NEW YORK (AP) — Earlier this year, a man locked up more than 15 years for murder wrote federal prosecutors in Manhattan telling them what he'd said all along and what authorities hear from inmates all the time: that he was wrongly convicted.
But in this instance, Eric Glisson also named members of a violent drug gang he suggested were the true killers. It was a shot in the dark. But it turns out he may be right.
Authorities and defense attorneys say the letter has become a catalyst for a possible reprieve for Glisson and four other people serving time for the 1995 slaying of a cab driver in the Bronx — a homicide all say they didn't commit.
"I'm pretty optimistic I'll be released," Glisson told The Associated Press in a brief phone interview Friday from Sing Sing prison, 30 miles north of New York City.
"It's been an uphill struggle," he added. "But I've always believed right will overpower wrong."
After reinvestigating the case at Glisson's urging, federal prosecutors provided new evidence to the Bronx district attorney. The findings have not been made public, and a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office declined to comment.
But The New York Times reported Friday that they include an affidavit from a federal investigator who reviewed the case and concluded that the evidence was "overwhelming" that two convicted gang members "acting alone, robbed and shot" the Bronx cabby.
When the 37-year-old Glisson heard federal authorities were prepared to take the rare step of vouching for a state convict's innocence, "I was elated," he said. But the elation subsided when Bronx prosecutors, after being presented with the new evidence at a meeting last month, balked at admitting they botched the prosecution.
Prosecutors told Glisson's attorney, Peter A. Cross, he would have to file a motion asking a judge to order a new trial — a process that could take months.
In his statement, District Attorney Robert Johnson said his office was taking the matter seriously, but had "not yet been able to resolve all of the questions that have been raised by this evidence." His spokesman declined to comment further on Friday.
But in this instance, Eric Glisson also named members of a violent drug gang he suggested were the true killers. It was a shot in the dark. But it turns out he may be right.
Authorities and defense attorneys say the letter has become a catalyst for a possible reprieve for Glisson and four other people serving time for the 1995 slaying of a cab driver in the Bronx — a homicide all say they didn't commit.
"I'm pretty optimistic I'll be released," Glisson told The Associated Press in a brief phone interview Friday from Sing Sing prison, 30 miles north of New York City.
"It's been an uphill struggle," he added. "But I've always believed right will overpower wrong."
After reinvestigating the case at Glisson's urging, federal prosecutors provided new evidence to the Bronx district attorney. The findings have not been made public, and a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office declined to comment.
But The New York Times reported Friday that they include an affidavit from a federal investigator who reviewed the case and concluded that the evidence was "overwhelming" that two convicted gang members "acting alone, robbed and shot" the Bronx cabby.
When the 37-year-old Glisson heard federal authorities were prepared to take the rare step of vouching for a state convict's innocence, "I was elated," he said. But the elation subsided when Bronx prosecutors, after being presented with the new evidence at a meeting last month, balked at admitting they botched the prosecution.
Prosecutors told Glisson's attorney, Peter A. Cross, he would have to file a motion asking a judge to order a new trial — a process that could take months.
In his statement, District Attorney Robert Johnson said his office was taking the matter seriously, but had "not yet been able to resolve all of the questions that have been raised by this evidence." His spokesman declined to comment further on Friday.