Nifong serves one day for contempt

Former Durham County prosecutor Mike Nifong walked out of jail after completing a 24-hour contempt sentence imposed by a judge for lying to the court about crucial DNA evidence in a case alleging Duke lacrosse players raped a woman.

Nifong left the jail shortly after 9 a.m., where he was greeted with cheers and applause by a small crowd of supporters in the lobby. They surrounded the disgraced and disbarred prosecutor as he moved through a thick crowd of reporters to a waiting car.

Nifong thanked the jail’s staff “for the professionalism with which I was treated and the respect which I was shown.”