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05-29-09
District Attorney Janet DiFiore
Task Force To
Examine Wrongful Convictions
The
role of a modern prosecutor has many facets –
two of the most important are making certain
people are safe in their communities and
ensuring the people we serve are receiving fair,
impartial and expeditious justice in our
courts.
Our basic mission, to ensure the public’s safety, is
fairly straight forward.
As District Attorney of Westchester County, I have
readily accepted my obligation to promote
fairness and justice at every level of our
system by ensuring that in every case we
prosecute, we not only strive to convict the
guilty, but also make certain that no one is
wrongfully convicted for a crime that he or she
did not commit.
In spite of all our efforts, our criminal justice
system is not infallible.
After being in office less than a year, my office
commissioned a study of the wrongful conviction
of Jeffrey Deskovic, a teenager convicted in
1990 for raping and murdering a high school
classmate.
A coalition of experts studied the prosecution of Mr.
Deskovic, paying particular attention to the
systematic failures that led to his wrongful
conviction. The comprehensive report compiled by
this study and released by my office shined a
light on the failures of our criminal justice
system.
Just last month,
Jonathan
Lippman New York
State’s
recently appointed Chief Judge of the Court of
Appeals, in one of his first statewide
initiatives, created a task force to examine
wrongful convictions.
Judge Theodore T. Jones Jr. a Court of Appeals
Associate Justice and I have been named
Co-Chairpersons of this Task Force. Members of
the Task Force will include lawmakers,
prosecutors, defense attorneys and scientists.
We will have a broad mandate allowing us to examine
police procedures, court rules, and other issues
involved in wrongful convictions.
What makes this Task Force unique is that it will not
focus solely on Capital cases, but look at all
wrongful convictions whether misdemeanors or
felonies. Additionally it will collect data on a
continuing basis and monitor the effectiveness
of any policy changes that are made.
Justice is best served when we in the criminal justice
system come together, look at our strengths and
our weaknesses and develop an even more
effective way to serve and protect the
communities we are entrusted to serve.
The Westchester County District Attorney’s Office will
continue to engage in new and thoughtful ways of
achieving justice and enhancing public safety in
this community.
For help scheduling a presentation or other community
event, please call our Community Affairs office
at 914-995-3317.
If you have any questions or need additional
information on our programs, please visit our
website at
www.westchesterda.net.
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