Oct 05 2007
Lacrosse Players File Suit Against Nifong, Durham City
Three former Duke lacrosse players falsely accused of rape filed a federal lawsuit Friday against disgraced prosecutor Mike Nifong, the city of Durham and the police detectives who handled the investigation.
The lawsuit calls the criminal case against Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and Dave Evans was “one of the most chilling episodes of premeditated police, prosecutorial and scientific misconduct in modern American history.”
The lawsuit seeks unspecified punitive and compensatory damages, attorneys fees and numerous reforms to the way the Durham Police Department handles criminal investigations. They include changes to a photo lineup procedure that helped secure indictments against the three players and the appointment of a monitor to oversee certain police activities for 10 years.
The lawsuit was filed about a month after city officials met with lawyers for the families seeking a $30 million settlement and several legal reforms, two sources close to the case have told The Associated Press. The attorneys gave the city a month to respond or face a civil rights lawsuit.
Durham, Nifong, and Duke University need to be hit with everything these three guys can take them for. An example needs to made out of this incident. It was a blatant case of politically induced prejudice and bigotry and will affect these guys forever.
