by Jennifer Dickquist, Staff Writer
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| © Mary Altaffer/AP Photo |
As of March 21, 2013, David Ranta became a free
man after spending 23 years in a correctional facility in New York State. Mr.
Ranta was placed in jail in 1990 after he was found guilty of killing a Hasidic
rabbi in Brooklyn, New York. He was put in jail when his daughter was just a
small infant, when the majority of individuals did not have cell phones, and
before the world knew LeBron James was going to be a superstar. But how, after
so many changes and so much time had passed, does a conviction be overturned
and a man is released from prison?
In the case of David Ranta, an eyewitness was
the evidence that sealed his fate in 1990. A 13-year-old boy, Menachem
Lieberman, picked Ranta out of a line up and then proceeded to testify against
him at trial. Lieberman has also stated that the police influenced his
selection in the photo array by telling him to “pick the man with the big
nose.” There was no physical evidence to support this testimony but yet, Ranta
was convicted and sentenced to 37 years in prison.
By 2011, all of Mr. Ranta’s appeals had been
exhausted and he remained in prison even though Theresa Astin came forward and
stated her husband had been the real killer. However, the stars fell into place
for Ranta. Leiberman contacted Ranta’s former defense attorney to admit that he
had lied during the lineup and testimony twenty years prior. Around the same
time, the Conviction Integrity Unit in Brooklyn contacted the same attorney to
see if any cases needed reviewing. Of course, the first case he thought of was
Ranta’s. Similar programs have been set up around the country including our own
Post Conviction DNA Project in order to help prisoners in similar situations. After
a yearlong investigation, the prosecutors and Mr. Ranta’s new attorney
petitioned the court for release in the interest of justice. On March 22, 2013,
a judge officially released Ranta and declared him a free man.
