North Carolina AG to Drop Charges in Duke Lacrosse Case

As anticipated, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper will drop all charges against the three Duke Lacrosse players. This ordeal looks like it is finally over; however, this case did not have a chance for quite some time. It was all a matter of how to end it. Now we look to the future for the law suits filed by the accused.

The three players, Reade Seligmann, David Evans and Collin Finnerty, were facing charges of first degree kidnapping and first degree forcible sexual offense. The charges stem from an off-campus party on the night of March 13, 2006.

Special prosecutors from the Attorney General’s office took over the case after Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong recused himself in January, citing charges of unethical conduct filed against him by the North Carolina Bar. Since then, Jim Coman and Mary Winstead have examined the case from scratch, interviewing key witnesses and working through reams of evidence.

The reasons that will be cited for the dismissal are not yet known, though the case has been riddled with criticism and colored by controversy since its early months. Defense attorneys released documents showing the accuser changed key details of her story in the weeks and months after the alleged assault. (ABC News)

What a travesty of justice this case was for both rape victims and the accused for the future. Nifong should be ashamed of himself. Nifong has harmed both victims and accused in rape cases for the future. All in what can only be seen as on all appearances as for political reasons. What a mess.

Decision in Duke lacrosse case awaited

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP)  - Three members of Duke University’s lacrosse team could learn as early as Wednesday whether state prosecutors will drop the remaining charges accusing them of sexually assaulting a stripper at a team party more than a year ago.

Red State: “Where do I go to get my reputation back?”

UPDATE I: Prosecutors Drop Charges in Duke Case

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – Prosecutors dropped all charges Wednesday against the three Duke lacrosse players accused of sexually assaulting a stripper at a party, saying the athletes were innocent victims of a “tragic rush to accuse” by an overreaching district attorney.

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Attorney General Roy Cooper, whose office took over the case in January after District Attorney Mike Nifong was accused of ethics violations in his handling of it, announced Wednesday afternoon that case shows clearly insufficient evidence.

“The result is these cases are over,” Cooper said.