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BROOKLYN WEEKLY, JULY 19, 2020
Going in circles DA releases study
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
District Attorney Eric
Gonzalez released a 100-
page study on July 9 investigating
the cases of
25 wrongfully-convicted
Brooklynites, who had
spent a combined 426 years
in prison — which the
borough’s top prosecutor
hopes will serve as a tool
for improving the criminal
justice system nationwide.
“For us to build community
trust, especially
now, when so many people
in this country are expressing
anger and despair
with the system, we must
reckon with and be transparent
about the mistakes
of the past,” said Gonzalez
in a statement.
The report gives a deep
look into 20 cases that had
been re-investigated by the
DA’s Conviction Review
Unit — which former District
Attorney Ken Thompson
established in 2014 to
help investigate and overturn
wrongful convictions.
Those 20 cases led to
the exoneration of 25 people
between 2014 and 2019,
according to Gonzalez,
who said the report gives
a fi rst-of-its-kind insight
into what factors lead to a
convicted person being exonerated.
“Around the country,
the reasons why a prosecutor’s
offi ce chooses to support
a convicted person’s
exoneration are not usually
disclosed in detail,” he
said in the report.
Most of the wrongful
convictions happened between
the 1980s and 1990s,
and all but one of the exonerees
in the study were
people of color. Three of
them died in prison and
were exonerated posthumously,
reads the report.
Done in collaboration
with the advocacy
nonprofi t The Innocence
Project and the law fi rm
WilmerHale, the study examines
eight factors, one
of more of which was present
in each exoneration.
The most common factor
Brooklyn District Attorney
Eric Gonzalez.
Photo by Colin Mixson
in each case was prosecutor
misconduct or error,
which played a role in 17,
or 85 percent, of the cases.
In those instances, the attorneys
either did not properly
scrutinize the amount
of evidence at hand, or the
reliability of that evidence,
according to the report.
“Doing justice also
means doing everything
in the prosecutor’s power
to ensure that the trial
is fair,” the report states.
“Prosecutors in a number
of these cases failed to meet
this standard, whether
on direct examinations,
cross-examinations, or
openings/summations, at
times exaggerating or mischaracterizing
testimony
on critical questions presented
to the jury.”
Police misconduct or
error was the second most
prevalent factor in the exonerated
cases, having infl
uenced 13 of the exonerations.
In those instances,
the report notes, there were
serious red fl ags with the
reliability of confessions
and witness testimony —
and in three cases, cops
even coached witnesses,
failed to give crucial information,
or provided false
testimony.
Other signifi cant factors
included nondisclosure
of evidence that could
help stop a conviction,
which was present in 45
percent of the cases. Witness
credibility issues and
defense lawyers doing a
bad job were also factors
in 40 percent of the studied
cases.
BY TODD MAISEL
Coney Island’s iconic
Wonder Wheel turned 100
years young this summer —
and attraction owner Dennis
Vourderis had a big celebration
planned for the Coney
Island landmark.
But, when the COVID-19
pandemic hit New York City,
leading to all kinds of shutdowns
of social activities,
Vourderis had to put his
plans on hold. Nearly a week
removed from the Fourth of
July and still not a soul has
taken a spin on the Wonder
Wheel this summer — or,
for that matter, on any of the
other attractions at Deno’s
Wonder Wheel Amusement
Park.
The giant ferris wheel’s
caged cars are open air,
without any windows, and
spaced 15 feet apart from one
another — and Vourderis
maintains that staff members
are ready to sanitize
each car after every ride.
Yet the amusement park,
and others in the city, have
not yet been allowed to reopen.
New York City is in
Phase Three of reopening,
and amusement parks —
which generally bring about
large crowds — are a part of
plans for Phase Four, should
conditions stay the same.
In the meantime, Vourderis
— whose family has
owned the ferris wheel since
1983 — keeps hoping to hear
good news from a cautious
governor and mayor who
have kept to strict phases as
to not make the same mistakes
as other states now
suffering from coronavirus
outbreaks.
The Coney Island businessman
said he worries
about a real estate tax bill
sitting on his desk, as well
as his rent owed to the Economic
Development Corporation.
He also has a
mortgage on an adjoining
property his family bought
to expand their amusement
park.
With the bills piling up
and only two concessions
stands open to the public,
Wonder Wheel owner Dennis Vouderis believes they can reopen safely. Photo by Todd Maisel
business is just 15 percent of
that during a normal Coney
Island summer, Vourderis
said.
“Give me a reason why
they are keeping us closed.
Why punish us for what Florida,
Arizona and Texas have
done?” Vourderis groused.
“We are in the safety business,
and we will make sure
all our staff and visitors are
safe. Look at the Boardwalk
and the beach, very few people
are social distancing and
wearing masks – nobody is
following the guidelines.”
Although Vourderis has
been presented with a plan
to reopen safely when the
time is right, he and his fellow
amusement park owners
are worried — Rye Playland
has already cancelled
its summer season and Gov.
Andrew Cuomo has cancelled
the annual New York
State Fair in Syracuse.
“I’ve had many sleepless
nights thinking about what
the hell, how will I pay real
estate taxes that were due
July 1,” Vourderis said. “I
have to pay them. I have to
pay a mortgage and real estate
taxes — those bills must
be paid.”
At a press conference
July 6, Mayor Bill de Blasio
promised to examine
whether outdoor amusements
like those in Coney Island
can resume safely.
“The state rules have
been very smart as we open
in phases to avoid things that
have too much closeness,”
the mayor said. “Amusement
parks are in that category
– the Wonder Wheel
may be different and that’s
a fair point. I love Coney Island
and I want people there
and we want to continue to
keep Coney Island alive. We
will pursue this with the
state — maybe we will fi nd
an appropriate balance.”
Vourderis insists his
park will hold a high standard
of safety when it reopens.
Ticket takers will
stay behind plexiglass and
each ride will receive a thorough
wipe down between
customers.
“We will insist on social
distance, use hand sanitizer,
clean our rides and we will
control entry to the park by
selling tickets before people
enter and control the number
of people,” Vourderis
said. “We are safer than being
on the beach and boardwalk.”
And it’s not just about
business, according to Vourderis.
A bit of summer normalcy,
he believes, will be
good for the city’s state of
mind.
“Don’t you think the mental
health of kids cooped up
is essential? We relieve some
stress with people dealing
with the COVID situation,”
he said.“Don’t you think
the mental health of New
Yorkers is essential – going
out for a ride, fresh air, sunshine,
essential for mental
health? We do that here.”
on 25 wrongfullyconvicted
Brooklynites
Wonder Wheel operator eyes reopening of Coney landmark