Trenton Bureau
Johnell McCoy served nearly two years in prison and in a halfway house before a New Jersey appeals court threw out his convictions, citing errors made by a judge and a prosecutor who embellished testimony during his trial. I fought for my life, to come home to my family, to come home to my kids, McCoy, 42, said in a recent interview. It was a whole nightmare.”
The lengthy appeal wasn t the only nightmare McCoy faced in New Jersey s criminal justice system.
As the appeal slogged through the court system, the coronavirus swept through state prisons. McCoy and his lawyers asked courts and corrections officials about a dozen times to release him. They cited three health conditions that make McCoy especially vulnerable to COVID-19.