Last year a jury awarded Alan Newton $18.5 million for the 22 years he spent in prison for a rape he didn't commit and yesterday a judge took it all away. In a 31-page decision Judge Shira Scheindlin argued that Newton didn't deserve the money because the city had not intentionally violated his civil rights, writing "It is not enough for Newton to have shown that the city's posttrial evidence management system is disorganized...As disturbing as such negligence may be, in the end, that is what it is: mere negligence." more ›

Did you commit a murder in New York City in the last forty years and never got caught? Might want to be careful where you leave your DNA. See, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office this year started a DNA-based cold case squad and is slowly working through the evidence from at least 95 of the city's roughly 3,000 unsolved murders. When they can find the evidence bags, at least. more ›

Alan Newton served over 21 years in prison for a rape, robbery and assault he didn't commit, before DNA evidence exonerated him in 2006. Yesterday, he was awarded $18.5 million by a jury for his wrongful imprisonment, one of the largest ever amounts awarded for wrongful imprisonment in NYC. “It hasn’t really sunk in. It’s so emotional. It’s something I’ve been fighting for the last four years, since I came home. I’m just glad things worked out at the end of the day,” he told the Times. more ›

A former postal worker who spent 18 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit won the largest personal settlement the city has ever agreed to pay: $9.9 million. Thanks to the Innocence Project, Barry Gibbs was set free in 2005 after prosecutors' key witness admitted that Detective Louis Eppolito had forced him pick Gibbs out of a line up, even though the man he'd seen was smaller and shorter. Eppolito and his partner Stephen Caracappa are in prison for life for taking part in mob-related killings and doing other dirty work for the Luchese crime family. more ›

If you've followed The Innocence Project, the non-profit started by Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld (pictured, Neufeld on the left, Scheck on the right) which uses DNA evidence to free the wrongfully convicted, you'll find this interesting. Last year, Lee Long sued Scheck and Neufeld, as well as another lawyer and their law firm, for mishandling his wrongful imprisonment claim. more ›

After Scott Fappiano was freed last week, after being in falsely imprisoned for 21 years (he was mistakenly convicted of raping a police officer's wife in their Brooklyn home), more questions are being raised about the way police evidence is stored/a>. Thought Fappiano had requested a pair of sweatpants be tested for DNA evidence in 1989, the technology back then wasn't able to read the small sample - and then the pants and sample were basically lost until this year (they had been in the DNA testing company's storage all along). The Innocence Project, which took on Fappiano's case, said that the NYPD evidence collection and tracking systems need to be reformed; IP's Peter Neufeld told WABC 7, "Unfortunately it's a black hole. We've had less good fortune locating evidence in New York City than in the rural quarters of Mississippi and Alabama." more ›

Today, after Alan Newton was declared innocent, after serving 21 years for a Bronx rape he did not commit. The Innocence Project, which works on cases "where postconviction DNA testing of evidence can yield conclusive proof of innocence" at Cardozo Law School, helped find police evidence that the police had claimed was lost years ago. The NY Times' story headlines it as "New York Fail at Finding Evidence to Help the Wrongfully Convicted" and writes:

With more people and more crime than any other American city, New York also stores more evidence — over 1 million pieces in a central warehouse in Queens, and more in satellite facilities in each borough — and until recently, its inventory system consisted of handwritten ledgers and index cards. Besides storerooms run by the Police Department, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner also keeps some biological evidence. more ›

Louis Eppolito and Steven Caracappa, two decorated NYPD detective who were found guilty of racketeering as they moonlighted as hitmen and informants for the Luchese crime family, were sentenced to life in prison yesterday. And the racketeering charges cover "eight murders, kidnapping, drug dealing and obstruction of justice." Judge Jack Weinstein said, "This is probably the most heinous series of crimes ever tried in this courthouse," but is delaying sentencing to see if Eppolito and Caracappa need new trials - both detectives claimed they received ineffective defense. Hmm, they did have two high-profile criminal defense attorneys, but maybe Eppolito's defense lawyer, Bruce Cutler (whom Eppolito later fired), took his "bebopping" during the closing too far. more ›

Before you go spending $80 on something like, say, cutting your hair...we've got a tip for you. The SuperCuts on St. Mark's Place will be holding a Cut-A-Thon this Sunday, to benefit the Innocence Project (a legal services organization dedicated to freeing the wrongfully convicted). more ›

The wrongdoing by the alleged "mafia cops" - NYPD detectives who allegedly worked as mob hitmen - may have extended to their own detective work. Barry Gibbs, a former postal worker who had been accused, convicted, and imprisoned for 19 years for the murder of a prostitute, was set free because it turns out that then Detective Louis Eppolito had induced a witness into picking Barry Gibbs out of a line up, even though the man the witness had seen at the scene was smaller and shorter. Gibbs had maintained his innocence since his 1988 conviction, and contacted the Innocence Project for help. And when Eppolito, as well as partner Detective Stephen Caracappa, was indicted in March, attorney Barry Scheck recognized his name and went to the Brooklyn DA's office to relook at the case. And Newsday noted Gibbs' dining plans:

Gibbs, who is Jewish, told reporters he was hungry and wanted to go out and have a big lobster dinner. more ›