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New York Police Car: Will Dozen Sentences Be Overturned?
Photo: SHANNON STAPLETON / REUTERS
Because the longtime New York police officer and drug investigator Joseph E. Franco may have lied in numerous proceedings, the prosecutor believes that around 90 convictions are now to be overturned.
That was the request made by Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.
His department is asking the court to overturn and dismiss 90 convictions based on the work of former police officer Franco, Gonzalez said on Twitter.
The New York Times had previously reported Gonzalez's intention.
The matter should be dealt with in court on Wednesday, said the public prosecutor's statement.
However, the release of a convict would probably not result in the revocation of a sentence; according to the New York Times, the convicts are no longer in prison.
Franco was charged with perjury and abuse of office in 2019, and the 48-year-old was released by the police in May 2020.
He is accused, among other things, of having witnessed drug deals that probably never took place or that he was not able to see at all.
Video recordings should prove that.
The public prosecutor no longer trusts the policeman
Franco denies the allegations.
On the basis of the findings, prosecutor Gonzalez wants to have the convictions reversed.
It was not responsible to rely on Franco's statements to hold on to these convictions, he said, according to the New York Times.
A point had been reached for him to talk about reforming the criminal justice system.
Gonzalez said the convictions dated between 2004 and 2011 when Franco was working in Brooklyn.
The New York Times reports that the 90 convictions mainly affect men.
Some were younger than 20 years old, dozens over 40 years old.
With the harshest sentences, the convicts were imprisoned for anywhere from six months to a year.
Except for one convict, all of them had admitted guilty prior to their convictions.
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