EXCLUSIVE: New Brooklyn DA drops appeal of wrongful conviction in 1989 murder
William Lopez, 55, was freed in 2013 after serving 22 years for a discredited murder conviction. Former DA Charles Hynes fought for years to keep Lopez locked up, but Kenneth Thompson’s office will not go forward with the appeal.
BY Oren Yaniv
Friday, March 28, 2014
Brooklyn’s new district attorney dropped an appeal that challenged last year’s release of a man who served 22 years in prison for a discredited murder conviction.William Lopez, 55, was sprung in January 2013 by a federal judge who found that his already questionable case was “reduced to rubble” after an eyewitness recanted.
The judge, Nicholas Garaufis, took his ruling a step further last March when he ordered Brooklyn prosecutors not to retry Lopez and dismiss all charges.
Former DA Charles Hynes, who fought for years to keep the defendant locked up, appealed that decision, but his successor, Kenneth Thompson, has now reversed course.
After reevaluation, Thompson’s office “has concluded that there is a sufficient possibility that Lopez is not guilty” and that moving forward with the appeal is “contrary to the interest of justice,” according to a court document filed Wednesday, a week before oral arguments were set to be heard.
The appeals court still needs to sign off on the dismissal and neither the DA’s office nor Lopez’s lawyer would comment before it does.
Lopez, who always maintained his innocence, was convicted of killing Elvirn Surria with a shotgun in a Brighton Beach crackhouse in August 1989, but the case was riddled with problems.
Thompson’s decision effectively means that he no longer faces the threat of retrial.
The DA, who took office at the start of the year, inherited a trove of alleged wrongful convictions and has said that resolving them is a priority.
He had already cleared two men who spent 21 years behind bars for a triple homicide they didn’t commit.
Jeffrey Deskovic, whose Foundation for Justice helped exonerate Lopez and assisted with his reintegration, praised the DA’s move.
“We applaud the decision by Thompson's office to abandon the appeal,” he said. “It is a clear signal that he intends to honor his campaign promise to correct and prevent wrongful convictions."
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