Durham County's District Attorney, Mike Nifong, is running for reelection and in the process running over the honor and reputation of 46 bright and talented young men, who made the mistake of playing lacrosse for Duke University. In America everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty, well perhaps not in Mike Nifong's America. Mike Nifong is hyping an already sensational story that an exotic dancer was raped by 3 of Duke's lacrosse team players. The problem with his campaign story is that there was no DNA evidence found connecting the players with the woman. Lets not forget that the DNA evidence on Monica Lewinsky's blue dress, found months after the oval office peep show, is what caused President Bill Clinton to give a new definition of what sex is and isn't.
As a criminologist I know that DNA, which stands for "Deoxyribonucleic acid", can be found at a crime scene in the form of body fluids, skin and hair, and that such evidence can be found in a rape case even when the defendants are wearing condoms. However, even though the alleged victim and her clothing were carefully examined for DNA, and even-though all 46 white lacrosse players gave DNA samples, it was revealed yesterday that there were no matches. It is possible that mistakes were made in the collection of the evidence or that 3 men could have raped a woman and left no DNA. However, it is now increasingly possible that none of these men raped the alleged victim.
The problem with this case is that the prosecutor placed himself in front of the investigation, and now has to stay with a dog of a case for political reasons. A prosecutor has an ethical duty to seek justice and avoid the appearance of using a case for political reasons.
Author’s bio: Gutheinz is a former military intelligence officer and aviator and a retired NASA Office of Inspector General senior special agent. He is a criminal defense attorney licensed by 10 courts to include the United States Supreme Court; and a college instructor for both the University of Phoenix and Alvin Community College. He holds 6 degrees and 8 teaching credentials. He is the recipient of the NASA Exceptional Service Medal and the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency Career Achievement Award. He is the past top graduate (Honor Graduate) from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center's Criminal Investigators Basic Course. His prior writings include: In Search of the Goodwill Moon Rocks, Geotimes Magazine; and There Will be a Day After Tomorrow, SpaceDaily.com .
