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December 1, 2008 8:22:45 AM CST

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Duke Prosecutor Will Do One Day Behind Bars

Posted Sep 1, 07 8:24 AM CDT in US 

(Newser) – Mike Nifong, the disgraced district attorney in the Duke rape case, will spend a night in jail for contempt of court, a Durham, NC, judge ruled yesterday. The judge concluded that Nifong, who has already been disbarred, "willfully" withheld DNA evidence that exonerated three lacrosse players accused of raping a stripper after a team party.

Nifong had argued at the two-day hearing that he hadn't lied, but had been unaware of the evidence when he told the defendants' attorneys DNA testing had not been possible: "At the time I made the statements, I believed them to be true."  The judge explicitly rejected that argument. "We saw the system break down," said the father of one of the players, "and today we saw the system right itself."

Source News & Observer (Raleigh)

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Former Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong testifies during his criminal contempt hearing in Durham, N.C., Friday, Aug. 31, 2007. The former prosecutor who led the now-discredited Duke lacrosse...   (Associated Press)
Mary Ellen Finnerty, center, mother of former Duke lacrosse player Collin Finnerty, smiles after former Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong's conviction on criminal contempt charges in Durham,...   (Associated Press)
Former Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong, right, leaves the courtroom following his criminal contempt hearing in Durham, N.C., Friday, Aug. 31, 2007. The former prosecutor who led the now-discredited...   (Associated Press)
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rape • prison • jail • Duke University • conviction • sentencing • Durham • Mike Nifong • Duke rape case • contempt of court


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