Charges Dropped in Duke Rape Case

Three Duke lacrosse players are pronounced innocent of sexual assault.

Courtesy: Duke Photography

(RALEIGH, N.C. ) -
By: The Associated Press
Courtesy: Duke Athletics

Prosecutors dropped all charges Wednesday against the three Duke lacrosse players accused of sexual assault stemming from a team party, saying the athletes were innocent victims of a "tragic rush to accuse" by an overreaching district attorney.

"There were many points in the case where caution would have served justice better than bravado," North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper said in an assessment of Durham County District Mike Nifong's handling of the case.

Cooper, who took over the case in January after Nifong was charged with ethics violations that could get him disbarred, said his own investigation concluded not only that the evidence against the young men was insufficient, but that no attack took place.

Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and David Evans were indicted last spring on charges of rape, kidnapping and sexual offense after the woman told police she was assaulted in the bathroom at an off-campus house during a team party where she had been hired to perform.

But the attorney general said the eyewitness identification procedures were unreliable, no DNA supported the woman's story, no other witness corroborated it, and the woman contradicted herself.

"Based on the significant inconsistencies between the evidence and the various accounts given by the accusing witness, we believe these three individuals are innocent of these charges," Cooper said.

He said the charges resulted from a "tragic rush to accuse and a failure to verify serious allegations."

Cooper called for the passage of a state law that would allow the North Carolina Supreme Court to remove a prosecutor "who needs to step away from a case where justice demands."

"This case shows the enormous consequences of overreaching by a prosecutor," he said.

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Someone must have been asking for it! Maybe the lawyers?

I simply just cannot imagine how any informed people could not be disgusted with what happened to these Duke students. I must assume the below poster knows nothing of the reported facts on this case, but still offers an opinion that reflects how the educational system failed them. I will pray for you. LOL

This is all political BS put forth by a bunch of rich white guys. The thing is most people do think they probably raped her. And they don't care. The guys know the truth, either way, and they have to live with it. And hardly a mention of the alleged victim...if she's honest, then it's got to be difficult to be disallowed like this.

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