It took disbarment and losing his job, along with the threat of being held in contempt of court for Mike Nifong, the disgraced former DA from Durham, NC, to finally admit there was no credible evidence against the three Duke lacrosse players he charged.

Disgraced former prosecutor Mike Nifong acknowledged Thursday there is “no credible evidence” that three Duke lacrosse players committed any of the crimes he accused them of more than a year ago, offering for the first time a complete and unqualified apology.

“We all need to heal,” Nifong said. “It is my hope we can start this process today.”

Nifong’s apology came as a judge began considering whether to hold the former Durham County district attorney in criminal contempt of court for his handling of the case.

Superior Court Judge W. Osmond Smith III has already concluded there is probable cause to believe Nifong “willfully and intentionally made false statements of material fact” to the court during a hearing in the case last fall. If he finds Nifong in contempt, the now-disbarred former prosecutor could face up to 30 days in jail.

30 days in jail and up to a $500 fine for ruining the reputations of three young men who are innocent of the charges he brought against them.

It’s good to hear him finally apologize to these young men. I got the $500 fine information from the radio news as I was on the way for my weekly allergy shot.

Story here.

Yahoo News is reporting the sheriff went to Mike Nifong’s house Tuesday to relieve Mr. Nifong of his office keys and badge to get into the prosecutor’s office in Durham, NC.

There is probable cause to believe that Nifong “has engaged in willful misconduct in office and conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice, which brings the office into disrepute,” Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson wrote in his order.

Durham County Sheriff Worth Hill went to Nifong’s house with a deputy to serve the order Tuesday morning.

“We took his keys and his badge that gave him access to the building,” Hill said. “We’ll make arrangements to help him get his personal belongings later.”

There is speculation the formerly accused Duke lacrosse players will bring suit against Mr. Nifong, but what they will get is questionable since he has nothing but his home, some land in western North Carolina and his retirement.

There is also speculation Mr. Nifong will be brought up on criminal charges for what he did during this terrible time.

Is jail appropriate? He’s already lost his livelihood and the biggest part of his income. When his pension kicks in is something I don’t know. Maybe immediately or maybe when he reaches a certain age.

We do need to consider the fact he was willing to send three innocent people to jail for a crime that was not committed, and if the DNA case hadn’t fallen apart by accident, they would have gone to jail.

So, should he go to jail for his legal malpractice and malicious prosecution, or should he be allowed to remain free on probation for his acts?

Duke University has come to an undisclosed financial agreement with the three wrongfully accused lacrosse players and runaway prosecutor Mike Nifong, now disbarred, has been ordered by a judge to cease being District Attorney immediately.

DURHAM, N.C. — Duke University has reached an undisclosed financial settlement with three former lacrosse players falsely accused of rape, while a judge said late Monday he would order the disbarred prosecutor to leave office immediately.

Duke had suspended Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and Dave Evans after they were charged last year with raping a stripper at an off-campus party. The university also canceled the team’s season and forced their coach to resign.

“We welcomed their exoneration and deeply regret the difficult year they and their families have had to endure,” the school said Monday in a statement. “These young men and their families have been the subject of intense scrutiny that has taken a heavy toll.”

How big of them, especially since the president of Duke judged them guilty at the time of the arrests and 88 faculty members signed a letter saying they were guilty and charging them with racism.

I hope they got a tidy sum, and I wish they would get an apology from the 88 faculty members, but I won’t hold my breath on that.

Disbarred and disgraced prosecutor Mike Nifong thought he had an agreement to stay on as District Attorney until July 13. I don’t know how, since he’s no longer a lawyer.

Earlier Monday, Nifong said he planned to leave office next month in a resignation letter to Gov. Mike Easley and to Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson, who is overseeing a pending request to remove Nifong from office.

“It is my fervent hope that this action will spare this community the further anguish a removal hearing would entail and will allow the healing process to move forward,” Nifong wrote.

But Nifong’s July 13 departure date wasn’t soon enough for Hudson, who decided late Monday to suspend Nifong from office.

As part of the suspension, Hudson said he would order the sheriff on Tuesday to prevent Nifong from carrying out any duties of the district attorney.

“I have thought about the situation, and this is way I wish to proceed,” said Hudson who initially agreed to allow Nifong work until next month.

Seems reasonable to me.

Nifong will still be able to collect his pension and health benefits earned while working in the DAs office for 30 years.

Even if the exonerated and innocent former Duke students sue Nifong I think his pension is safe from seizure. If reader David happens to read this maybe he can tell us for sure.

Look for the lawyers to press for criminal and/or civil charges against Nifong and the city of Durham to retrieve the fortune that was spent defending these men.

What would have happened if they had not come from families that had the money or friends from whom to borrow the money for their defense?

They probably would have had to cop a plea to something they didn’t do in order to stay out of jail for 30 years. This is something they themselves have mentioned.