Wendy’s post leads me to believe that Michael Nifong is doing everything he can to submarine his non-case against the Duke athletes. Since many prosecutors today simply are bullies, liars, and charlatans — and I include Nifong in that group — one can be tempted to see this as a situation in which Nifong simply is trying to get away with whatever he can.

However, a number of things give me pause. First, I have no doubt that Nifong does not believe that either charged Duke lacrosse player committed rape. That’s right; I think that given the facts and evidence of this case, not to mentions his experience of more than 20 years in this job, Nifong has taken steps along the way to submarine his legal case. Let us look at what he has done:

1. His inflammatory statements at the beginning of the case, including his declaration that DNA would provide “proof” of the alleged rape;
2. His use of only Duke lacrosse players for the photo lineup was not a casual error; prosecutors know the rules, and Nifong surely knew he was breaking them. This “error” alone is enough to have the entire “identification” thrown out on appeal;
3. His refusal to permit a preliminary hearing for one of the accused, who has very strong evidence that he could not have been in two places at one time; The exculpatory evidence for Reed Seligmann is the kind of evidence that only could be ignored willfully;
4. His recent “sharing of evidence” with the Black Panthers when they came to town; he has refused to meet with counsel for the defense, yet he gave aid to groups that clearly are acting like a lynch mob. His actions here are the kind that could lead to disbarment — if ther were any real justice in the United States;
5. His setting of bail at $400,000 at the same time he was demanding only $50,000 for a teen murder suspect.

I have my doubts that Nifong expects this case to come to trial, as the appeals process is going to take its toll on his “evidence,” his method of “identification,” as well as other shenanigans he has pulled. Yet, the man who by all accounts was trailing in the election before he decided to pursue this non-rape, now has won his primary election and since he faces no opposition in the fall, has effectively won election to his post.

In other words, this case has served its real purpose, no matter how many times he says to the contrary. I have never known a prosecutor who was NOT a political animal. Prosecutors are well-aware of the political implications of their actions.

If this case ever does come to trial, it will almost certainly be given a change of venue, as there is no way these young men could win an acquittal in Durham. Remember, a prominent black minister declared in church following the arrests that the people who committed the alleged “rape” had now been caught. In other words, he was serving as judge and jury — from the pulpit. (I guess he forgot the Ninth Commandment, but the art of politics is the lie.)

If, by chance, these men are convicted, their convictions would be overturned on appeal, but appeals take years, and so they could expect to serve up to 3-5 years in prison before being released.

Now, if Nifong really does bring this case to trial, what we have is a prosecutor willfully attempting to convict people who obviously are innocent of the crime with which they are charged. Let that last sentence sink in, as that is the state of justice in this country. Welcome to Amerika.