New York City judge vacates conviction in 1975 child death
A man jailed nearly four decades in the death of an
8-year-old New York City girl is a free man after a judge found his trial
attorney provided a poor defense.
David Bryant was released Thursday afternoon, not long
after a Bronx judge determined his defense in the 1975 killing had been flawed.
To David Bryant the simple choice of a sandwich is
overwhelming.
Everything is new to Bryant, he was freed Thursday in the
Bronx after a judge vacated the conviction of the 56 year old who spent 38
years in prison for the rape and murder of an 8 year old in an apartment
building.
"You don't know what to do, it's so overwhelming. I
went into a store and it was like you could have anything you want!"
Bryant said.
Like picking out a cell phone. Bryant was 18 when he was
sent away in 1975.
"They didn't have cell phones, they didn't have cell
phones. Its way too overwhelming," Bryant said.
Bryant's claim of innocence was picked up five years ago
by the non-profit Centurion Ministries of Princeton.
He met the staffers for the first time Friday after that
judge in the Bronx determined the original defense had been inadequate.
"David's biogroup substance is not in the semen
sample, meaning that David is excluded as being the semen donor, meaning David
is innocent of this case. It was never brought up at trial," said Paul
Casteleiro, Bryant's attorney.
His three priorities when he got out were, "Dunkin
Donuts, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Pepsi soda. Having those was like being a
little kid again, you know, because those were the last things that I
remembered when I was out. I got to try to learn how to live again, it's like
the kid, I got to learn how to walk," Bryant said.
The judge found the failure of Bryant's attorney to
consult with a blood and semen testing expert deprived him of a fair trial.
The then-18-year-old Bryant was arrested less than a day
after the discovery of Karen Smith's body in the stairwell of an apartment
house. She'd been raped, beaten and stabbed.
A spokesman for the Bronx district attorney's office says
no decision has been made on appealing the judge's ruling.
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