Duke Prosecutor Reports to Jail

[JLB]

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Duke-Lacrosse.html?hp

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- The prosecutor who led the now-discredited Duke lacrosse rape case reported to jail Friday to serve a 24-hour sentence for contempt of court. The city, meanwhile, was in settlement talks with the three exonerated players.

According to a person close to the case, attorneys for the three players are seeking $30 million from Durham and reforms in the legal process.

If the terms aren't met, they will sue early next month, the person told The Associated Press on Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity because the proposed settlement wasn't complete.

[JLB]

The former district attorney, Mike Nifong, declined to speak with reporters as he arrived at the jail. He was disbarred for ethics violations in his handling of the case, and a judge found him in contempt for lying to the court when he insisted he had given defense attorneys all results from critical DNA tests.

A small group of supporters accompanied Nifong with signs reading, ''We believe in your integrity and goodness.''

A handful of hecklers also met him at the jail. One woman shouted out: ''Justice works!''

Durham County Sheriff Worth Hill said Nifong likely will have a cell to himself for safety reasons.

The three university lacrosse players were accused of raping a woman who had been hired to strip at a team party in 2006. Nifong pursued the case and won indictments, but the charges were eventually thrown out by state prosecutors who declared the players innocent victims of a ''tragic rush to accuse.''

[JLB]

put him away a long time.

make it 5 years screw that 24 hour shit.