NEW YORK, Aug. 11, 2007
Prime Suspect
Will New Evidence Give Marty Tankleff A Second Chance?
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Play CBS Video Video Moriarty's Reporter's Notebook Only On The Web: 48 Hours correspondent Erin Moriarty talks about the case of Marty Tankleff, a Long Island teenager, who was convicted of murdering his parents.
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Tankleff is incarcerated at the Great Meadow Correctional Facility in Comstock, New York. (CBS)
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Marty Tankleff was a teenager when he confessed to killing his parents. (CBS/48 Hours)
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Interactive Under The Gun Learn more about some interrogation techniques used by police.
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Interactive Forensics 101 Find out more about forensics, DNA and some cases in which DNA has made a difference.
"The judge described many of the witnesses that came forward as a 'cavalcade of nefarious scoundrels' paraded before this court. What was your reaction?" Moriarty asks Salpeter.
"How dare him," he replies. "These are people who came forward, for what? To be called names? They came forward to help free an innocent man … Do they have a past? Do they have records? Yes. So what?"
The judge even dismissed the testimony of Joe Creedon's son, saying that the 17-year-old may have been trying to protect his mother, who had long been abused by Creedon.
"There's no way if a jury, a new jury, heard what we brought forward into this hearing, that they would not acquit Marty," says Salpeter.
Meanwhile, in prison Marty says he could be doing a lot better. "I was hoping we wouldn't be doing this interview in a prison," he says.
Marty admits he is bitter about the judge's decision. "I think all along I kind of always knew in the back of my head that was probably going to happen, because of all the letdowns, because of Suffolk County. But still, hearing that I was denied a new trial was hard."
"You came in when you were 19 and you're about to turn 35. Is there a side of you that's afraid that you may never get out of here?" Moriarty asks.
"No," Marty says.
And now, Marty and his supporters have new reason to hope. In May 2006, a New York State appeals court agreed to review the judge’s decision. It’s good news for Marty but he’s afraid to get his hopes up.
"There's no level of excitement in any of this. I'm still in prison, my parents were murdered, so there's no excitement or joy in any of this. There's signs of relief, signs of encouragement," he says.
If Marty wins that appeal, he may yet get his chance at freedom. "I'm not afraid of a new trial. I'm not. I think I have more than enough witnesses to prove my innocence, let a jury of my peers evaluate the new evidence," says Marty.
Oral arguments are expected to begin late in 2007.
Marty Tankleff, as a "jailhouse lawyer," helped free an inmate convicted on a false confession.
Tankleff turns 36 later this month. He’s been in prison for nearly 17 years.
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Someone asked about DNA. I believe that there actually is DNA available, but the judge has suppressed it and refuses to allow it to be tested because of a technicality. Others know the details better than I do on this.
As for the DA being "stupid," that is unfair. Before he was elected, he used to say that he believed Marty to be innocent. He was right then. But having been the defense attorney for Todd Steuerman AND for Detective McCready, both of whom were tried for serious offenses, he may be "partial" and unwilling to open up a case that would obviously lead to other guilty parties. It is easier to keep one innocent person in prison than it is to expose former defendants and call into question everything the police did back in those days.
I look forward to meeting Marty face to face, out of prison. God grant that that day come soon.
Jewel681
I have never before felt compelled to speak out for people that I%u2019ve never met and mean nothing to me. However, I%u2019ve never known of a situation in which an assistant District Attorney so blatantly disregarded his responsibility to seek the truth.
I do not know whether Marty Tankleff is innocent or guilty of murdering his parents. However, it is abundantly clear that Leonard Lato is actually hindering the process of discovering who should pay for the horrible murder of the Tankleff%u2019s, by not allowing a new trial.
%u2022 The police never investigated anyone other than Tankleff
%u2022 Too many people, with too little ulterior motive are speaking up on behalf of Tankleff and against Creedon
%u2022 It is absurd not to give immunity to Glenn Harris and hear what he has to say about the gloves and his involvement
Whoever is found guilty by a jury, who has all of the new information and witnesses, should pay for the crime.
- by deborahcox05 August 12, 2007 1:12 AM EDT
- You know what you have to have for probably cause to arrest someone in the U.S.?
- Reply to this comment
See all 14 CommentsNOTHING!! The police do NOT have to investigate anything. That is the big joke about our system.
You know what an attorney told me once? Here you go:
If he and I had a meeting that morning and he had cut his face shaving, and for whatever reason he decided to give a sworn statement to the police that I had cut his face in an attack, the police would have probable cause to arrest me!
It is then my responsibility to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was innocent!
You are not innocent until proven guilty! You are guilty until you can prove yourself innocent!
Our justice system is the "just-us" system and the cops are out of control!
They are not here to serve and protect. They are all about getting a conviction - RIGHT OR WRONG!
This is my PERSONAL EXPERIENCE!