2006 DICKTARD OF THE YEAR
Remember all that talk about the 3 Duke lacrosse players being accused of sexually assaulting a stripper at a party last year? I'm sure you do, since this sensational and divisive case was covered by the media ad nauseum when the story broke in March. But it was raised to a ridiculous level thanks to District Attorney Mike Nifong, who began holding numerous press conferences, leaking information about the case to the media, and grandstanding in front of protest groups in North Carolina. Despite his comments he didn't really have any solid, damning evidence against the students, as DNA testing came up negative. His prosecution hinged mostly on the testimony by the accuser, whose credibility was questioned almost from the start.
It turns out that most of the charges were dropped against the students on 12/21/2006, after the 28 year old accuser now says she is "no longer sure if she had been raped". On 12/28/2006, Nifong was charged with ethics violations by the NC state bar, and the remaining two students who have not yet graduated have been welcomed back by the university. They still have a hearing on sexual offense and kidnapping charges, but they are expected to be dropped as well.
So why was Nifong making misleading comments about these kids, and steadfastly seeking an indictment against them? In the name of justice? Nah. Basically, he was just looking to get elected as DA, which he did in November and was privately sworn in yesterday. He's suddenly shy towards the media and declining to comment on the case, when a few months ago you couldn't shut him up. Now he's quoted as saying he "needs to be part of the healing process", despite the fact that he'll be kicked off the case and could ultimately be suspended or disbarred. I guarantee that he thought this was an easy case to prosecute, and it backfired badly on him.
What a grade A prime asshole. Congratulations Durham County DA Mike Nifong, you are the 2006 DICKTARD OF THE YEAR!
A special honorable mention goes to THE MEDIA who reported on this case, most of it inflammatory and reactionary comments against the students involved (none of them substantiated), thanks in no small part to Nifong himself. Naturally, now that the students have had the rape charges dropped, and the sexual assault/kidnapping will likely be dropped, it's BARELY IN THE NEWS AT ALL. Imagine that! This is akin to the newspaper putting a screaming front page headline in size 72 Arial font, and later printing a tiny retraction/correction on page 56 under the horoscopes. I've said it before, and I'm likely to say it again: the news media and lawyers can go fuck themselves in 2007.
