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Killer Commits Second Murder After Wrong Man Convicted

By TChris, Section Innocence Cases
Posted on Fri Oct 06, 2006 at 08:23:18 AM EST
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by TChris

Why did Jeffrey Deskovic spend 16 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit? According to Deskovic, part of the blame lies with former District Attorney Jeanine Pirro, now the Republican candidate for attorney general of New York, who refused his requests to retest DNA using advanced techniques. She made a huge mistake and, true to Republican form, refuses to take responsibility for it. But many others made the same mistake, and as a result, Deskovic lost 16 years of his life.

Last month, prosecutors agreed to free Jeffrey Deskovic, who had been convicted in [Angela] Correa's rape and murder. They said new tests on old DNA, conducted at the urging of the Innocence Project, a nonprofit legal clinic and criminal justice resource center, implicated another man.

Steven Cunningham recently confessed to killing Angela Correa. While Deskovic languished in prison for 16 years, Cunningham committed another murder.

More details of Deskovic's wrongful conviction, based in part on a false confession, are reported here. Kudos to Claudia Whitman who helped Deskovic achieve justice, and to the Innocence Project for its great work on the case.

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    Killer Commits Second Murder After Wrong Man Convicted | 10 comments (10 topical)
    Re: Killer Commits Second Murder After Wrong Man C (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Oct 06, 2006 at 09:48:40 AM EST
    What a scandal. This case only shows that the judicial system not safe enough and needs some aditional upgrades to be fair. Thank you for sharing this story with me !

    Re: Killer Commits Second Murder After Wrong Man C (none / 0) (#1)
    by Johnny on Fri Oct 06, 2006 at 09:59:48 AM EST
    So does this make the state an accessory to murder?

    Re: Killer Commits Second Murder After Wrong Man C (none / 0) (#2)
    by scribe on Fri Oct 06, 2006 at 09:59:48 AM EST
    Nice work by the Innocence Project. I sent that story to TL about two weeks ago, after the NY Daily News did a big write up (over a couple days) on it. Even an article interviewing the cop who led the initial investigation, who now says (quite seriously) he deeply regrets it and is sorry, that he will have to live with it for the rest of his life.

    Re: Killer Commits Second Murder After Wrong Man C (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Oct 06, 2006 at 09:59:48 AM EST
    Finally, something we can agree on, TChris. Pirro was wrong and she should at least admit it. When will you be taking the state of Massachusetts to task for its blatantly biased and ridiculous prosecution of the Amiraults? How about ripping into Janet Reno, who has never apologize for or admitted her duplicity in the trumped up prosecutions of Grant Snowden and Bobby Finje? And there's always Gil Garcetti, but at least Hollywood showed him to the fool he is.

    Re: Killer Commits Second Murder After Wrong Man C (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Oct 06, 2006 at 09:59:48 AM EST
    Our fearless leader again decided he would be the decider and again added a signing statement -- number eight hundred and some odd ones -- to a bill just passed by Congress to avoid a reoccurrence of the Katrina debacle. The bill said the head of FEMA had to have at least five years experience in emergency management. The Decider decided he didn't like that and wrote a signing statement against it saying he could put anyone he wanted as head of FEMA. So now if he wants he can either put Michael Brown the Arabian horse expert back in the top FEMA position OR he could put a chimpanzee in there. Why not? The American public put in a chimpanzee in the presidency.

    Re: Killer Commits Second Murder After Wrong Man C (none / 0) (#6)
    by roy on Fri Oct 06, 2006 at 10:25:24 AM EST
    So does this make the state an accessory to murder?
    More likely those who screwed up will continue to get votes for being "tough on crime".

    Re: Killer Commits Second Murder After Wrong Man C (none / 0) (#7)
    by TheJusticeClub on Fri Oct 06, 2006 at 11:44:45 AM EST
    The Justice System can be wrong at any level of the court system; that's why we have Supreme Courts. I look for Michael Skakel to be exonerated one day.

    Re: Killer Commits Second Murder After Wrong Man C (none / 0) (#9)
    by Che's Lounge on Fri Oct 06, 2006 at 03:57:20 PM EST
    The Justice System can be wrong at any level of the court system; that's why we have Supreme Courts. Which means the SC can also be wrong.

    Re: Killer Commits Second Murder After Wrong Man C (none / 0) (#8)
    by cpinva on Fri Oct 06, 2006 at 07:40:34 PM EST
    I look for Michael Skakel to be exonerated one day.
    and scott peterson. in neither case did the prosecution present evidence "beyond a reasonable doubt" of the accused's guilt, they banked on the jury's disgust with the crime itself, and a desire to punish someone for it, regardless of whether or not they were actually proven guilty. the members of both of those juries should be ashamed of themselves, they couldn't even follow simple instructions.

    Re: Killer Commits Second Murder After Wrong Man C (none / 0) (#10)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 07:20:51 AM EST
    et al - Okay. So we agree that the conviction was wrong, and she should say so. But how does this prove that the second murder wouldn't have happened? Any proof?? N. Rosen - Wrong thread, but I don't think that Congress can pass a law that overturns the Constitution...
    with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
    Killer Commits Second Murder After Wrong Man Convicted | 10 comments (10 topical)