The Duke lacrosse case revealed many things but among the most disturbing was the realization of just how corrupt justice in Durham had become.
As you’ll remember, District Attorney Mike Nifong, the Durham police and a DNA lab had all conspired to frame three Duke lacrosse players. We remember wondering at the time how many other people had been falsely accused and convicted?
You can put Darryl Howard in that number.
Howard was convicted in 1991 of murdering a mother and her daughter and wasn’t cleared until 2016 when DNA evidence led to his exoneration.
Durham police detective Darryl Dowdy was accused of making up evidence and - surprise - Nifong did not disclose exulpatory evidence to the defense.