On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis ordered that a man, William Lopez, who has been jailed for the last 23 years over the murder of a drug dealer, should be released “with the state’s apology.” In the rare instance of a district court granting a habeas corpus petition, the judge criticized everyone involved in the trial, from the prosecutors to the attorneys, and the role of an indifferent presiding judge with her mind shut tight against reason and logic.
In his 85-page ruling, the judge pointed out that the “wrongdoing has ranged from an overzealous and deceitful trial prosecutor, to a series of indolent and ill-prepared defense attorneys; to a bewildering jury verdict; and to the incomprehensible Justice (Carolyn) Demarest, who so regrettably failed time and again to give meaningful consideration to the host of powerful arguments Lopez presented to her.”
The federal court in Brooklyn ordered that Lopez be released within 60 days, unless steps are taken to have a speedy new trial for him.
Lopez was charged with the murder of a drug dealer in 1989 without a murder weapon or forensic evidence to connect him to the murder.
His conviction was based on the accounts of two eyewitnesses – one said she had come face-to-face with the murderer, but failed to recognize Lopez in the courtroom, while the other was in the middle of a “two-day crack binge” when the shooting happened, and who later recanted saying her testimony was “pure fabrication.”
Lopez went to jail on a sentence for 25 years.
Lopez, who tried to maintain his innocence, sanity and integrity mounted a series of unsuccessful appeals. His habeas petition in Brooklyn federal court was initially rejected for being time-barred, but the court later reopened the case after being informed of documentary evidence of witnesses recanting their testimony.
The federal court then held two evidentiary hearings, and during one, Lopez’s lawyers presented video testimony from a man from the Dominican Republic who said he had witnessed the murder, but he was “certain” Lopez was not one of the two shooters.
The federal court also found that the prosecutor had made conflicting statements about offers or deals made with one of the witnesses.
And the judge presiding at Lopez’s trial proceeded with the sentencing despite the main witness admitting he had not read the trial transcript.
According to federal judge, the case was “rotten from day one.”
The case is Lopez v. Miller, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, No. 02-3988.
