Judge voids 3 NYC convictions tied to
A judge has thrown out the decades-old murder convictions of three half brothers who were investigated by a New York City homicide detective whose tactics have come into question.
The Brooklyn district attorney’s office requested that the convictions be thrown out Tuesday.
The three, Alvena Jennette, Robert Hill and Darryl Austin, are the first defendants connected to retired detective Louis Scarcella to have their convictions vacated. Austin died in prison 14 years ago.
The review of several murder cases investigated by Scarcella began last year after another man convicted of murder was released on new evidence that Scarcella had coached a witness.
Since then, other convicts have renewed their allegations that Scarcella fabricated confessions and manipulated witnesses.
This story was originally published May 9, 2014 at 11:04 AM with the headline "Judge voids 3 NYC convictions tied to ."