Duke lacrosse accuser Crystal Mangum released from NC prison Friday

Crystal Mangum, the woman who falsely accused three Duke lacrosse players of rape in 2006, was released from prison Friday morning.

She was convicted of second-degree murder in 2013 for the 2011 stabbing death of her boyfriend, Reginald Daye, and sentenced to 14 to 18 years. Mangum claimed the stabbing was in self-defense.

The 2006 case made national headlines, but the State Attorney General’s Office later found no credible evidence of an attack, and all charges against the players were dropped in 2007.

In 2024, Mangum admitted she fabricated the allegations.

Defense lawyer Joseph Cheshire represented the Duke players in the case. In a statement to ABC11, Cheshire said:

“I am extremely pleased that Crystal Mangum finally decided to tell the truth. For those of us that were involved in the Duke lacrosse case, there was never a question as to the innocence of these young men. It was a travesty of justice caused by one prosecutor’s corrupt effort to win an election at the expense of three innocent people. Prosecutorial misconduct can have a devastating impact on the administration of justice by causing wrongful convictions of innocent people and must be carefully guarded against. Although Ms. Mangum’s admission is long overdue, it does put the final layer of validation on the unequivocal innocence of these three fine men.”

She will be released from the N.C. Correctional Institution for Women in Raleigh.

This story was originally published February 27, 2026 at 7:54 AM.