Edward Block: A sentence for Nifong

Regarding the Sept. 3 news article about the current Durham district attorney, Roger Echols, finally dropping murder charges against Darryl Howard: It’s about time. Mike Nifong, in prosecuting Howard’s case in 1995, withheld key evidence that could have exonerated him of the crime. As a result, an innocent man has spent more than 20 years in prison.

Nifong also attempted to convict three innocent Duke lacrosse players in 2006-07 using similarly devious prosecutorial tactics. Who knows how many other innocent people have been wrongly imprisoned by Nifong? The N&O previously reported that at least four more cases handled by Nifong are being investigated.

Nifong received only one night of jail time for attempting to falsely convict three innocent boys. In the case of Howard’s imprisonment of more than 20 years for a crime he didn’t commit, shouldn’t Nifong be charged with criminally withholding evidence? And, if convicted, be sent to the same prison as Howard for a considerably longer sentence than just one night?. Much of a man’s life has been taken away from him by the shameful acts of a sick Durham DA. How about justice for Howard? How about prosecuting one of the real criminals in this case – Mike Nifong?

This story was originally published September 18, 2016 at 6:00 PM with the headline "Edward Block: A sentence for Nifong."