George Bell, Gary Johnson and Rohan Bolt were found guilty of the murders of Ira “Mike” Epstein and police officer Charles Davis, out of service, in 1996, during the armed robbery of a check shop.
“Today is the day I found the key. Today is the day, today is the day, today is the day, I’m going home,” Bell said in a Green Haven Correctional Facility videoconference in Stormville, New York, with Johnson and Bolt at your side.
The men were released on bail and are expected to return to court on June 4 for an update on whether they will be tried again and fully acquitted.
Queens Supreme Court Judge Joseph Zayas, who on Friday canceled the convictions, harshly criticized prosecutors for trying to defend the actions of prosecutor Charles Testagrossa.
“The Public Prosecutor’s Office has deliberately withheld from the defense reliable information about the guilt of third parties, which is evidence that others may have committed these crimes. This defense information was in the possession of the prosecutor and, in fact, was investigated and documented by the prosecutor. main in Mr. Bell’s trial, “said Zayas.
Testagrossa he no longer works at the Queens District Attorney’s Office, but he is currently an assistant executive attorney general for investigations at the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutor’s statement
In a note sent to CNN, Testagrossa says throughout his career “I divulged all the justifying material I was aware of and I did it in this case. …
“In more than forty years as a prosecutor, I have never before been accused of misconduct by the prosecutor,” he said. “I have always believed that all parties to a trial, the victims and their families and the defendants and their families deserve justice and justice.”
Testagrossa said he spoke several times to the Queens DA’s Conviction Integrity Unit during the reinvestigation.
“In this matter, there was no hearing and, therefore, no sworn testimony,” he said in the statement. “I was not invited to testify to answer the questions raised or to make a sworn statement. The only record was the defense records and the response from the prosecutor’s office. This was the record on which the judge based his observations.”
DA says the evidence has been withheld
Queens’ current prosecutor, Melinda Katz, and CIU’s chief prosecutor, Bryce Benjet, have already defended the prosecutor’s actions by saying they were unintentional.
Katz said that after a nearly one-year investigation by CIU, they found that evidence favorable to the defense had not been delivered, which is known as a Brady violation.
The evidence consisted of medical records showing that a witness in his trials suffered from a mental illness that caused him to hallucinate and documents pointing to a gang member who had implicated himself and others in the murders.
“I am amazed and shocked that, even in 1997, constitutional violations of this magnitude can occur in any case, let alone in the case in a capital case in which the former prosecutor was asking for the death penalty of a 19-year-old boy. years old man, “said the judge.
Zayas said he had “lost many nights of sleep” since receiving the folder.
“George was put on trial for his life and, fortunately, the jury did not impose the final punishment and, as a result, George is alive to see this day,” said one of his lawyers, Marc Wolinsky. “If the jury had heard this evidence, they would have been acquitted. … The prosecutors acted in bad faith.”
“This was a 24-year journey taken by themselves and by all who love and support them,” said Rita Dave, another lawyer for the case. “Time is what measures life. So, the loss of time is equivalent to the life lost. But today the long road to recovery also begins, rebuilding their lives, rebuilding what was stolen from them in the time lost with their families and their communities. “
Bell, who was 19 at the time of his arrest, was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Bolt and Johnson, then 35 and 21, respectively, received 50 years in prison.
While Bell, Johnson and Bolt, now 45, 46 and 59, respectively, were released on bail on Friday, prosecutors asked to continue investigating the case.