Man Cleared of NYC Murder After 25 Years in Prison

[NickNitro]

25 years in jail with having proof he was over 1 thousand miles away on the day of the murder. This has got to be one of the most ridiculous jail sentences I've ever seen. I can not believe this man was convicted and it took 25 ****ing years for him to be released. What a broken system we have.

From the day of his 1989 arrest in a deadly New York City shooting, Jonathan Fleming said he had been more than 1,000 miles away, on a vacation at Disney World. Despite having documents to back him up, he was convicted of murder.

Prosecutors now agree with him, and Fleming left a Brooklyn court as a free man Tuesday after spending nearly a quarter-century behind bars.

Fleming, now 51, tearfully hugged his lawyers as relatives cheered, "Thank you, God!" after a judge dismissed the case. A key witness had recanted, newly found witnesses implicated someone else and prosecutors' review of authorities' files turned up documents supporting Fleming's alibi.

"After 25 years, come hug your mother," Patricia Fleming said, and her only child did.

"I feel wonderful," he said afterward. "I've always had faith. I knew that this day would come someday."


http://news.yahoo.com/man-cleared-nyc-murder-25-years-prison-182841043.html

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Ya I read an article about this earlier. Exoneration's are on the rise but remember these are cases that happened when blatant racism was still a major part of the justice system. That's not to say things are perfect today but it goes without saying that if you can prove you were nowhere near a murder these days you more than likely won't be convicted

 

[Feenix]

I hope he sues the hell out of the city.

Racist *****

 

[Pink Ranger]

Yeah, it's not like it was due to DNA testing they didn't have back in 1989, the guy had a solid alibi FFS, an investigative principle that's been around since humanity could tell time. No excuse for this miscarriage of justice.

 

[NickNitro]

Reminds me of the Harold and Kumar scene

 

[chamber-music]

The police department of Orlando actually sent a letter that said this man was in Orlando per hotel employees who remembered seeing him.

WTF?

The New York cops didn't even trust a statement from another police force

 

[DarkSovereignty]

WTF?

The New York cops didn't even trust a statement from another police force

The Florida cops were probably black too

 

[NickNitro]

Absolutely irredeemable from the NYC justice department. They should get their asses sued to the high heavens. This man lost more than a quarter of his life because of ignorant bigots.

 

[Teelie]

NYC again? Color me surprised... then watch them arrest me for being "colored."

 

[redhawk23]

Ya I read an article about this earlier. Exoneration's are on the rise but remember these are cases that happened when blatant racism was still a major part of the justice system. That's not to say things are perfect today but it goes without saying that if you can prove you were nowhere near a murder these days you more than likely won't be convicted

You are overly optimistic about the the decline of racism in the criminal justice system.

Even if you disregard the potential for outright prejudice there are systemic problems with racial components.

Minorities are far more likely to rely upon public defenders, who face less funding and higher workloads. The economically disadvantaged also have disadvantaged legal defenses.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Probably ruined Disney World for him.

 

[Bim]

I hope he sues the hell out of the city.

Racist *****

I would sue everyone and their mothers. Darn, 25 years in jail and he was innocent!? That's just so wrong.

 

[NickNitro]

Imagine all the people in jail today still, and are innocent, and will never see the light of day.

 

[I'm Old Greg]

That angers me. Poor man.
NY is a disgusting place. The east coast is disgusting.
From living in both coasts I always despised people and the mentality of NY. Its depicted so wonderfully in films but its a hell hole. People are ugly and miserable there. Inside and out.

 

[NickNitro]

That angers me. Poor man.
NY is a disgusting place. The east coast is disgusting.
From living in both coasts I always despised people and the mentality of NY. Its depicted so wonderfully in films but its a hell hole. People are ugly and miserable there. Inside and out.

woah now buddy....woah now

 

[Teelie]

One city is bad therefore the entire coast is bad. The West Coast is disgusting because Los Angeles. I think the only coast that's safe to live on is the Gulf because it has New Orleans.

 

[NickNitro]

The West coast is filled with liberal hippies and ironic Hipsters. Booooooo

 

[DarkSovereignty]

That angers me. Poor man.
NY is a disgusting place. The east coast is disgusting.
From living in both coasts I always despised people and the mentality of NY. Its depicted so wonderfully in films but its a hell hole. People are ugly and miserable there. Inside and out.

Tell us how you really feel.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

This is why I oppose the death penalty.

Who knows how many innocent people have been put to death by a flawed justice system.

 

[E-Man]

It's unfortunate that justice is a business rather than the force of good will that we all wish it would be. People in the system wanted their man to close the case, and they didn't give a damn about how innocent he was at the time. Those responsible for putting this guy in jail should do time themselves. I would bet that the prosecution probably hid some of the evidence like you always hear in cases like this, and I hope they pay a steep price for it.

 

[DeadPresident]

This is why I oppose the death penalty.

Who knows how many innocent people have been put to death by a flawed justice system.

100% Agreed.

Where does the government even begin to compensate this man for probably the better part of his life that they stole from him?

It's unfortunate that justice is a business rather than the force of good will that we all wish it would be. People in the system wanted their man to close the case, and they didn't give a damn about how innocent he was at the time. Those responsible for putting this guy in jail should do time themselves. I would bet that the prosecution probably hid some of the evidence like you always hear in cases like this, and I hope they pay a steep price for it.

I think contemporary society conflates justice with punishment or retribution, restorative justice is an almost completely ignored concept.

 

[Teelie]

This is why I oppose the death penalty.

Who knows how many innocent people have been put to death by a flawed justice system.

At least one, and he was in Texas. Probably there are others scattered around the country.

I'm not against the death penalty but I think it needs to be used only in the most extreme or undeniable instances. Cases where no question whatsoever someone is guilty of murder and not justifiable in any way.

 

[E-Man]

I think contemporary society conflates justice with punishment or retribution, restorative justice is an almost completely ignored concept.

I agree. People are wayyyyy to concerned about punishment rather than rehabilitation. It's one of the reasons why prison rape is accepted and seen as justice. If more people cared about changing people in prison I think we wouldn't see as many cases like this where they push so hard to prosecute an innocent man. Maybe I'm being naive with that, but it really bothers me how people who work in criminal justice corruptly put away innocent people.

 

[Teelie]

The minute you are a criminal you are no longer a person in the eyes of many.

 

[DeadPresident]

I agree. People are wayyyyy to concerned about punishment rather than rehabilitation. It's one of the reasons why prison rape is accepted and seen as justice. If more people cared about changing people in prison I think we wouldn't see as many cases like this where they push so hard to prosecute an innocent man. Maybe I'm being naive with that, but it really bothers me how people who work in criminal justice corruptly put away innocent people.

Yeah, for sure. Society has an obsession with vicariously handing out punishment and sees punishment as the final step in the judicial process rather than rehabilitating or "restoring" the perpetrator and the victim so far as possible.

Not sure if you're into very intense reading but there's a book called "The Spectacle of the Scaffold" Foucault that chronicles this part of society extensively, it's a pretty eye opening read.

The minute you are a criminal you are no longer a person in the eyes of many.

Very true, I'd say that's also a perception that needs to change for the justice system and society's contribution to improve.