Duke rape hoax: Mike Nifong's gross misuse of prosecutorial powers

Thomas Sowell:

Just as this case was the salvation of his career, by enabling him to win the black vote with inflammatory charges against white students accused of raping a black woman, so this case could mark the end of his career, in view of charges of his own misconduct that could lead to disbarment or even to criminal prosecution for obstruction of justice.

Nifong is riding a tiger and he can't just get off.

Those remaining charges hanging over the heads of the Duke students can be Nifong's salvation, even if he never proves a single one of those charges in a court of law.

It is an old ploy to keep some charges hanging over the heads of accused individuals, even if you don't have enough of a case to convict them, just so that they can be persuaded to plea bargain down to something with minor penalties, in order to get the hassle over with.

That would also get the heat off Nifong, who could then claim that in fact he had some basis to prosecute in this case, when in fact he had nothing from day one.

If bad gets to worse, Nifong can take the case to a jury, hoping to find at least one juror so biased by racial resentments as to refuse to declare the Duke students not guilty. A hung jury can save Nifong from being hung for a groundless prosecution.

We can only hope that the Duke University students hang tough, even though this whole process is costing their families money, beginning with bail set several times as high for them as for someone accused of murder in the same jurisdiction.

If they "confess" even to something that will only get them probation or a few hours of community service, the stigma will follow them as long as they live and blight their personal lives and professional careers.

Far more important, it would allow a nationally publicized gross misuse of prosecutorial powers to go unpunished, emboldening other prosecutors across the country to think that they can get away with anything.

Duke case: Susan Estrich, excruciatingly slow

What the Duke Non-Rape (and Non-Kidnapping/Sexual Assault) Case Taught Me in 2006

Duke 'case' should have ended long ago

Mike Nifong and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week

KC Johnson’s Must-Read Op-Ed

Duke To Reinstate Seligmann, Finnerty

Duke Rape--Nifong Gone Wrong

The Absence of Self-Reflection