Man Who Spent 17 Years Behind Bars Has Murder Conviction Overturned Because His Lawyer Didn’t Contact at Least Five Possible Defense Witnesses Adam Klasfeld
Nearing two decades behind bars for a murder that he claims he did not commit,
James Davis told an appeals court that he gave his attorney the names of six people who attended the party where the shooting occurred and would support his alibi. Davis said that he knows his then-lawyer
Joel Medows did not contact five of them and was not sure he attempted to reach the sixth, either.
On Thursday, a New York appellate court ordered Davis a new trial on the grounds of ineffective assistance of counsel.
Brooklyn DA Will Purge 90 Convictions Involving An Indicted Detective, With 100 More Expected In Manhattan
arrow Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance in February 2020 JASON SZENES/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Last week, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced he was moving to dismiss 90 convictions involving Joseph Franco, an NYPD detective who was indicted in 2019 for lying under oath about three separate drug sales which he claimed to have witnessed. Now Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance has agreed to vacate and dismiss approximately 100 more convictions in which Franco played a key role, Gothamist/WNYC has learned.
The move comes nearly two years after Manhattan prosecutors first brought criminal charges against the former NYPD detective, after discovering video footage allegedly showing that three drug sales in Manhattan, which he swore to under oath, did not take place as he described them.