DURHAM, N.C. – Two grand jurors in the Duke University lacrosse sexual assault case are now talking, with one saying he is having second thoughts about whether indicting three members of the team for the alleged attack on a female stripper was the right thing to do.
In an exclusive interview with ABC's "Good Morning America," the jurors described how they felt about the twists and turns that have plagued the case in the more than 10 months since the March 2006 party during which the accuser claims the assault took place.
Click here to read the ABC story
When asked whether he would have made the same decision today to indict lacrosse players Collin Finnerty, Reade Seligmann and David Evans, the first grand juror said: "Knowing what I know now and all that's been broadcast on the news and in media, I think I would have definitely … made a different decision."
He added: "I don't think I could have made a decision to go forward with the charges that were put before us. I don't think those charges would have been the proper charges, based on what I know now."
In contrast, the second grand juror said he didn't regret the decision to indict, but said he now had new doubts about the case and what happened that night during the off-campus lacrosse party.
"I don't know for sure whether she was raped, you know, because of everything that … came out," he said. "I'm not sure, to tell you the truth."
Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong recently removed himself from the case amid mountains of criticism over the way he handled it and whether there were enough evidence a rape occurred. He has been accused by the state bar association of making improper statements early in the case and of withholding DNA evidence.
In December, eight months after the grand jurors brought their indictments, Nifong dropped the rape charges against the players when the accuser eventually said she couldn't recall key details of the crime — including whether she was actually raped.
"What do you mean you're not sure whether you got raped or not? That … didn't add up," the second grand juror told "Good Morning America."
"It raised a lot of doubt," added the first juror.
Meanwhile, a nonprofit corporation founded to help pay for the legal defense of three former lacrosse players has raised about $750,000 — a quarter of the $3 million believed to have been spent thus far.
The Association for Truth and Fairness was incorporated April 19 in Delaware with the goal of raising $5 million, said a group founder, Sherman Joyce, president of the Washington-based American Tort Reform Association and a family friend of one of the accused players.
"The real message is just think how this would play out in a situation where someone did not have these kinds of resources available," Joyce said.
Defense attorneys have spent hundreds of hours on the case and hired private investigators, pollsters and experts in DNA and forensics since Finnerty, Evans and Seligmann were charged.
Other players on the team also hired lawyers before Nifong filed charges in the case.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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