NYC Murder Convict, Behind Bars for 15 Years, Finds Unusual Ally: Federal Prosecutors
Earlier this year, a man locked up more than 15 years for murder wrote federal prosecutors in Manhattan telling them what he’d said all along and what authorities hear from inmates all the time: that he was wrongly convicted.
But in this instance, Eric Glisson also named members of a violent drug gang he suggested were the true killers. It was a shot in the dark. But it turns out he may be right.
Authorities and defense attorneys say the letter has become a catalyst for a possible reprieve for Glisson and four other people serving time for the 1995 slaying of a cab driver in the Bronx — a homicide all say they didn’t commit.
“I’m pretty optimistic I’ll be released,” Glisson told The Associated Press in a brief phone interview Friday from Sing Sing prison, 30 miles north of New York City.
“It’s been an uphill struggle,” he added. “But I’ve always believed right will overpower wrong.”
After reinvestigating the case at Glisson’s urging, federal prosecutors provided new evidence to the Bronx district attorney. The findings have not been made public, and a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment.