A long time coming

Mike Nifong, the corrupt prosecutor from Durham, North Carolina, who tried to railroad the Duke lacrosse players into prison on bogus rape charges, has been disbarred. I can only hope that this is only the beginning of the negative things that should happen to this piece of human filth.

I can think of few things more cowardly, frustrating, and disgusting than for a public official, especially a law enforcement official, to abuse his position of authority. That is because it is so easy for someone in the public trust to do the most heinous things, and make it look legitimate.

I am always reminded of this in a scene in the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie Eraser. Near the end of the film, a bunch of illegal weapons are being loaded onto a ship to be sold to terrorists. Rogue U.S. government agents are the ones loading the weapons. When some union dockworkers go to investigate what is happening, one of the government gate guards tells the union dockworkers to go away, saying, "Gentlemen, this is a matter of national security." Boom! All you have to say is that it is a matter of national security, and the illegal transaction has been legitimized. I know that it's only a movie, but you can imagine some of the things that federal, state, and local government agents have gotten away with over the years, just by asserting their authority in order to make it happen.

Mike Nifong's malfeasance in the Duke Rape Lacrosse case is a perfect example. Now that he has been disbarred, it is time to invoke the very laws that were written for people like him.

On the criminal side of things is Title 18 United States Code, Section 242. This states in part:

Whoever, under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or
custom, willfully subjects any person in any State, Territory,
Commonwealth, Possession, or District to the deprivation of any rights,
privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or
laws of the United States, or to different punishments, pains, or
penalties, on account of such person being an alien, or by reason of his
color, or race, than are prescribed for the punishment of citizens,
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or
both....

This allows the federal government to prosecute government officials - federal, state, and local - for doing the very thing that Nifong did.

On the civil side of things is Title 42 United States Code, Section 1983. It reads in part:

Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation,
custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia,
subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or
other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any
rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws,
shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in
equity, or other proper proceeding for redress....

This law makes it possible for private citizens to sue government officials - federal, state, or local - for doing the very thing that Nifong did.

It would do the entire country well to see Mike Nifong prosecuted under 18USC242, and sent to prison if found guilty. It would do the lacrosse players well to file a lawsuit against Mike Nifong under 42USC1983, and take him for everything he is worth. I can't tell you how sick this case makes me when I think about what Mike Nifong tried to do to these young men, all the while using his status as a district attorney in order to legitimize and cover up his actions.

Good Day to You, Sir