News-Record.com

The DA's confession didn't amount to much.

"My handling of the media coverage of this case has occasioned substantial criticism, some of which is undoubtedly justified," he said. "I both underestimated the level of media attention this case would draw and misjudged the effect that my words would have."

That's it for his mistakes? Not by a long shot.

What Nifong left out, The News & Observer of Raleigh detailed in a lengthy report published Sunday (registration required).

"In examining the files Nifong has produced in the case, The News & Observer found that the accuser gave at least five different versions of the alleged assault to different police and medical interviewers and made shaky identifications of suspects.

"The district attorney commented publicly about the strength of the medical evidence before he had seen it. He promised DNA evidence that has not materialized. He suggested that police conduct lineups in a way that conflicted with department policy."

It goes on. The inevitable conclusion -- which many observers formed long ago -- is that Nifong will never win convictions against accused rapists Collin Finnerty, Reade W. Seligmann and David Forker Evans.

He's stubbornly foolish even to take the case to trial. Why he still plans to prosecute the three is a mystery that Nifong won't answer because he has cut off media interviews.

It's hard to see what the DA can bring to court. His "victim," the stripper who claims she was raped at a lacrosse team party on the night of March 13, is not credible.

A Durham criminal lawyer not involved in the case told me recently that the defendants' attorneys will quickly break down her testimony. That will destroy the prosecution's case because, as far as anyone knows, it lacks physical evidence against the defendants and corroborating witnesses.

Her conflicting accounts -- including an accusation that the other woman hired to perform joined with the perpetrators in assaulting her -- can't be explained away as the result of confusion, fear or stress. Somewhere, her story has to be grounded in reality. And the reality is, when all the facts are examined, there wasn't time or opportunity for the rape to occur.

Nifong should have known that, but -- as The N&O story makes clear -- he rushed to judgment before gathering all the facts. And he slanted the investigation, most significantly by asking for a photo lineup that included only mug shots of Duke lacrosse players. All the "victim" had to do was point to any three.

She actually picked four. How Nifong settled on Finnerty, Seligmann and Evans isn't clear. Maybe the fourth -- who hasn't been identified -- was nowhere around that night.

There are problems with the other three. Seligmann's attorneys produced solid exculpatory evidence. The accuser said Evans had a mustache, which he didn't. Finnerty didn't match her original description of any of the assailants, whom she said were heavy. He's thin.

The defendants say they're innocent. Their teammates support them. Their attorneys say they passed lie-detector tests. Although the "victim" said no condoms were used, the only semen found on her body was someone else's.

When news of this incident broke, Durham was in an uproar. The story line quickly became "white, privileged Duke athletes attack black single mother working to support her children and put herself through school." It turned into a political cause as much as a criminal case, and Nifong faced a test: Would he take on these symbols of society's power structure for the sake of the weak and oppressed? He zealously rose to the occasion.

When the facts caught up with the hype, the story shifted. This is a prosecution based on a false accusation.

Real mistakes have been made, and they need to be corrected now. Nifong should drop the charges and let three innocent young men get on with their lives.