Taint guilty!
New trial in ’88 murder case tied to bad cop
A BROOKLYN man who’s spent the past 27 years behind bars on a double-homicide conviction was granted a new trial Tuesday — the eighth murder defendant linked to disgraced former NYPD Detective Louis Scarcella to have his conviction tossed.
After nearly three decades in prison, Shabaka Shakur will get a new trial, Justice Desmond Green decided in his 53-page decision.
“Here, it is both the new evidence of Scarcella’s propensity to embellish or fabricate” as well as an alibi issue with an original witness “that necessitates a new trial,” said Green. The judge is now assigned to Staten Island Supreme Court, but began hearing the Shakur case when he was in Brooklyn Supreme Court.
“It has been a long bitter battle against two district attorneys’ offices,” said Shakur’s lawyer, Ronald Kuby, who will be in court on Thursday to request bail for his client.
“He is gratified and stunned with the decision,” said Kuby.
Shakur, 50, was convicted and sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for each murder. He allegedly killed his high school classmates Fitzgerald Clarke and Steven Hewitt on Jan. 11, 1988, over a disagreement about a car. The conviction was based on a statement taken from Scarcella, which Shakur maintained he never gave, according to the decision.
Green made his decision based on “ineffective assistance of counsel” of Abraham Nathanson, who has since died, and “newly discovered evidence” involving Scarcella.
Shakur’s claim of actual innocence was denied, prompting the new trial.
“The court is mistaken in its conclusions regarding Detective Scarcella. Detective Scarcella took a statement, not a confession, violated no police procedures and did nothing wrong,” Scarcella’s attorney, Alan Abramson, said in a statement. Shakur is the eighth defendant linked to the once-celebrated detective to have his conviction tossed.
“This is the second judicial decision to cite Scarcella. Each new citing of his misconduct makes it easier for others,” said Kuby, who praised his client for initially fighting the battle as his own attorney.
Earlier this year, Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice ShawnDya Simpson ordered a new trial for Rosean Hargrave in a 1991 murder based on “false and misleading practices” by Scarcella at the time of the investigation.
Since Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson took office in January 2014, 13 defendants have had their convictions thrown out.
“We are reviewing the decision and considering our options,” said a spokeswoman for Thompson.