Man Cleared Of NYC Murder After 25 Years In Prison

[onehandle]

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

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Guns are the new glory suit.

[JI7]

1. i wonder how many will insist it has nothing to do with race

[billhicks76]

8. Prosecutors Broke The Law

They should surely have to take his place. When are corrupt prosecutors and felonious cops going to be held accountable?

[Auntie Bush]

2. As soon as I saw the title...I said to myself...I bet he's black!

Sure "nuff.

[kath]

6. I said exactly the same thing. And,yeppers, we were both right.

[Helen Borg]

7. Me too!

[mountain grammy]

3. There ARE people fighting for truth, justice and the American way

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]

4. Cases like this are why America needs a moratorium on the death penalty.

Prison sentences can be commuted and criminal records erased. But you can't undo an execution.

[tofuandbeer]

5. Poor guy. This is horrible—and great example of why there should be no death penalty.

Our system is not perfect.

[judesedit]

9. Effing OMG That's why the death penalty shouldNT be allowed Life in prison is way punishment enough

for the guilty. God help us.