By
Sean Gardiner
Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson on Friday appointed three attorneys who will act as independent advisers for his office's newly expanded Conviction Review Unit, which will reinvestigate questionable convictions.
The advisers are Bernard Nussbaum, who served on the congressional committee that conducted the Watergate impeachment hearings and later served as counsel to President Bill Clinton; Jennifer Rodgers, the executive director of Columbia Law School's Center for Advancement of Public Integrity and a former federal appellate prosecutor; and Gary Villanueva, a defense attorney who previously served as a Brooklyn homicide prosecutor.
"Their combined experience and uncompromising integrity will prove invaluable in my office's efforts to meticulously examine available evidence in order to right wrongs or confirm convictions," Mr. Thompson said.
Last year, during his successful run for district attorney, Mr. Thompson criticized then-District Attorney Charles Hynes for several high-profile wrongful convictions that occurred during his 24 years in office, promising to devote more resources to re-examining wrongful conviction claims.
The Conviction Review Unit has been "expanded and reorganized," Mr. Thompson said.
The unit consists of "experienced prosecutors, investigators and support staff tasked with the responsibility of conducting a thorough reinvestigation of cases identified as having a colorable claim of actual innocence or gross violations of a defendant's constitutional rights," said Mr. Thompson, who added that more details about the unit will be made available soon.
Mr. Nussbaum, Ms. Rodgers and Mr. Villanueva will advise on "a range of issues, including whether a conviction should stand, needs additional review or should possibility be overturned," Mr. Thompson said.
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