Duke Prosecutor Wants Out

One day after it was revealed that the accuser in the Duke lacrosse team case changed her story once again, Durham district attorney Mike Nifong asked the state attorney general to appoint a special prosecutor to take over so that he can be recused from the case. Nifong's lawyer insisted that his client was not running away from a weak case.

Nifong has come under increasing criticism for how he has handled the Duke case and the North Carolina State Bar filed ethics charges against him for comments he made about the case to the media.

As a result, Nifong met with the accuser in the case this week to inform her of his decision to recuse himself from the case.

"He feels, as a result of the accusations against him, that he would be a distraction, and he wants to make sure the accuser receives a fair trial," James P. Cooney III, an attorney for Reade Seligmann told reporters. "He still believes in the case. He just believes his continued presence would hurt her."

Accuser Changes Her Story Again

Nifong's move came a day after papers filed by the defense in the case revealed that the accuser in the case, in an interview with prosecutors Dec. 21, changed her account of the incident again.

She now says that only two players assaulted her at the team party and one of the players only watched, she also changed the time of the alleged attack, and changed her story about one of the players having a mustache.

"The accuser's most recent recollection of events demonstrates clearly that she cannot accurately recall and describe her attackers and that any identification made by her is necessarily unreliable," the defense motion said.

The accuser has made five statements about the Duke team party to hospital personnel, police and investigators and each statement has contradicted the previous ones.

Defense Welcomes Special Prosecutor

It was in this same Dec. 21 statement, that the accuser said she was not assaulted by a penis, causing the district attorney to drop the rape charges against the three players.

The attorney general's office said they would decide over the weekend whether or not to appoint a special prosecutor in the case.

Special prosecutors are appointed in cases when there are potential conflicts of interest, when their are unusual circumstances or the case is very complex. In North Carolina, only a district attorney can request a special prosecutor.

"I think we're all delighted that we're going to have objective and competent prosecutors reviewing this case," James P. Cooney III, an attorney for Reid Seligmann told reporters. "We look forward to cooperating with those prosecutors fully and completely in bringing this prosecution to an end."

See Also:
Duke Lacrosse Prosecutor Asks Off Case
Duke Accuser Contradicts Herself
Story Changes in Duke Rape Case

Background:
Duke Lacrosse Team Rape Scandal

Crime and Punishment Forum:
Discuss The Duke Case