The witness who testified against Fleming recanted her identification just a few months later. The judge didn’t believe her and upheld the conviction.
Thompson’s predecessor, Charles Hynes, had fought Fleming’s appeal efforts. Thompson crushed Hynes in November’s election in part because of revelations that Hynes’ office committed misconducts that led to some–and possibly dozens of–wrongful convictions. Thompson’s office is currently reviewing around 50 cases.
The flood of releases rolls on. An article in today’s New York Times explained that Thompson’s office found convincing evidence for two more possible exonerations. Brothers Alvena Jennette and Darryl Austin and were convicted of murder in 1985. One of the detectives handling the case was Louis Scarcella, whose sketchy and sometimes illegal police practices are at the center of the many potential wrongful convictions in Brooklyn. One of the witnesses who testified against Jennette and Austin was Theresa Gomez, a drug addict and prostitute who testified as a witness on several Scarcella cases.
Thompson’s office found that police had interviewed one witness who named two other men as the culprits, and another witness who said that Austin and Jennette were simply sitting on a nearby stoop when the shooting happened. But the notes from those interviews never made it to the defense attorney.
Jennette served 20 years in prison, then was released on parole in 2007. Austin died behind bars at the age of 37.
Article Appeared @http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2014/04/jonathan_fleming_wrongful_conviction_released_24_years_brooklyn.php?page=2