By The TimesLedger
Angelo Martinez has spent what should have been the best years of his life in prison for a murder that he did not commit. At the age of 18 the Richmond Hill man was convicted of killing a 70-year-old man outside a bingo hall in Queens. After 17 years of hell, his conviction has been overturned and he has been released on bond.
In 1991 Charles Rivera, a federal prisoner confessed that he committed the murder. But for 11 years, no one bothered to tell Martinez. They did turn over the information to his trial lawyer who failed to file an appeal. That attorney has since been disbarred after being accused of stealing from her clients.
An attorney representing Martinez has announced that he is suing the state for $50 million to compensate. It is unlikely that he will get anything near that amount, but it seems almost certain that the taxpayer will end up paying for the injustice that was done to this man. At some point a jury will be asked to set a value on 17 years of a young man's life. It will not be an easy task.
While in prison, Martinez was convicted of selling cocaine to other inmates. His new attorney claims he was desperate to raise enough money to hire a lawyer to appeal his case. Since he shouldn't have been in prison in the first place, prosecutors and probation officers did the right thing in releasing Martinez on bail.
Angelo Martinez got junk justice. In the interest of public safety, the public expects prosecutors to vigorously prosecute suspected criminals. But the public also expects prosecutors to be equally diligent in protecting the rights of those who have been falsely accused. In this case, that clearly didn't happen.
