Timothy Crosby - Perjury / False Confession

Crosby, Timothy; assault; NRE: perjury/false accusation

"Defendant Convicted on Fabricated Testimony Is Freed After Being in Prison Since 1989," (no author), (part of 'Court Decisions Summary'), New York Law Journal, 2/24/2000

"[Crosby] was convicted of assault and related offenses in 1989. The only witness to testify against him was the purported victim. In 1998, another man's murder conviction was reversed when it was learned that [Crosby's] [supposed] victim had completely fabricated testimony against the accused murderer. [Crosby] also learned that the [DA's] office had revealed that the same witness fabricated testimony in another homicide case. [Crosby] now moved to vacate his conviction on the ground of newly discovered evidence, arguing that the witness had lied in this case as well. At a hearing, the witness admitted lying, and his cousin said the witness was a habitual liar. As the court concluded that the witness was completely unreliable and there was no other evidence connecting [Crosby] to the crime, it granted the motion to vacate."

from NRE synopsis (by Maurice Possley):

"In April 1988, 16-year-old Dana Garner reported to the police...that he had been kidnapped at gunpoint by a group of men.

"While walking the streets in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn where Garner said the crime occurred, he identified 27-year-old Timothy Crosby as one of the men who kidnapped him. Garner also identified two other men as participating with Crosby.

"The two other men pled guilty. Crosby went to trial in 1989...The two co-defendants, in exchange for more lenient sentences, testified against Crosby and implicated him in the attack.

"In 1989, Crosby was convicted..."

"On March 26, 1991, Garner was a witness for the prosecution in the trial of Jeffrey Blake, who was accused of a double murder.

"The murders occurred on June 18, 1990, when, according to Garner, Blake fired a machine gun into a car in Brooklyn...killing the two men inside.

"A few days later, Garner came forward and implicated Blake, who went to trial in Kings County...in May 1991. The prosecution's case relied almost solely on Garner's testimony."

"In May 1991, a jury convicted Blake..."

"In 1993, Garner recanted his testimony to defense investigators. Later, as a witness at a hearing on Blake's case, Garner invoked his privilege against self-incrimination and refused to testify. Blake's attorney...then tracked down the woman who had been Garner's girlfriend at the time of the crime and who he claimed had also witnessed the shootings. The woman...said that she had not witnessed the killings. The defense also discovered evidence that Garner was not even in New York on the day of the shooting."

"Bob Herbert, a New York Times columnist...began writing columns about the case.

"[T]he prosecution dropped the charges, and Blake was released.

"Later that year, attorney Sara Bennett...began reviewing Crosby's case because of Garner's involvment. Bennett located the two co-defendants who had testified against Crosby and both recanted, admitting they had lied. Meanwhile, Crosby took and passed a polygraph examination. Then, Garner recanted his identification of Crosby.

"Bennett filed a motion to vacate Crosby's conviction. On December 9, 1999, the motion was granted. The case was dismissed, and Crosby was released. He later received $450,000 in compensation from the New York Court of Claims."

[All emphases added unless otherwise noted.]