The Exoneration Project, The Legal Aid Society, The Bronx Defenders, Brooklyn Defender Services, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, New York County Defender Services, Queens Defenders, The Office of the Appellate Defender, The Center for Appellate Litigation, Appellate Advocates, the Innocence Project, and the Exoneration Initiative, in a recently issued letter, called on New York County District Attorney candidates, once in office, to commit to vacating convictions in cases where the purported evidence of guilt was obtained or produced by corrupt New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers –  i.e., those convicted of crimes in connection with their law enforcement duties, reports Gothamist/WNYC. The People’s Coalition for Manhattan DA Accountability – an expansive group of advocacy organizations, grassroots-led networks, and legal aid providers – also echoed this call.

Last week, the same coalition urged New York City’s District Attorneys to vacate problematic convictions in cases where 22 corrupt New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers played an “essential role”

Last month, the District Attorneys in New York, Kings and the Bronx counties vacated or announced plans to vacate convictions in cases that rested largely on the account of former NYPD Detective Joseph E. Franco, who is currently facing perjury charges in Manhattan for framing innocent New Yorkers.

The letter requests the next New York County District Attorney to commit to:

• vacate convictions in which the NYPD officers identified by defenders and innocence organizations on May 3, 2020 (the “Officers”) played an “essential role”;
• conduct a full, transparent review with the participation of the convicted person and their counsel of all cases involving the Officers where the Officers did not play an “essential role”;
• vacate convictions whenever an NYPD officer is convicted of crimes relating to their duties in which they played an “essential role” and conduct a full, transparent review with the participation of the convicted person and their counsel;
• Conduct a full, transparent review with the participation of the convicted person and their counsel for all cases involving any other NYPD officer who has been deemed incredible, including those on any Brady/Giglio/”Do Not Call” list.

The candidates who signed this pledge include: Eliza Orlins, Diana Florence, Lucy Lang, Alvin Bragg, Tahanie Aboushi and Dan Quart.

Tali Farhadian Weinstein instead responded with the following letter.

Liz Crotty did not respond.