Police in New York and across the country are supposed to be the people who are there to help following a crime. Most are dedicated to finding the truth and seeking justice. However, there are others who are unscrupulous in the pursuit of a guilty verdict, sometimes resulting in a wrongful conviction. Victims of these actions are often left wondering how to respond to such police misconduct.
One man in another state has recently made the decision to seek justice in a civil court. He was arrested and convicted of murder in 2001. He was sentenced to 45 years in prison and served 15 years of his sentence before he was released.
His lawsuit claims that policemen involved in his case rigged lineups and coerced three eyewitnesses, two of whom were only 12 at the time the crime took place, to identify him as the murderer. All three of the men have since recanted their testimony. One witness claims that police told him that if he did not identify the suspect, the murder would be pinned on him. Another witness claims that an officer identified the color of clothing the man they wanted him to identify in the lineup was wearing prior to the identification. Several of the officers in the lawsuit previously faced allegations of police misconduct.
With the help of an attorney, the man has since been released. However, he claims that he has had trouble finding full-time work due to his murder conviction even though it was overturned. Often, victims of police misconduct in New York feel like they have no path to recourse. However, filing a civil suit as this man has done may allow those mistreated by police officers to have the justice they deserve.
Source: Chicago Tribune, "Ex-inmate sues over murder conviction, alleges Chicago police rigged evidence", Jason Meisner, Sept. 5, 2017
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