AAFE Letter In Support

March 11, 2003

Richard Cantwell
District Attorney – Clinton County
137 Margaret Street
Plattsburgh, NY 12901

Dear Mr. Cantwell,

Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE), a 29-year-old community-based civil rights and community development organization that serves Asian immigrants in Chinatown and Queens, urges you to consider new evidence that calls into question the conviction of David Wong for the second-degree murder of Tyrone Julius.

David Wong is a Chinese national who emigrated from Hong Kong in the early 1980’s. He was originally convicted of armed robbery in 1984, his first and only offense. While serving his sentence, Tyrone Julius was fatally stabbed and David was subsequently convicted on the testimony of two witnesses and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Prior to David’s trial, David’s court-appointed lawyers met with him without a translator. During the trial, the court-appointed translator did not speak the same dialect as David, raising doubts of the authenticity of the translated statements represented as evidence in his trial.

The lack, and in this case, mismatch, of language assistance means that limited English proficient Asian Americans like David Wong are less likely to understand and exercise their rights. As advocates for language assistance for Asian immigrants, we express our concern that David Wong’s right to due process and equal justice under the law may have been compromised.

Additionally, we ask that you consider the following crucial pieces of new evidence reported in the New York Times article (February 5, 2003; “Judge to Hear New Evidence in ’86 Murder by David W. Chen):

Recantation of testimony by one of the two witnesses, Peter DellFava, who was supposedly closest to the murder scene. Mr. DellFava says now that he lied at David Wong’s trial in exchange for a parole recommendation and a transfer to a medium-security prison;

An affidavit signed by Sharon Julius, Mr. Julius’s widow. In the signed affidavit, Ms. Julius said that her husband was killed by a Hispanic man with whom he had clashed at Rikers Island over the use of a telephone, and that David Wong is innocent;

Almost a dozen signed affidavits or statements made to investigators by current or former inmates that the real killer was a man named Nelson Gutierrez, who had a long record of drug offences and violence---including first-degree manslaughter.

In light of this new, compelling evidence of David Wong’s innocence and the inadequate legal representation at his trial, AAFE urgently requests you to reconsider David Wong’s case and fulfill his right to due process. We thank you in advance for your consideration and look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Christopher Kui
Executive Director