Identity of Accuser, Shrouded by City, Is Sought
September 30, 2014 8:06 PM   Subscribe

For five years, Kenneth Creighton was held in jail, suspected of involvement in the killing of a bystander outside a bodega in the Bronx. In 2012, the charges were dropped. Mr. Creighton was released from Rikers Island. He has since filed a lawsuit against New York City for false arrest and malicious prosecution, and has sought the name of his accuser — a man who told the police that he had seen Mr. Creighton hand a gun to his brother, Dior, who was charged in the shooting.
posted by wondrous strange snow (16 comments total) 7 users marked this as a favorite
 
I'm confused; you can be arrested, charged, held in jail for years, never brought to trial, then charges just dropped?

Five years?

I thought the 48 hours in some hellhole jail before they need to charge someone was bad enough.

Five years?!?
posted by CrowGoat at 8:22 PM on September 30, 2014 [9 favorites]


Do you think that reasonable and humane standards of justice, consistently applied without bias towards race or class, are still respected and practiced in the USA?
posted by armoir from antproof case at 8:30 PM on September 30, 2014 [7 favorites]


no
posted by bruce at 8:39 PM on September 30, 2014


A similar case also in the hellhole of the Bronx court system.
posted by etaoin at 8:51 PM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]


Here's what confuses me about this.

So it's the prosecutors assertion that there might be retaliation against the witness (which is true about all witnesses in all crimes)...

But how the hell did he plan on actually going to trial without the 'confidential informant' you know, testifying...

Also it sounds like the informant is concerned that his 'ongoing relationship' with the family would be jeopardized - well, I would imagine it would be. Not all retaliation is illegal ("I don't ever want to see you again, get out of my life", for example).

But I guess a police state doesn't just build itself.
posted by el io at 9:29 PM on September 30, 2014 [7 favorites]


Do you think that reasonable and humane standards of justice, consistently applied without bias towards race or class, are still respected and practiced in the USA?

What do you mean, "still"?
posted by aaronetc at 9:35 PM on September 30, 2014 [8 favorites]


Fuzzy Dunlop.
posted by The Hamms Bear at 9:45 PM on September 30, 2014 [3 favorites]


another explanation is that there never was a witness, confidential or otherwise. they ginned the whole thing up.
posted by bruce at 9:55 PM on September 30, 2014 [13 favorites]


bruce: the article says the judge ordered that the informant's name be given to the defense attorney; I assume that occurred.
posted by el io at 10:31 PM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]


I'm confused; you can be arrested, charged, held in jail for years, never brought to trial, then charges just dropped?

It's not that you're never brought to trial, it's that pre-trial motions can take approximately forever. If Kenneth Creighton's lawyers were arguing throughout his incarceration that he had a right to the name of this key witness, that would have severely delayed his trial. Honestly, this is not the best reporting the NYT has ever done and it is hard to piece together what might have happened.
posted by DarlingBri at 12:37 AM on October 1, 2014 [2 favorites]


A third explanation is that the police have used evidence provided by this individual in lots of court cases & if the witness' reliability is brought into question then they might have to re-open all those other convictions.

It would hardly be the first time that police officers in the US have used a single corruptible witness to convict swathes of "bad guys" who they just *knew* (ha!) were guilty but didn't have the evidence to convict them in court.
posted by pharm at 4:37 AM on October 1, 2014 [6 favorites]


Wasn't there a rule or something about speedy trials

Seems like I remember that

I think it was important

Oh well
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 5:51 AM on October 1, 2014 [5 favorites]


And I said, "what about a speedy and public trial?"

She said, "I think, I remember that law.

"And as I recall, I think, we all had a right there."

And I said, "Well that's one thing we've got."
posted by explosion at 6:28 AM on October 1, 2014 [8 favorites]


The store’s owner, however, identified another person to the police as having passed the gun to Dior Creighton, information that the police did not pursue, Kenneth Creighton’s lawyers have told Judge Gardephe. They have also said that Mr. Creighton maintains that he was not at the bodega at the time of the shooting

Why would the police choose to ignore one eyewitness and only pursue the testimony of another?


Michael Raskin, the Legal Aid lawyer who represented Kenneth Creighton on the criminal charges, said the case took as long as it did because of delays concerning the prosecution of his brother.

How is Mr Creighton's constitutional rights not violated by keeping him in jail for 5 years based on the testimony of a single eyewitness (that is contradictory to another eyewitness) while they work on getting the shooter prosecuted? I would also wonder if there is little question that his brother did the shooting why is it taking years to get to trial?

Yes, he'll sue the city and no doubt will win. I still wish that in cases like this, the individuals who did the deed were also punished instead of just their employer. Little changes when no one faces repercussions.
posted by 2manyusernames at 7:18 AM on October 1, 2014 [2 favorites]


Now, why was I so sure the guy was black, before even clicking on the link?
posted by flabdablet at 9:29 AM on October 1, 2014


How is Mr Creighton's constitutional rights not violated by keeping him in jail for 5 years based on the testimony of a single eyewitness

It seems probably that for whatever reason his lawyers allowed it to happen. They could have insisted on a speedy trial.
posted by Justinian at 5:48 PM on October 1, 2014


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