{ a burst of light }

Thursday, September 26

 
''They feel that by stalling the case it will lose its impact and go away,'' said attorney Roger Wareham, who, along with attorney Michael Warren, is representing three of the convicted youths in the case ? Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray and Raymond Santana. All but Santana have been released after serving 5- to 15-year terms. Santana remains behind bars on a separate charge.

The DA's office, which has been aware of Matias Reyes' confession since January that he raped the jogger back in 1989, was given a court date of Oct. 21 to determine what it would do in light of the lawyers? motion that all the verdicts be set aside against the five youths.

9/26/2002 09:57:53 AM |

 
A one-time attorney for the convicted murderer whose DNA has been linked to the 1989 rape of a Central Park jogger said yesterday that his client could have committed the brutal crime - but that he also could have made up parts of his story.

"Matias Reyes is a classic psychopath," defense attorney Richard Siracusa said in a phone interview. "He's fully capable of doing what he's confessed to. I don't think it's made up, but you never know: Guys like that - they can't separate fact from fancy."

Siracusa represented Reyes, now 31, after the delicatessen clerk was arrested in August 1989 and charged with four rapes - and the murder of one of his victims - in apartments on the Upper East Side. He took over for another court-appointed attorney, who was relieved after Reyes tried to attack him.
[ ... ]

Retired detective Mike Sheehan, now a reporter for Channel 5, who investigated both the jogger and the Reyes cases in 1989, has said Reyes could have been part of a larger group that attacked the woman, "or he came after them." Retired detective Burt Arroyo, who also investigated the case, does not believe Reyes was part of the original group, according to an interview with ABC-TV's "Prime Time Thursday" that is to air tonight.

9/26/2002 09:50:26 AM |

 
A detective who investigated the rape and near-fatal beating of a female jogger in Central Park 13 years ago says he doubts that an imprisoned rapist-murderer who has confessed to the attack did it alone.

Detective Burt Arroyo told ABC News' ``Primetime Thursday'' that while DNA tests show that the convict, Matias Reyes, left semen at the scene, no witnesses or informants mentioned him among 30-odd names they gave to police.
[ ... ]

Arroyo said he does not believe Reyes. He said he thinks Reyes stumbled upon the woman and raped her again after she had already been raped, bludgeoned and left for dead by the group.

``He wasn't described by anyone in the group and he doesn't know anyone in the group,'' the detective said. ``I do believe he was at the scene. He admits to it. There's DNA that links him to it. But he wasn't with them at the time, when they were all there.''

While I'm sure Arroyo's subsequent conviction (for misappropriating cocaine from a dead suspect) will be mentioned, I'm curious as to how quick it'll be mentioned and then forgotten.

9/26/2002 09:39:53 AM |

 
Calling himself "a monster," the killer whose surprise confession reopened the Central Park jogger case has told in graphic detail for the first time his account of the horrifying crime. "I guess she was conscious and scared, whatever," Matias Reyes told ABC's "Primetime Thursday" in a chilling interview to be aired tonight about the 1989 attack on a young investment banker.

9/26/2002 09:30:01 AM |

 
Last Post Till October (?)

A reminder from TalkLeft:

The infamous Central Park Jogger case, thought long solved, will go to court again in October even though five teens who confessed already served their sentences. Now, a convicted rapist-murderer says he committed the brutal 1989 rape and beating of a New York City woman. In an interview to air on ABCNEWS' Primetime on Thursday, [ as part of its coverage of Confused Confessions ] the man, Matias Reyes, says no one else was involved: "I was alone that night.

I'll be tuning in on Thursday night and can't wait to see what conservabloggers will come up with next.

And it appears that that big Central Park Jogger update I promised earlier this month will happen some time early next month. In the process of a temporary apartment move, getting busy with a business idea and attempting to find some decent time off (although that'll probably mean a long weekend of researching and writing for familial projects).

9/26/2002 01:28:54 AM |

 
I keep tellin' Lynne she's gonna hurt somebody! ;-)

(see the entry entitled for the love of art and money for the story behind the comment)

9/26/2002 12:10:48 AM |

Monday, September 23

 
Central Park Jogger case book list:

Two important books to pick up and read Re: Central Park 5 -- reading them will give some insight in the case and illustrate how the frameup came about.

And the Blood Cried Out by former Manhattan Assistant DA Harlan Levy. A few years ago he stated "We lied," about evidence used to convict the boys.

Unequal Verdicts: The Central Park Jogger Trials by Timothy Sullivan, current VP for Court-TV daytime.

Currently trying to obtain both to post on the subsite later this week (hopefully,) and early next month.

Current read: Let the Dead Bury Their Dead and Other Stories by Randall Kenan. So far, a great read. From the bodacious opening story, to the quite enjoyable middle portion, Tim Creek (Kenan's fictional burg reminiscent of Faulkner's work) will fascinate and intrigue. Folk on the subway must think I'm a madman because I've laughed out loud often while reading this book.

9/23/2002 01:51:14 AM |

Sunday, September 22

 
From writer and editor Aldo Alvarez:

Blithe House Quarterly : a site for gay short fiction invites you to browse its Fall 2002 edition featuring


Shannon Cain

Clint Catalyst

Elizabeth Crowell

Shelley Ettinger

Jenny Hall

A. C. Koch

Manuel Munoz

Emmet Caravello Quinn

Rebecca Walker

and Duane Williams

Edited by Tisa Bryant and Barry Matthews

Illustrations and design by Steve MacIsaac

Series Editor: Aldo Alvarez

9/22/2002 10:46:52 PM |

 
Another Racist Cops Gets Off Easy; Does this suprise anyone?

Under a last-minute agreement that gave prosecutors and defense lawyers the ability to avoid the uncertainties of a fourth trial of Mr. Schwarz, which had been scheduled to begin tomorrow, the government dropped an additional charge of perjury and two charges of violating Mr. Louima's civil rights. Prosecutors also said they would ask prison officials to recommend a reduction of the sentence to just under four years if Mr. Schwarz abides by the terms of the agreement.

One central condition of the deal essentially prohibits Mr. Schwarz from stating publicly that he is innocent of the civil rights violations, that he held Mr. Louima down while another officer, Justin A. Volpe, sodomized Mr. Louima with a broken broomstick.

In a half-empty courtroom just before 9 p.m., Judge Reena Raggi ended one of the longest and most wrenching legal battles in the city's recent history by formally sentencing Mr. Schwarz to five years.

This despite the fact that judicial rulings days before the trial was suppose to begin made Schwarz's laughable defense almost impossible to prevail.

Does it even make sense to mention that his ass was saved when a single biased juror forced a mistrial on the most serious charges at his last trial?

9/22/2002 02:11:21 AM |