Wrongly Accused and Finally Free: “Where the Hell Was This Evidence All These Years?”
After spending more than two decades in jail, New York man Jonathan Fleming was finally freed this Tuesday, but he never would have been jailed if crucial evidence hadn’t been withheld.
Fleming, now 51 years old, was 27 in 1989 when he was convicted of a murder he didn’t commit. It was recently discovered that Fleming had vital pieces of evidence that proved his innocence. On August 15, 1989, Darrly Rush was shot and killed outside of a housing project in Brooklyn. Fleming, however, as has been recently proven, was in Orlando, FL at the time.
When reopening the case file, Taylor Koss, Fleming’s attorney, said he found a phone receipt which showed that Fleming had paid a phone bill at a hotel in Orlando at 9:30 p.m. on August 14, 1989, about four hours before the murder was committed. According to Koss, Fleming told his attorney of the receipt, saying that he had it in his pocket at the time of arrest. When his attorney went to the district attorney’s office to ask for it, the district attorney stated that they did not have it. Additionally, police detectives denied recovering the phone receipt upon arresting Fleming.
In addition to the phone receipt, Fleming’s attorney also discovered a report from Orlando police stating that multiple hotel employees saw Fleming, adding evidence that Fleming was in Florida on August 16, and in no way could have shot Rush.
A nearby resident had stated that she saw Fleming shoot Rush, however, she later recanted that statement, saying that she was intimidated by investigators with arrest for perjury if she didn’t testify against Fleming. The accusation, along with the withheld evidence, led to Fleming being found guilty of second-degree murder, and was sentenced to life in prison.
24 years later, after spending a year gathering evidence in support of Fleming’s innocence, Fleming’s attorney was able to prove his innocence and allowed him to regain his freedom.
If you or a loved one are facing criminal charges, contact a Tennessee criminal defense attorney today to see how they can help turn your case around. It’s never too late to stand for your freedom, and an attorney would have the experience to find every bit of evidence that can support your case.
