Mina Malik unveils plan for conviction review unit in Queens
BY BILL PARRY
Queens District Attorney
candidate Mina Malik
presented her plan to
implement a Conviction
Review Unit in the DA’s
office at a gathering of her
supporters near the Queens
County Criminal Court in
Kew Gardens on June 5.
She was joined by David
McCallum who in 1986
was wrongfully convicted
of murder at the age of 16
and spent nearly 30 years
behind bars.
Malik, recruited by the late
Brooklyn DA Ken Thompson
to serve as his Special Counsel,
helped to create a Conviction
Review Unit that has since
become a standard of criminal
reform nationally. After reexamining
his case, it was
discovered that the prosecutor
in McCallum’s case had
manipulated him into a false
confession, the conviction
review unit overturned the
decision and he was exonerated
in 2014.
“Mina Malik quite literally
saved my life,” McCallum
said. “Had it not been for her,
I’d be sitting in prison for the
rest of my life for a crime I
did not commit. Mina got me
the justice I deserved. Queens
needs a CRU like the one she
helped build in Brooklyn.”
McCallum’s attorney Oscar
Michelen concurred.
“I support Mina Malik
because Queens does not
have to sacrifice experience
to get real reform,” Michelen
said. “Mine helped develop
the most successful CRU in
the nation in Brooklyn and
can be trusted to do the same
for Queens County. She is the
only candidate that brings
both proven progress and first
hand experience.”
Malik, the former executive
director of the New York City
Civilian Complaint Review
Board, laid out her plans to
create the Queens County
Conviction Review Unit (QCCRU)
focusing particularly on
cases prosecuted during the
predatory tough-on-crime and
“war on drugs” era simply in
the interest of justice.
“Sometimes, even if a case
is legally and factually sound,
David McCallum (l.) joins Mina Malik and his attorney Oscar
Michelen near the Queens County Criminal Court on June 5.
continues incarceration is
nonetheless unjust,” Malik
said. “This is particularly
apt to be true for cases
prosecuted during the toughon
crime era, when sentences
were often far in excess of a
defendant’s culpability.”
The QC-CRU will also
proactively and carefully
address convictions that
Courtesy of Malik’s campaign
relied on discredited police
and prosecutorial practices
that have since been deemed
flawed, as well as every case
that contains a plausible
claim of innocence or
constitutional error.
Malik made Carlton Roman
her case in point. The now 56-
year-old Roman is serving a
43-year-to-life sentence for a
double shooting in Jamaica
in March 1989 where one
man died and another was
seriously wounded.
Since his arrest, Roman has
maintained his innocence.
“No system fashioned by
human hands is flawless,”
Malik said. “As Queens
District Attorney I will work
tirelessly to make the criminal
justice system fairer for every
resident of Queens County.
I am committed to leading
a cultural and attitudinal
shift in the Queens District
Attorney’s office. The QC-CRU
will help drive this change
as the office moves towards
the 21st century model of
progressive prosecution.”
Malik will face Queens
Borough President Melinda
Katz, City Councilman Rory
Lancman, Judge Greg Lasak,
public defender Tiffany Cabán
and prosecutors Jose Nieves
and Betty Lugo in the June 25
Democratic primary .
Reach reporter Bill
Parry by email at bparry@
schnepsmedia.com or by
phone at (718) 260–4538.
QUEENS AMBASSADOR AWARDS
Florin Cristian Pascu
Jackson Heights native preserving Romanian culture
Jackson Heights resident Florin
Cris tian Pascu has spent a lot of time
traveling and teaching, as well as
celebrating and preserving Roma nian
culture.
Mr. Pascu graduated as a second
degree from the Economic
Studies Academy of
Bucharest, Romania
(ASE), receiving
h i s E c o n o m i c
Specialization.
He later joined
the Commerce
f a c u l t y a n d
t a u g h t I n -
t e r n a t i o n a l
Business and
Economics at the
school in 1992.
F r o m 1 9 8 1
to 1986, Florin
Cristian Pascu
earned his Master of
Science at Tech nical
University of Bucharest
(UTB) as a Geodetic Engineer.
In 1995, Mr. Pascu was part of the
The British Council in Bucharest &
London, specializing in Public Relations,
Marketing & Management
and served in fellowships in London,
York, Glasgow and Edinburgh. At
the same time, Florin serve on the
British Council at the Uni versity of
Humberside/Town of Hall – United
Kingdom, referring to fellowship
studies in Man agement, Marketing
and Public Relations.
In the United States, Mr.
Pascu taught specialty
courses in Ap praisal
a t N e w Y o r k
Univer sity in 2001,
at the Columbia
Society of Appraisal
in 2003
and at Long Island
University
in 2005.
Florin served
as the President
of the Romanian
Christian Society
“DORUL” (since
1903 in New York)
from 2006 to present.
“DORUL” aimed to carry
on a mission of maintaining the
integrity and morality of their members
while promoting Romanian culture in
US. Currently he is an Assistant Vice
President & Senior Underwriter to the
Dime Community Bank.
8 TIMESLEDGER, JUNE 14-20, 2019 QNS.COM
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