NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - September 12, 2016) - Wayne Martin, his family & friends and his Napoli Shkolnik attorneys were overjoyed when the Brooklyn District Attorney's office officially dismissed the indictment against him earlier this week.
"Following a thorough re-examination of this case, I have concluded that a lack of reliable evidence, compounded by the utter failure to disclose exculpatory evidence at the original trial, would make it impossible to retry this case," said Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson. "Therefore, we moved today to dismiss the indictment against Mr. Martin in the interest of justice." One of Mr. Martin's legal team, Napoli Shkolnik attorney James D. Henning said, "We thank the Judge for a just resolution."
Wayne Martin had been sentenced to life without parole for the fatal shooting of a tire shop owner and an employee in East Flatbush in 2005. After Mr. Martin had served nearly 9 years in prison, the Brooklyn Conviction Review Unit, at the urging of Napoli Shkolnik attorneys, uncovered documents that the District Attorney's office had failed to turn over to Mr. Martin's defense attorney identifying a direct witness to the crime who stated that it was not Mr. Martin who committed the crime, but named someone else as the shooter. Mr. Martin has always claimed his innocence in these crimes.
James Henning and Craig Phemister, attorneys in Napoli Shkolnik's Wrongful Conviction department uncovered additional evidence showing that detectives manipulated evidence to try to make a case against Mr. Martin. Based on this evidence, Mr. Henning filed a motion to vacate the indictment against Mr. Martin.
Mr. Martin's 2010 conviction was vacated on July 7th and his indictment dismissed on September 7th as a result of the overwhelming lack of evidence against Mr. Martin.
Wayne thanked all for their efforts on his behalf and added "There's a lot of other people out there who need help", speaking about the "thousands" of wrongfully convicted inmates currently incarcerated across the country. For now, he is looking forward to getting back to his life; he proudly took his daughter to school the other day and called the experience "indescribable."
About Napoli Shkolnik PLLC
Napoli Shkolnik PLLC is a national litigation firm, providing representation to victims of wrongful convictions and Civil Rights violations, environmental contamination disasters, aviation accidents, defective prescriptions drugs and medical devices, asbestos-related illnesses, complex litigation, and other serious personal injury matters. With their principal offices in New York City and additional offices in California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas and affiliates through the United States, Napoli Shkolnik PLLC is readily available to clients.
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Contact Information:
Contact Information
Napoli Shkolnik PLLC
www.napolilaw.com
Craig Phemister, Esq.
360 Lexington Avenue, 11th Floor
New York, New York 10017
(212) 397-1000
