(Work-In-Progress) Report on the Appellate Division's October 21, 2004 Ruling to Grant David Wong's Appeal!
Latest news article: 10/29/04 story in The New York Law Journal
On October 21, 2004, the Appellate Division overturned David Wong's murder conviction! A copy of the court's decision can be found on their official web site: http://decisions.courts.state.ny.us/ad3/Decisions/2004/13878.pdf
Over 17 years after his wrongful 1987 conviction for murder in upstate New York, David's conviction has finally been overturned! Congratulations to all of our supporters for all that we have achieved so far -- but the fight is not over! David is not yet free and the murder charge is still pending against him. Even after the murder charge disappears, he still faces an uphill struggle to get out of jail and to avoid deportation proceedings. We continue to need massive, broad community support!
Please email us your questions. We will try to answer them either individually or by posting questions and answers on this site!
The Next Step: the next immediate step is to find out whether District Attorney Richard Cantwell will agree to dismiss the murder charge. David's lawyers will call the DA in late-October to ask him if he intends to dismiss the charge. Otherwise, it will be unclear whether the DA will force David to suffer through a retrial. Even though we are certain that David would be completely exonerated in a retrial, there is no reason why the DA should waste time and taxpayer money and resources to go through such a futile effort. David has suffered enough.
Please see the Call To Action below to understand the immediate steps that we need all our supporters to take! Please check back here for the latest updates on when David will be free.
Numerous members of the David Wong Support Committee spoke at the October 23 press conference. Guest speakers included (not a complete list): Bryan Pu-Folkes (Executive Director, New Immigrant Community Empowerment, NICE), Christopher Chan (Past President, Asian American Bar Association of New York, AABANY), Veronica Jung (Executive Director, Korean American League for Civic Action, KALCA), Rupa Parekh (National Board Chair of South Asian American Voting Youth, SAAVY), Kwong Eng (Organization of Chinese Americans, OCAÐNational and Long Island), Marion Thom (President, New York chapter of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO), Jaykumar Menon (attorney for David Wong), and Rocky Chin (civil rights attorney).
MEDIA REPORTS
Please email us if you area aware of any other reports or articles on the decision or the case!
Recent reports include a story from the Plattsburgh Press-Republican, a story from the AP wire for New York Newsday, and a story in The New York Times. The case was also the lead story on the local NYC NBC-TV news program at 11pm on October 21! Here's a story from a local Albany, NY TV station. The New York Post has a short article from the AP wire, too. Several Chinese-language newspapers also covered the decision, including the China Press "Qiao Bao" (front page of the paper), Ming Pao (front page of the paper), and the World Journal "Shi Jie Ri Bao" (front of the local news section)!
DAVID WONG SUPPORT COMMITTEE'S STATEMENT
David Wong is one step closer to freedom after New York State appellate judges unanimously overturned his murder conviction and returned his case to the Clinton County Court in Plattsburgh, New York. If the prosecution decides to pursue this case and David is forced to endure a new trial, we remain confident that the prosecution's case will be weak, and that David will be exonerated. This long-overdue ruling is a major political and legal step forward in David's 18-year struggle to prove his innocence.
For the last 18 years, David's case has been buried in the criminal injustice system in Plattsburgh, New York, a community dominated by the prison industry. It took a court outside of Plattsburgh to finally grant David a new trial. His case now returns to Clinton County where District Attorney Richard Cantwell decides whether he will pursue a new trial. Today, the David Wong Support Committee goes on the record to demand that Cantwell put an end to this hypocrisy and not go forward with a re-trial that we believe would be a futile attempt to continue the cover-up of David's wrongful conviction. The prosecution's case rests on only one witness, Richard LaPierre who made inconsistent statements about the killer. A prison guard who was over 400 feet away, LaPierre claims that he saw David commit the murder in a crowd of 700 prisoners without using his binoculars.
This overturned conviction is a result of a broad grassroots campaign over the last 14 years. It demonstrates what is possible through the power of communities working together and the determined efforts of people who believe in David's innocence. We would not have been able to get this far without the support of dozens of organizations including the Asian American Legal Defense Fund, the Organization of Chinese Americans, the Asian American Bar Association of New York, CAAAV-Organizing Asian Communities and APALA AFL-CIO New York, the Chinese Consulate, and a committed legal team from the Second Look Program Clinic at Brooklyn Law School and the Center for Constitutional Rights. There has been invaluable support from around the country, including supporters from Plattsburgh, California, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Hawaii, and Canada.
We feel strongly David should be freed immediately. Enough is enough! We are prepared to keep up the fight, as we advance into a new stage of this struggle. It could take months to clear David of this false charge and to see him freed. We need to be clear--this decision in no way marks the end of David's fight. We will not rest until David is free!
STATEMENT BY DAVID WONG: IN HIS OWN WORDS
Today is a good day for me, for my family, for my supporters, and for my lawyers. I am happy that the court has finally made the right decision, and I have waited for this decision for the past 15 years. The court's decision today is in the right direction -- a direction that will allow me to fully prove my innocence and finally gain my freedom. But the fight is not over yet. It only just began. For the racist and the wicked will continue to resist truth and justice, and refuse to acknowledge their wrong. When I was in Clinton for my evidentiary hearing, some of the correctional officers told me that the prison administration and the Correctional Officers Union in Clinton would never admit their mistake and injustice. To admit such a wrong would be an embarrassment to them, and they did not want to face it. I want to thank my support committee, my supporters, my family, my friends and my lawyers for their tireless support and effort, dedication and sacrifice through all these years. Without them I would not have this day, I would not possess either the hope or the opportunity to appeal my case and demonstrate my innocence. To them I say thank you very much. With their continued support I am looking forward to fully proving my innocence. -- David Wong (from prison)
DWSC CALL TO ACTION (10/23/2004)! FOR ALL OUR SUPPORTERS!
We are thrilled with the decision, but the fight is not over. District Attorney Richard Cantwell has the option to pursue a retrial or to dismiss the charges. David is innocent. We have the evidence to prove it. And we are confident that any jury would agree. We therefore demand that DA Cantwell dismiss the indictment, and avoid prolonging what has already been such a long and difficult ordeal for David. Pursuing a retrial would only be a waste of taxpayer money and resources.
If DA Cantwell does not categorically agree to drop the charges within two weeks, we will be launching a letter-writing campaign. We will be posting updates on DA Cantwell's decision on our website, www.freedavidwong.org. Everyone should check the website frequently and in two weeks, if the indictment has not been dismissed, we will post DA Cantwell's contact information and start the campaign. David continues to fight, and so we will continue to fight for him. David never gives up hope, and so neither will we. Thank you!
Pictures from the October 2004 Press Conference
Note: more pictures of the DWSC supporters will be added later. These are just some of the pictures!
Kwong Eng (OCA), Christopher Chan (AABANY), Daystarr Chou (DWSC), Little Horse (Green Party and DWSC) at the press conference.
Rupa Parekh (SAAVY), Veronica Jung (KALCA), Bryan Pu-Folkes (NICE), Rocky Chin, Maya Choy-Sutton (DWSC), Kwong Eng (OCA), Daystarr Chou (Green Party and DWSC), and Little Horse (DWSC) show their support.
Contact us at freedavid@freedavidwong.org