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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Murder and Rape |
Sentence: |
33 yrs 4 mths to Life imprisonment |
Years Imprisoned: |
18 |
Year Crime: |
1984 |
Year Convicted: |
1986 |
Year Cleared: |
2005 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
New York |
County or Region of Crime: |
Nassau |
City of Crime: |
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Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Dennis Halstead, John Restivo and John Kogut were codefendants wrongly convicted in 1986 of the rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl who was abducted on November 11, 1984 in Nassau County, New York. The prosecution of the three men was based on Kogut's confession in which he implicated Restivo and Halstead. Kogut retracted his confession as coerced. Kogut was convicted in May 1986, and later that year Restivo and Halstead were jointly tried and convicted. All three men were sentenced to 33-1/3 years to life in prison. Kogut had confessed falsely on video tape. DNA tests in 2003 excluded the three men as the girl's attacker. Based on the new evidence the conviction of all three men were set-aside in June 2003, and they were all released on bail pending the Nassau County DA's decision on whether to retry them. The DA chose to first retry Kogut because the evidence was the strongest against him because of his confession. On December 21, 2005 Kogut was found not guilty after a retrial. Following Kogut's acquittal, on December 29, 2005, the charges were dropped against Restivo and Halstead for a lack of evidence. Restivo and Halstead had been wrongly imprisoned for 18 years. Kogut for 17 years. Restivo and Halstead filed federal civil rights lawsuits against Nassau County and Nassau County homicide Det. Joseph Volpe that alleged he planted and withheld evidence. After a 31-day trial in 2012, a federal court jury declined to award damages to any of the three codefendants. All three filed a motion for a new trial, and U.S. District Court Judge Joanna Seybert granted Restivo and Halstead a new trial becasue they were prejudiced by admission of Kogut's confession and defects in the jury instructions. However, Kogut appealed Judge Seybert's denial of a new trial, but in May 2015 the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed Seybert's ruling. While Kogut's appeal was ongoing, Restivo and Halstead's retrial began in March 2014. After a 17-day trial, on April 18, 2014 a jury awarded each man $18 million compensation - $1 million for each year they were imprisoned. Halstead and Restivo were represented in their civil case by the law firm of Neufeld, Scheck, & Brustin (NS&B), which on November 30, 2015 was awarded a total of $4.917 million by Judge Seybert: $4.5 million in fees; $320,000 in costs; and, $97,000 for the cost of the fee petition. Two of the partners in NS&B are Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld, co-founders of the non-profit Innocence Project in New York. Because of his confession Kogut was awarded no compensation. Restivo and Halstead voluntarily agreed to dismissal of their lawsuit on the representation of Nassau County that it would pay the judgment -- which the county signed off on. However, in February 2015 the county reniged on its agreement and refused to pay. In May 2016 Restivo and Halstead filed another federal lawsuit seeking treble damages of $129 million (including interest, expenses, legal fees, and costs) to hold Nassau County responsible for its "egregious pattern of dishonesty, misrepresentation and fraud." On January 18, 2017 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Manhattan upheld the jury's $18 million judgment plus the $4.917 million attorney fee award. On January 22, 2018 the Nassau County Rules Committee voted to authorize borrowing $45 million to pay Restivo and Kogut $18 million each plus another $9 million to cover interest since the jury's award on April 18, 2014 and legal fees." |
Conviction Caused By: |
False confession by John Kogut implicating co-defendant's John Restivo and Dennis Halstead that he later recanted. |
Innocence Proved By: |
DNA test excluded the three co-defendant's as the girl's assailant. |
Defendant Aided By: |
"Centurion Ministries (Lead) and Innocence Project NY (Criminal case). Civil lawsuit representation by law firm of Neufeld, Scheck, & Brustin (NS&B)." |
Compensation Awarded: |
"$18 million (Nassau County, April 2014) (Affirmed on appeal Jan. 18, 2017)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
27 |
Age When Released: |
45 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"After 17 years, DNA evidence frees inmates, USA Today, June 12, 2003" |
Information Location 1: |
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Information Source 2: |
"Two Men Cleared in 1984 Murder, Newsday, December 29, 2005" |
Information Location 2: |
"http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--dnarapeconviction1229dec29,0,2219217.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork" |
Information Source 3: |
"Law Firm Scores $5M for Exoneration Case, By Nick Divito, Courthouse News Service, December 1, 2015" |
Information Location 3: |
http://www.courthousenews.com/2015/12/01/law-firm-scores-5m-for-exoneration-case.htm |
Information Source 4: |
"Exonerated After 18 Years, Men Seek $129 Million, By Nick Divito, Courthouse News Service, May 19, 2016" |
Information Location 4: |
http://www.courthousenews.com/2016/05/19/exonerated-after-18-years-men-seek-129-million.htm |
Information Source 5: |
"U.S. appeals court upholds $43 million verdict against Nassau, By Robert Brodsky, Newsday (New York), January 19, 2017" |
Information Location 5: |
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/u-s-appeals-court-upholds-43-million-verdict-against-nassau-1.12985452 |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org