Man Cleared Of NYC Murder After 25 Years In Prison
Source: AP
NEW YORK (AP) From the day of his 1989 arrest in a deadly New York City shooting, Jonathan Fleming said he had been more than 1,000 miles away, on a vacation at Disney World. Despite having documents to back him up, he was convicted of murder.
Prosecutors now agree with him, and Fleming left a Brooklyn court as a free man Tuesday after spending nearly a quarter-century behind bars.
Fleming, now 51, tearfully hugged his lawyers as relatives cheered, "Thank you, God!" after a judge dismissed the case. A key eyewitness had recanted, newly found witnesses implicated someone else and prosecutors' review of authorities' files turned up documents supporting Fleming's alibi.
"After 25 years, come hug your mother," Patricia Fleming said, and her only child did.
Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/lawyers-man-due-be-cleared-1989-nyc-murder
Guns are the new glory suit.
JI7
(89,239 posts)billhicks76
(5,082 posts)They should surely have to take his place. When are corrupt prosecutors and felonious cops going to be held accountable?
Auntie Bush
(17,528 posts)Sure "nuff.
kath
(10,565 posts)mountain grammy
(26,598 posts)The ACLU https://www.aclu.org/
Southern Poverty Law Center http://www.splcenter.org/?ref=logo
The Innocence Project http://www.innocenceproject.org/
This is from the Innocence Project:
Eighteen people had been sentenced to death before DNA proved their innocence and led to their release.
The average sentence served by DNA exonerees has been 13.6 years.
About 70 percent of those exonerated by DNA testing are people of color.
In almost 50 percent of DNA exoneration cases, the actual perpetrator has been identified by DNA testing.
Exonerations have been won in 35 states and Washington, D.C.
The Innocence Project was involved in 172 of the 314 DNA exonerations. Others were helped by Innocence Network organizations, private attorneys and by pro se defendants in a few instances.
It didn't appear any particular group helped Mr. Fleming, just a new DA doing his job, but justice finally came through for him. That said, 25 years? Infuriating.
alp227
(32,003 posts)Prison sentences can be commuted and criminal records erased. But you can't undo an execution.
tofuandbeer
(1,314 posts)Our system is not perfect.
judesedit
(4,437 posts)for the guilty. God help us.