The head of a private DNA laboratory said under oath today that he and District Attorney Mike Nifong agreed not to report DNA results favorable to Duke lacrosse players charged with rape.
Brian Meehan, director of DNA Security of Burlington, said his lab found DNA from unidentified men in the underwear, pubic hair and rectum of the woman who said she was gang-raped at a lacrosse party in March. Nurses at Duke Hospital collected the samples a few hours after the alleged assault. Meehan said the DNA did not come from Reade Seligmann, David Evans, or Collin Finnerty, who have been charged with rape and sexual assault in the case.
Meehan struggled to say why he didn’t include the favorable evidence in a report dated May 12, almost a month after Seligmann and Finnerty had been indicted. He cited concerns about the privacy of the lacrosse players, his discussions at several meetings with Nifong, and the fact that he didn’t know whose DNA it was.
Under questioning by Jim Cooney, a defense attorney for Seligmann, Meehan admitted that his report violated his laboratory’s standards by not reporting results of all tests.
Did Nifong and his investigators know the results of all the DNA tests? Cooney asked. More here
I am beginning to seriously believe that the problem with this case, like others I am cognizant of, is the District Attorney. My belief is that in these cases, the D.A. should be looked at very closely. I think this guy has a skeleton or two in his closet. Just a hunch, like other D.A.s have skeletons.
May 1 2006 — Accused Duke lacrosse player Reade Seligmann's attorneys want Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong thrown off the case. Today, they filed a legal motion specifically asking for it.
"DA Mike Nifong neglected his duty as a prosecutor to seek the truth and a fair prosecution," the defense's motion reads.
Six motions and four affidavits were filed just 24 hours before Nifong's Tuesday election in which he's fighting to keep his seat. Nifong is being challenged by former prosecutor Freda Black and private lawyer Keith Bishop. Any candidate needs 40 percent plus one vote to win the election. If Nifong loses the election, he could be out of office before the rape trial begins.
The motion argues that the election has affected Nifong's approach to the case and accuses him of using the Duke investigation to his political advantage.
"He [Nifong] created a conflict between his professional duties and the search for truth, and his personal vested interest in getting elected," the motion says. Read the rest.
Beginnings...
A life-long resident of North Carolina, District Attorney Mike Nifong was born in Wilmington, where he graduated from New Hanover High School. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on a Herbert W. Jackson scholarship, graduating Phi Beta Kappa with an A.B. degree in Political Science in 1971.
Although he had decided on an eventual career in law while still in high school, Nifong worked for his first year after graduation from UNC as a teacher of mathematics and boys’ physical education in Southport. This was followed by a three-year stint as a social worker with the New Hanover County Department of Social Services in Wilmington before he finally enrolled in the University of North Carolina School of Law in 1975. More
Dissing Dr. King's Dream in Durham an article in The Conservative Voice.
Then, the blogs...
In more than 60 public statements, Durham DA Mike Nifong has tried to spin facts, including DNA results, to support his charge that some Duke lacrosse players are guilty of raping a woman.
Below are the headlines and first three paragraphs of three newspapers' reports today of results of a second round of DNA testing of Duke lacrosse players.
Read the following headlines and paragraphs. See if you can't pick out which headline and paragraph are closest to DA Nifong type spin. Click here to see them.
John in North Carolina has another, devastating post, and links to another.
Commentary
Seeing the noose tighten around Nifong gives me hope that justice will come to others as well. I believe the light should shine brightly upon Nifong. His photograph should be shared far and wide, and should be synonymous with Prosecutorial Misconduct, along with others.
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