Who's Sorry Now?
Mike Nifong announced from the stand today that he will resign as district attorney. I think I speak for most people when I say "he's still district attorney? Why was that allowed to happen?"
To be fair to the guy, it's actually much worse than it sounds. First, he tried to avoid blame by using the passive voice: "My community has suffered enough." Second, it's fairly clear this is a tactic to avoid disbarment.
posted by LAGuy @ 1:32 PM
3 Comments:
This whole event was certainly a tragedy. Overzealous and cocksure prosecutors rush to judgment against accused criminals every day. When the accused are wealthy and white with a real future in front of them, that does help demonstrate just how awful it is, doesn't it? (But at least these guys got the necessary support to get out of it.)
We can't read minds, but my judgment is Mr. Nifong was probably just as sincere in his belief that he had "the right guys" as most prosecutors are -- that is to say, very. The prosecutor mindset seems to lend itself to being confident of someone else's guilt.
Lawyers tend to agree with their clients. The trouble is prosecutors have so much power, that it's dangerous when they forget the objective is not to convict, but to see justice is done. They convince themselves of someone's guilt, and if they're wrong, will proceed to railroad the defendant.
The irony in the Duke case is Nifong's defendants being white and rich made them targets. I wouldn't be surprised if they'd not been well-off Duke students, Nifong, realizing he had no case, wouldn't have bothered charging anyone.
Yes, that irony probably is true in this case, but it doesn't negate that the vast majority of railroaded and innocent defendants are not privileged like these guys, and there is very little outrage on their behalf. (And little chance of exculpation.)
Post a Comment
<< Home