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http://www.centurylink.net/news/rea...ass&action=4&lang=en&_LT=UNLC_USNWU00L4_UNEWS
NEW YORK (AP) A man convicted and put behind bars for the 1990 killing of a Brooklyn rabbi was on the verge of freedom Wednesday after prosecutors told a judge they support tossing out his conviction.
David Ranta was to appear Thursday in state court, where a judge will rule on a defense motion to vacate his second-degree murder conviction.
Based on its own re-investigation of the case, the Brooklyn District Attorney's office filed papers on Wednesday supporting the motion. They also told the judge they want the murder indictment dismissed, since they "no longer have sufficient evidence to prove the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt."
If the judge agrees, the 58-year-old Ranta could walk out the courtroom Thursday afternoon as a free man. His dramatic reversal of fortune was first reported Wednesday by The New York Times............
But the Times, citing investigators and legal documents, said that the detectives who arrested him broke numerous rules. They kept few written records, coached a witness and took Ranta's confession under what a judge described as highly dubious circumstances. They allowed two dangerous criminals, an investigator said, to leave jail, smoke crack cocaine and visit with prostitutes in exchange for incriminating Ranta.
No physical evidence connected Ranta to the murder............
More at link.....
NEW YORK (AP) A man convicted and put behind bars for the 1990 killing of a Brooklyn rabbi was on the verge of freedom Wednesday after prosecutors told a judge they support tossing out his conviction.
David Ranta was to appear Thursday in state court, where a judge will rule on a defense motion to vacate his second-degree murder conviction.
Based on its own re-investigation of the case, the Brooklyn District Attorney's office filed papers on Wednesday supporting the motion. They also told the judge they want the murder indictment dismissed, since they "no longer have sufficient evidence to prove the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt."
If the judge agrees, the 58-year-old Ranta could walk out the courtroom Thursday afternoon as a free man. His dramatic reversal of fortune was first reported Wednesday by The New York Times............
But the Times, citing investigators and legal documents, said that the detectives who arrested him broke numerous rules. They kept few written records, coached a witness and took Ranta's confession under what a judge described as highly dubious circumstances. They allowed two dangerous criminals, an investigator said, to leave jail, smoke crack cocaine and visit with prostitutes in exchange for incriminating Ranta.
No physical evidence connected Ranta to the murder............
More at link.....
