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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Second Degree Murder |
Sentence: |
25 years to life imprisonment |
Years Imprisoned: |
23.17 |
Year Crime: |
1994 |
Year Convicted: |
1997 |
Year Cleared: |
2018 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
New York |
County or Region of Crime: |
Nassau |
City of Crime: |
Freeport |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Joseph Jackson was wrongly convicted in 1997 of second-degree murder and other crimes in the shooting death of 19-year-old Steven Jason at 2 am on March 20, 1994 in Freeport, Nassau County, New York. At the time he was shot three times in the chest, Jason and his girlfriend were leaving his birthday party at the American Legion Hall in Freeport. Jason was scheduled to testify on March 23 to a grand jury about a drug related shooting in Nassau County. In December 1994 Jackson was arrested for selling crack cocain to a confidential police informant, and three outstanding arrest warrants. While in custody he was questioned about Jason's death, and after being interrogated for 39 hours he signed a 15 page confession. Jackson recanted his confession as coerced by police interrogators who "beat the hell" out of him. During Jackson's arraignment on March 8, 1995 for the murder charges, Nassau County Assistant District Attorney Joseph Miranda told District Court Judge John Galasso in Hempstead that Jackson had been involved in "nothing but drugs and violence over the years. . . . We have a very strong case against him. We think he's a serious risk." Judge Galasso ordered Jackson held without bail, citing his lengthy arrest record. Jackson's prosecution was based on his confession and the eyewitness testimony of Jason's girlfriend who identified Jackson as the man she saw pointing a gun at Jason when he was shot. Jackson's cousin also testified against him by claiming he shot and killed Jason to prevent him from testifying to the grand jury against Jackson's close friend. The prosecution argued that the 24-year-old Jackson, a known drug dealer with a long history of arrests, shot Jason as a result of a drug turf war and Jason was scheduled to testify before the grand jury in three days against Jackson's friend, Anthony Lionel Olige-Jackson. Olige-Jackson was believed to have shot and wounded Jason on December 7, 1993 while he was standing on a Freeport street corner. The police believed Jason was trying to move in on Olige-Jackson's drug trade. After his conviction by a jury Jackson was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Jackson's conviction and sentence were affirmed on appeal. In early 2017 Jackson filed a freedom of information act request to the Freeport Police Department. Among the documents he received were statements by two eyewitnesses that were not provided to Jackson's lawyer. One of the eyewitnesses, an off-duty New York City police officer, described the shooter as having a "dark brown" face, while Jackson is a very light skinned Black. In June 2017 Jackson wrote a letter to the Nassau County District Attorney's Conviction Integrity Unit requesting they investigate his case. After an investigation the NCDACIU determined that while the new evidence didn't exculpate Jackson as the shooter given his confession and the trial testimony identifying him as the shooter, however, it undermined the evidence in the case enough that it could have affected the jury's verdict. The DA's Office submitted a motion to vacate Jackson's conviction on the basis the prosecution committed a constitutional violation under the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Brady v. Maryland (1963) by failing to disclose the two witness statements. The DA's Office reported that the Freeport PD had never provided the statements to the DA's Office, but under Brady the prosecution is liable for all evidence not disclosed by any investigative agency involved in a prosecution. During a hearing on February 16, 2018 Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said. "Because of an unintentional error 23 years ago, it is our obligation to seek vacatur of this conviction." Nassau County Judge Teresa Corrigan granted the DA's motion, but made it clear that the new witness evidence didn't prove his innocence, but the constiutional violation by the prosecution's failure to provide the witness statements to his trial lawyer was enough to warrant his retrial. Judge Corrigan stated: "Only you know sir if you committed this crime." The DA's Office announced it wouldn't pursue Jackson's retrial, and they would file a motion to dismiss his indictment. Jackson was released on his own recognizance after the hearing: he had spent 23 years and two months in custody after his arrest. Jackson had five children when he was arrested at 24, and he told reporters he was looking forward to being reunited with his mother, wife, children, and grandchildren." |
Conviction Caused By: |
False confession and prosecution's failure to disclose two exculpatory witness statements to Jackson's trial lawyer. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"On February 16, 2018 the judge who granted the DA's motion made it clear that the new witness evidence didn't prove his innocence, but the constiutional violation by the prosecution's failure to provide it to his trial lawyer was enough to warrant his retrial. The judge stated: "Only you know sir if you committed this crime." The DA's Office announced it wouldn't pursue Jackson's retrial." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
24 |
Age When Released: |
47 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"LI man walks free after murder conviction is overturned: Joseph Jackson, now 47, was released from prison Friday after spending more than two decades behind bars, By Chau Lam, Newsday, February 16, 2018" |
Information Location 1: |
https://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/murder-conviction-vacated-1.16810712 |
Information Source 2: |
"Freeport Man Held In Witness Slay, By Helen Peterson, New York Daily News, March 9, 1995" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/boroughs/freeport-man-held-witness-slay-article-1.684744 |
Information Source 3: |
"Long Island man wrongfully convicted of 1994 murder released from prison, By Kristin Thorne, WABC-TV (New York City), February 16, 2018" |
Information Location 3: |
http://abc7ny.com/man-wrongfully-convicted-of-1994-murder-released-from-prison/3095502/ |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org