Mike Nifong

To be sure, the DA Prosecutor Mike Nifong went over the line in his prosecution of the Duke University Lacrosse players. He has since been publicly humiliated, and most recently, disbarred. He can no longer practice law in North Carolina, and is probably notorious enough that he will not be able to practice anywhere else. I cannot imagine him being able to speak publicly (for a fee) or write a book that anyone would buy. His professional life has essentially been ruined. It seems to me at least, that justice has been served.

In today's CNN.com, there was a small window to vote whether he should be criminally prosecuted. When you vote, you get to see the results of this unofficial poll. I voted that he should not be criminally prosecuted, thinking he will undoubtedly be sued by at least one if not all three of the wrongfully accused Duke Lacrosse players. I was quite surprised to see that over 80% of the respondents voted for criminal charges. Are we Americans so vengeful that the ruination of a life is not a fitting enough punishment for what he did? Does he have to go to jail too?

The Duke Lacrosse players were hurt to be sure. But they have since been cleared, and we now see them as victims, good boys that didn't do anything wrong. They will in fact recover from this, and the good-ol'-boy network of the south will absorb them into its protective network. They'll get good positions, and in a few years the oft-retold tale of the evil Mike Nifong will result in appreciative nods of the head, and the water-cooler talk will fall back to other collegiate sports.

I am not proposing that Mr. Nifong be exonerated, rather, I am observing that he has already received swift and sufficient punishment for his sins. He will undoubtedly be sued and be forced to provide some financial consideration to the three Duke lacrosse players. Let's not tie up the criminal courts for a case in which punishment has already been administered.