AG releases lacrosse report

RALEIGH -- State Attorney General Roy Cooper released a report today outlining how he and special prosecutors in his office concluded that three former Duke lacrosse players were innocent of the charges they battled for a year.

The report highlights missteps in the early investigation and provides details that led Cooper to sharply criticize Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong as a rogue prosecutor.

The Attorney General's staff interviewed the accuser, Crystal Gail Mangum, several times. They were the first investigators to probe the numerous inconsistencies in her prior statements.

"In meetings with the special prosecutors, the accusing witness, when recounting the events of that night, changed her story on so many important issues as to give the impression she was improvising as the interviews progressed, even when she was faced with irrefutable evidence that what she was saying was not credible," the report said.

"The accusing witness attempted to avoid the contradictions by changing her story, contradicting previous stories or alleging the evidence was fabricated."

Special prosecutors James Coman and Mary D. Winstead and Cooper made a number of key points:

- Mangum's testimony regarding the alleged assault would have been contradicted by other evidence from numerous sources;

- Mangum's testimony regarding the alleged assault and the events leading up to and following the allegations would have been contradicted by significantly different versions of events she told over the past year;

- No testimony or physical evidence would have corroborated her testimony;

- The three accused were identified through questionable photographic procedures;

- Credible and verifiable information showed the accused could not have participated in an attack during the time it was alleged to have occurred;

- Mangum's credibility would have been suspect based on previous encounters with police, her medical history and inconsistency among her statements.

Cooper's proclamation of innocence — a rare declaration for a prosecutor — came more than two weeks ago on April 11.

Nifong is battling possible career-ending ethics and professional misconduct charges over his handling of the case.

Read the report summing up Duke lacrosse investigation by the state Attorney General's office.