Thought the Duke Lax case couldn’t get any weirder? Er, wrong. It has. Durham DA Mike Nifong today dropped rape charges against the players, saying the accuser now isn’t sure if she was penetrated. The decision to drop the rape charges comes a week after it came out that Nifong and lab apparently attempted to keep favorable evidence — a lack of a DNA match — from the defense.
Nifong didn’t drop kidnapping and sexual offense charges though. That would seem to set the stage for a classic he said/she said believability contest. Of course, the prosecution timeline is very tight, making kidnapping an extremely difficult charge to prove (it’s restraint beyond what’s needed to commit the other crimes charged). And, of course, the accuser’s story has been all of the place.
So, all and all, not an really an improvement. Justice in Durham remains an elusive concept.
Update: Here’s some nut going on about the case. –jat
