Kazu Ijima Passed Away August 2007
As recently announced in an Asian Week article, Kazu Iijima passed away at the age of 89 on August 26, 2007. Kazu was a very important part of the David Wong Support Committee for over a decade and was loved by everyone who worked on David's case. We are working on a short reflection on Kazu, which we will put on the web site in the near future.

Reflections Wanted On David Wong's Case, Exonerated After Over 15 Years For a Murder He Did Not Commit
Please email us your reflections on David Wong's case. We are compiling some reflections and will post some of them soon. There is no single perspective on David's case. Instead, it meant so much to so many different people. We will share a few different, individual perspectives rather than attempt to summarize everything into a single story.

David Wong Freed To Hong Kong
9/13/05: David Wong was freed through deportation in early August 2005 to Hong Kong.

Contacts: Fei Yeung and Evergreen Chou (Chinese), phone numbers available to media or upon request.

CHINESE IMMIGRANT DAVID WONG DEPORTED AFTER BEING CLEARED OF 1986 MURDER: The First Statements Released By David Wong And His Supporters About His August 2005 Deportation

David Wong, a Chinese immigrant wrongly convicted of murder in 1987 in New York, is finally free after being deported in August 2005 to Hong Kong. Today, his supporters on the David Wong Support Committee are issuing their first public statement along with a statement by David Wong.

Justice was not served in David's case because the United States deported David Wong without allowing him to stay in the United States or to spend a single day of freedom with his supporters. In December 2004, the murder case against David was finally dropped after extensive proof that a prison guard coached an inmate to lie about the 1987 murder and that the real killer was someone else who held a grudge against the victim. The case was an extraordinary example of individuals working together to overturn the wrongful conviction of an immigrant who did not receive a fair trial. As Fei Yeung, spokesperson of the David Wong Support Committee and David's niece, said, "David Wong's conviction was overturned thanks to hundreds of supporters. The criminal justice system pinned the murder on an innocent Chinese immigrant and without the hard work of the community, David would still be in prison today for something he did not commit."

Nothing can make up for the dozen years that David was wrongly imprisoned. Mr. Wong has filed a lawsuit seeking some compensation for the wrongful conviction and how the main witness was coached by a prison guard to lie. New York state is opposing David's lawsuit and it is unclear whether or how much the courts might ultimately award.

David Wong is well-known for inspiring hundreds to uncover a large body of evidence that he was wrongly convicted in 1987. Although the evidence was uncovered in 2001, it took the justice system until 2004 for an appellate court to overrule a trial court and overturn the murder conviction. From December 2004 to August 2005, federal immigration authorities at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained David near Buffalo, New York and refused to release him pending his deportation. David is now in Hong Kong.

An excerpt of David's statement says "I am presently happy and comfortable at home and enjoying time with my mom, my two sisters and their families. I would like to thank all my friends, supporters, relatives in the U.S., and the People's Republic of China Consulate in New York for making my freedom and homecoming a reality."

David's supporters have held rallies, fundraiser banquets, and produced a documentary video on the case. In June 2005, supporters held a celebration dinner in New York City.

For David's complete statement, please click on the September 2005 Update

DWSC Press Conference Friday June 10, NYC
6/10/05: DWSC held a press conference on June 10th and provided an update on David and launched a campaign to demand that David be released pending deportation. The campaign included an Online Petition For Release Pending Deportation.

New York Magazine Prints An Article on David Wong
6/8/05: New York Magazine has published a lengthy article on David Wong in their June 13th issue (I think it's the one that says "Best Doctors" on the cover). Journalist Steve Fishman's article is currently available on the web: Steve Fishman's Article.

Victory Celebration Banquet
6/16/05: On Thursday, June 16, 2005, the David Wong Support Committee (DWSC) celebrated the exoneration of David Wong from a wrongful murder conviction. This victory celebration was held at Harmony Palace in NYC. There were honored guests and performances.

Experimental DWSC Blog Now Available
4/16/05: On an experimental basis, we have a blog for individuals to post public items and comments about David's case and the broader issues it raises. Please keep in mind that comments and postings on the blog do not necessarily reflect the views of DWSC or of David Wong. Please give us your feedback on the blog, either publicly or privately.

Video Screening and Discussions Held at UPenn, ECAASU, Columbia, and Utah Law
8/23/05: The Chicago Asian American Showcase screened a revised version of the video on April 6, 2005. The new version is version number five. Utah Law School held a screening and discussion on March 28. On February 5, 2005, the DWSC was invited by the Asian Pacific American Law Student Assiciation (APALSA) in Pennsylvania Law School to an annual law student conference. Besides great lawyers and politicians, students from schools such as Yale and Stanford attended and there was high audience turnout for our video screening. Immediately, the audience showed their concerns by asking many questions and signing the petition to stop the deportation. Excerpts of the video were also screened at the ECAASU Conference and the full version of the video was screened at Columbia University.

Initial Online Petition Launched
1/21/05: In late-2004 and early-2005, we circulated a petition to seek release pending deportation. Our Official DWSC Announcement For An Online Petition To Stop Deportation from January 2005 is still available. Also available is the old Online Petition.

Documentary Video Screenings Ongoing
11/24/04: Thanks to APALSA and PILSA at Cardozo Law for hosting a free screening on November 23rd. The video also screened recently at The Hawaii International Film Festival (10/24, 10/29), Fordham Law School (10/13/04), and the University of Hawaii (10/21/04). Other screenings were recently held at St. John's Law School (9/2/04), NYU Law School (9/7/04), in Toronto (9/10/04), and in Plattsburgh NY (9/12/04). In September 2004, Washington Square News (NYU's daily newspaper) printed an article on the case and the documentary video! Details on the 35-minute video are available on the Documentary Video Page. Want a copy for yourself or to show others? Let us know -- we have copies on VHS and DVD!

Judge Giardino Dismissed The Murder Charge!
12/21/04: In a decision released on December 21, 2004, Judge Giardino dismissed the murder charge and closed the case against David Wong, noting that the defense indicated and the prosecutor seemed to agree that if a retrial had taken place, the jury would have acquitted David Wong. The criminal case that the David Wong Support Committee has focused on since 1990 is now over. DWSC prevailed and won a complete dismissal of David's wrongful conviction! Now DWSC is addressing how David is being held needlessly in immigration detention while he awaits deportation. David's many supporters are ready to act and have contacted several immigration attorneys. Please volunteer, come to a meeting, email us, or sign the online petition! Now available: statement from David Wong and his niece: Full Report on the Dismissal of the Murder Charge

DA Filed A Motion To Request Dropping The Murder Charge
12/10/04: Details on this are incorporated in the report on the dismissal of the murder charge.

Thousands Signed Our Online Petition To Demand That Cantwell Drop The Murder Charge
12/18/04: Thousands signed our Online Petition for Cantwell to drop the murder charge against David Wong. We now are focusing on an urgent petition to stop the deportation. Please sign the petition to fight deportation as opposed to the one on the murder charge!

Judge Lawliss Recuses Himself
11/26/04: His decision was dated November 19, 2004. The David Wong Support Committee believes that, expecting a decision by the Appellate court that may humiliate him again, Judge Lawliss chose a face-saving route by recusing himself. The collusion between Cantwell and Lawliss is finally broken and now Cantwell is left on his own to drop the case. Full Report On The Recusal.

DA Does Not Take Clear Stance On Retrial
11/1/04: On Monday, November 1, Judge Timothy Lawliss took steps to go forward with a retrial of David Wong despite the enormous deficiencies in the prosecution's case (including two confessions by the real killer and a half-dozen witnesses who testified to David's innocence). News stories were posted at The Plattsburgh Press-Republican 11/6/04, the Plattsburgh Press Republican 11/4/04 editorial, New York Times 11/3/04, the The New York Times 11/2/04, The Plattsburgh Press-Republican 10/29/04, and The New York Law Journal 10/29/04. We also appreciate a supportive press release on 10/26/04 from the Organization of Chinese Americans along with coverage from Asian American icommunity, the Asian Community Online Network. Basic information is posted in a November 2004 Report.