APPEAL OF WRONGFUL CONVICTION DROPPED BY DA

Brooklyn district attorney Kenneth Thompson has just recently dropped that appeal.

55-year-old William Lopez, who was finally released from his wrongful imprisonment in early 2013, was being held for murder. However, once the eyewitness in the case recanted their story, a federal judge decided that the already flaky case had been completely destroyed, and there was no reason to hold Lopez any longer.

In addition, in March, the judge decreed that Brooklyn prosecutors were not allowed to retry him on any charges, and dismissed them all.

DA Kenneth Thompson’s office released a statement saying that they “concluded that there is a sufficient possibility that Lopez is not guilty,” and that the appeal flies directly contrary to the interest of justice.

The final decision on whether the dismissal will stick lies in the hands of the appeals court itself, and as Thompson’s predecessor is the one who filed the appeal, it is unknown how the decision will land.

The original case involved Lopez being charged with murder for involvement in a Brighton Beach crackhouse murder, which saw a woman killed with a shotgun. The case itself was very questionable, and regardless of how hard Thompson’s predecessor fought, Brooklyn’s new DA did not accept the level of doubt that was present in the case.

This is far from the only wrongful imprisonment case that has come to light since Thompson took over, as well. He has been very focused on cleaning up and resolving issues with the previous leadership.

Thompson’s efforts are being applauded by those who were skeptical he would live up to his campaign promises. So far, they have been pleased.

Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/exclusive-da-drops-appeal-wrongful-murder-conviction-article-1.1737519