Judge to Hear New Evidence in '86 Murder
by DAVID W. CHEN
[NY Times February 5, 2003]
Reopening an all-but-dormant case that has been a lightning rod for Asian-Americans, a judge in upstate New York has agreed to hear fresh evidence in the case of an illegal Chinese immigrant who was convicted of killing a fellow inmate more than 15 years ago.
The prisoner, David Wong, was convicted of fatally stabbing Tyrone Julius at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y., in 1986. Mr. Wong, who was serving time for armed robbery, was convicted on the testimony of two witnesses, and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
Since then, his case has become a cause célèbre for Asian-Americans in New York City who say it epitomizes the inequities of the criminal justice system. They also say recent information, based on interviews with former inmates and with Mr. Julius's widow, has strongly suggested that Mr. Wong is innocent.
After years of legal setbacks, Mr. Wong's lawyers at the Center for Constitutional Rights, in Manhattan, announced yesterday that their client had won a major victory. Judge Timothy J. Lawliss, acting judge of the Clinton County Court, in Plattsburgh, ruled that he would grant a hearing to weigh new evidence, then decide whether to uphold or vacate the conviction.
The judge did not set a date for the hearing, though Mr. Wong's lawyers said it would probably occur within a few months. The Clinton County district attorney, Richard Cantwell, who did not handle the original case, did not return a call for comment.
The decision follows several recent inquiries conducted independently of one another: by The New York Times; by Joseph Barry, a private investigator in Manhattan who was hired by the David Wong Support Committee, a volunteer group that has worked for Mr. Wong's release since 1990; and by the Second Look Program Clinic at Brooklyn Law School.
Among the crucial pieces of fresh evidence is the recantation of testimony by the witness who was supposedly closest to the murder scene. That witness, a former inmate named Peter DellFava, says now that he lied at Mr. Wong's trial in exchange for a parole recommendation and a transfer to a medium-security prison.
Another new development is an affidavit signed by Sharon Julius, Mr. Julius's widow. She 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 Mr. Wong was innocent.
The real killer, according to almost a dozen current or former inmates who have signed affidavits or made statements to investigators, was a man named Nelson Gutierrez, who had a long record of drug offenses and violence, including first-degree manslaughter.
Mr. Gutierrez died, apparently of a drug overdose, in May 2000, after returning to his home in the Dominican Republic.
To contact us, send us email at freedavid@freedavidwong.org
Insert here PHOTO of button