Maybe you can join Nifong is the same prison cell.

SouthernGirl2 said...

8:12 "vim"

Where do you see racist remarks?? huh

Because I side with the rape victim doesn't make me a racist. Oh...but that's something you can't possibly understand. What's the point in talking to an idiot brain. MY BAD!!!!

Anonymous said...

No, Justice. This case isn't going away, but not because of its merits. It's not going away because Nifong keeps a job as long as this case is going on. Once this case is over, his days are numbered if the NC State Bar and the DOJ do their jobs. I and damned near everyone else here have barely said a word about the alleged victim outside of that which is available in the public record. Nifong's case only got stronger in your weak mind. That DNA evidence is not going away by the very virtue of the numerous other statements made by the accuser where she detailed what she claims occurred. Oh, and you rail about injustice, yet you say nothing about the prosecutorial misconduct committed by Nifong until it becomes obvious to even a two year old, and even then, you rant because it was exposed, and not because it occurred. You are truly pathetic. I believe there is a victim in this case. I just happen to disagree with you on who it is: The people of Durham who will have to pay through the nose because of a rogue prosecutor who used three innocent college kids to get reelected.

Anonymous said...

Oh, and don't ban the cynically named "Justice 58". We need comic relief here.

SouthernGirl2 said...

Not true!!! Not true!!!

Mike Nifong is continuing because a crime was committed. First degree kidnapping & Sexual Assault are remaing, carrying the same equal punishment as the rape charge. The DNA evidence will never make it inside the courtroom...@$$h*le!!

"You & damn near everyone else has "BARELY" said "anything" about the victim"...GASP. Yeah right, OKAY! Whatever you say is fine with me. I don't have the time to waste my energy on arguing with you.

Injustice! Mike Nifong hasn't done a thing wrong!
The duke 3 are to blame for all this mess. Where is your outrage at their BAD @$$ BEHAVIOR?? Where is the outcry?? They are NOT respected citizens of the community. You have been blindsided "vim" and either you're too dumb to see it OR you're just a hateful racist person that could care less for truth & justice.

This case is NOT over at all. Actually the case is stronger whether you admit it or not. Wait and see!!

Anonymous said...

Justice, if the slut/stripper can't "remember" if she was raped, what makes you think a jury will find her able enough to "remember" correctly if she was kidnapped and sexually assaulted?


The IDS will be thrown out too, by the way, so no, she won't be able to stand up on the stand and point out the boys and say "they raped...i mean sexually assaulted me!"...because the IDing process was so tainted and violated every NC law, it will be thrown out, and she will not be able to ID the boys...huge loss to Nifong's side....aggggain.

I think those photos of her banging on the door trying to get back in the house prove she wasn't "forcibly held within the house". So that knocks that out.

Actually, the DNA will be admissible, especially because it shows the DA LIED.

How you can say a DA who LIED and VIOLATED THE LAW did nothing wrong baffles me. GOod thing you're not a lawyer. We'd all be in jail.

YOu wanna talk bad behavior? If you want to send the boys to jail for noise violations and public urinations, I think we should be sending good ol' crystal to jail for; narcotics abuse, child neglect, prostitution, grand theft auto, attempted vehicular manslaughter, pergury, making false accusations to a police officer...the list goes on.

I would take a Duke athlete as my child over a slut no good lying stripper any day. You must not go to college if you think the boys behavior (loud noises, under age drinking and having parties) warrents a 30 year jail sentence. Because if that were the case, we should jst send every college campus community to jail.

Get over it, this case is shambles. February 5th is it's funeral.

If Nifong's lucky, he will simply get disbarred. If he's lucky. However, I'm hoping for him to be disbarred and prosectued for violating numerous laws. That will be the clutch.

You, Justice, are the epitomy of a black racist, so how you can call anyone else racist baffles me. You are ignoring every shred of evidence and simply siding with the accuser because she is black and the boys are white. End of story. You are helping more and more white people hate blacks. You are aiding in making African American's look like total retards when ti comes to law and such. You are a complete racist and you are the reason why so many white people hate black people--because you are racist, clearly uneducated, without thought, rude, and you side with people of your own race regardless of innocence or guilt. Let me guess, you sided with Kobe and OJ too right? And that Navy football player accused of rape? I bet you're glad they all got off right?

How shocking.

Ha, why don't you go riot with the rest of the black apologists after this is all over and the case is dropped/the boys are found completely innocent. I heard "the african american community is going to riot with violence". Yet another great example of why black racists are so dangerous--you're going to destroy your own community. You think any white person gives a shit about durham? Go ahead, break windows, shoot each other in retaliation for a fair and just verdict. Continue to make the rest of the country hate you. You think we care?

Anonymous said...

PS Justice--you continue to call her a "rape victim" when she has admitted she wasn't raped.

Do you suddenly not believe her good word? She said she can't remember if she was raped. Therefor, she is no longer a "rape" victim.

But your own desperate need to believe a black woman was raped overshadows the own accuser's word that you stuck by so strongly when she said she WAS raped. Either you believe the accuser on all accounts, including her admitting she wasn't raped, or you don't believe her at all, including her account of being raped.

She is not, nor ever was, a rape victim. And she does a disservice to all women who are actual rape victims.

Why Justice, why do you believe so strongly these boys did something (rape/sexual assault/kidnap) to this woman when it has become obvious they haven't? Why do you feel such a need to believe lies?

BECAUSE YOU ARE RACIST RACIST RACIST!!!!!!! You don't see wrong (lying about rape) and right (the laxers not raping her), you see black and white. End of story.

SouthernGirl2 said...

anon 11:59

As if I care that whites hate blacks!!!! I don't give a d*mn.

Let me straighten your dumb@$$ out about the dropped charges. The victim said: she could not testify with certainty that a penis entered her vagina. Did I make myself clear? Stop distorting the truth! I know very well what she said. She never said that a rape DIDN'T happen. In NC.. the sexual assault charge is equal to forcible rape. Sexual Assault = 30 + years in prison.

You choose to believe the thuggish hooligans & I choose to believe the rape victim. End of the f'ing story.

Anonymous said...

SHE ISN'T A RAPE VICTIM YOU DUMB RACIST FUCK! SHE IS A LIAR AND A SLUT AND A NEGLEGENT MOTHER WHO DOESN'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT ANYONE BUT HERSELF. Get off our boards! These boards are for supporers of the legitimate victims of this case-Reade, Collin and Dave. Not some lying, no good, whore who fucks people for money then cries rape to prevent herself from getting arrested (again) for public intoxication.

Anonymous said...

When any injustice occurs, whenever anyone is a legitimate victim of a crime, I support their demand for justice. Nifong is continuing because crimes were committed, and he's one of at least two people who committed them. It's called prosecutorial misconduct, and it's called civil rights violations. Furthermore, it's called filing a false police report. I've known victims of rape and other sex crimes. I've seen their eyes, I've heard their stories, and I've wept with them. Her behavior, as evidenced by her statements and the DNA evidence, places her firmly outside of that camp. If she were as pale as I am, I would... probably not be as nice as I'm being right now. Thank you for reminding me of my error. Solid evidence exists that two of the accused were not even there at the time of the alleged assault, including eyewitness testimony from a cabbie and an electronic card punch.

The DNA evidence is not going anywhere because of the accuser's statements, which also kills her credibility. The only case that got stronger was the case for Nifong's disbarment and imprisonment.

Oh, and 10:52, I don't hate skin colors. I hate morons and bigots who happen to be whatever race they are. If someone's a homophobe, to hell with them. If they're a racist, I don't care if you're Matt Hale or Louis Farrakhan, you can kindly f*ck off. Also, more personally, you and in-Justice can politely accept my invitation to go to hell, you racist idiots. Oh, one last thing: Kobe was innocent and OJ was guiltier than sin.

SouthernGirl2 said...

SHE IS A RAPE VICTIM!

I WILL SAY IT AGAIN FOR YOU B/C YOU MUST BE KINDA SLOW.

THE "RAPE" CHARGES WERE DROPPED BECAUSE SHE COULDN'T TESTIFY WITH CERTAINTY THAT A PENIS ENTERED HER. THAT IS UNDERSTANDABLE...GIVEN THE FACT SHE MOST LIKELY WAS UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF SOME SUBSTANCE PROBABLY GIVEN TO HER. ARE YOU WITH ME??

CALLING ME NAMES AND YELLING IS NOT GOING TO CHANGE MY VIEW. WHAT'S IMPORTANT .. IS WHETHER A JURY BELIEVES HER.

SHE CAN HAVE SEX WITH WHOMEVER SHE CHOOSES TO. CONSENSUAL SEX IS LEGAL BUT RAPE IS A CRIME.

OH YEAH..."OUR BOARDS"???

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
PITIFUL PIECE OF SH*T!

Anonymous said...

4:45 "Mike is your boy. Maybe you can start a recall campaign. What is sad is your justice system and its part of your job to improve it. "


According to the State BoE, there is no legal method/basis for recalling a District Attorney in NC.

Short of trying to defeat Nifong in November (which I was heavily involved in); and writing to local, state and federal officials, I'm not sure what else I can do as a citizen.

Mike is not my boy...

Anonymous said...

I thought Nifong said this.....

"I hope that you will understand, by the fact that I am here this morning, that my presence here means that this case is not going away."

Not this........

"I assure you by my presence here that this case is not over."

Nifong saying the case is not going away is a lot more troubling than saying it is not over.

Anonymous said...

Justice, she is an ALLEGED rape victim, and she hasn't a shred of evidence to support her. Her only ally is her credibility, which is extraordinarily compromised by her own words in this case and her past behavior. Calling you names won't get you to change your mind, but then again, the facts haven't exactly had the best track record in that regard either. So be it. You have to live with yourself, and if it makes you feel better to believe that whitey is the root of all evil, then so be it. The rest of us will live in the real world. I don't hate you. I don't even have the energy or empathy to pity you.

Anonymous said...

They should try Nifong on the Rape charges, his DNA wasn't present either, obviously that means nothing.

then when found guilty, hang him