Man freed after 23 years in prison has heart attack

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Man freed after 23 years in prison has heart attack
3:04p.m. EDT March 23, 2013

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City man whose murder conviction was overturned after 23 years in prison has suffered a heart attack on his second day of freedom.

David Ranta's lawyer tells The New York Times the former inmate had a serious heart attack Friday night and is being treated at a New York hospital.

Ranta walked out of jail Thursday after a judge threw out his conviction in the 1990 killing of a Brooklyn rabbi.

Brooklyn prosecutors had recently concluded Ranta's prosecution in the death of Rabbi Chaskel Werzberger was fatally flawed.


Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/23/jailed-man-freed-heart-attack/2013137/

[Judi Lynn]

1. David Ranta Has Heart Attack After Leaving Prison Exonerated

David Ranta Has Heart Attack After Leaving Prison Exonerated
By GILLIAN MOHNEY
March 23, 2013

David Ranta has suffered a massive heart attack just two days after being exonerated of murder and leaving prison for the first time in 23 years, his attorney told ABCNews.com.

Lawyer Pierre Sussman said that Ranta, 58, was being treated in an New York hospital after suffering a severe heart attack Friday night. He did not provide further details.

Ranta was freed from prison Thursday after serving 23 years of a 37.5 year sentence for the murder of Brooklyn rabbi Chaskel Werzberger in 1990.

Ranta left a Brooklyn courtroom Thursday after a judge said he was free to go and his family cheered. On the way out he told reporters that the sensation of walking freely out of the courthouse was "overwhelming."

More:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/david-ranta-heart-attack-leaving-prison-exonerated/story?id=18797619#.UU4VDOoo7_Q

[tblue]

2. Oh dear goodness God have mercy.

Poor man!!!!!!!!!!

[dhol82]

3. wonder if

wonder if he has any kind of carryover health insurance from prison. otherwise he is totally fucked in terms of paying off the bill.

sheesh!

[Hassin Bin Sober]

12. Maybe they can send his account to one of those aggressive collection agencies.

And he can land back in jail.

[JimDandy]

26. He has no income yet,

so isn't he eligible for medicaid or indigent care from the hospital. Hopefully NY pays a decent compensatory amount to former prisoners who were wrongfully incarcerated.

[valerief]

5. Very sad.

If he only had guns.

[Ghost in the Machine]

17. Just when you think you've seen the most idiotic reply that can't be outdone...

Someone goes ahead and outdoes it anyways. This place NEVER ceases to amaze!

Please explain, exactly, in your own words, what your comment......

valerief

5. Very sad.

If he only had guns.

..... has *ANYTHING* to do with a man, wrongly accused and convicted of a murder he didn't commit, having a heart attack on his 2nd day of freedom after 23 years in hell.

Come on, try defend the indefensible, without some lame-ass "it was just a joke" BS or something of the like.

Thanks in advance

[valerief]

21. Haven't you heard? MORE GUNS cures everything. They tell me that on DU all the time. nt

[Poll_Blind]

6. Very sad. I wish him a speedy recovery! nt

PB

[hrmjustin]

7. Such a sad story! I saw the news coverage the other day on local NYC news and I just

can't believe this is happening to this poor man.

[99th_Monkey]

8. Major suckage Is David still alive?

I posted RIP because I assumed he had died in the heart attack, but
saw another post "speedy recovery" .. so went back to read and
see video, and I can't find anywhere about if he died or not, or how
he's doing in hospital if he's still alive, etc.

[caseymoz]

9. Oops! I mean extremely sad.

For him, I want the cold universe to abolish bad luck.

[Blandocyte]

10. Gah! May he buy a winning lottery ticket after release from the hospital! n/t

[pennylane100]

25. I hope he receives a very large sum of money

for all the years that have been stolen from him.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

11. Did he see the price of gas?

[MillennialDem]

13. Well, he's probably getting better care than an inmate at least. He would be cuffed to the bed right

now. If they even sent him to the hospital.

[DeSwiss]

14. It's becoming a veritable epidemic:

Man Found Innocent After 20 Years in Prison

K&R

[RandiFan1290]

15. Yes it is. Here's another

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-03-19/news/fl-anthony-caravella-testifies-20130319_1_anthony-caravella-ada-cox-jankowski-william-mantesta

Broward man freed by DNA describes 25 years in prison for crime he didn't commit

There are many things that Anthony Caravella doesn't remember about 1983, but he told jurors on Tuesday that one thing is for sure — he didn't rape or murder Ada Cox Jankowski.

Caravella had served close to 26 years in prison before DNA tests eventually set him free in 2009. He was 15 with an IQ of 67 when he was arrested and confessed to the crime in a series of increasingly incriminating statements to three Miramar detectives and a Broward Sheriff's deputy in late 1983 and early 1984.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sadly, a lot of people would have had this man executed long before he could have been released.

[Brigid]

16. Probably hypertension and heart disease . . .

From all that greasy, salty prison food.

[markiv]

18. sickening story

for those that have the spare funds, the innocence ptpject is a worthy cause

this man's heart attack is a direct result of his injustice, IMO

[JimDandy]

27. If I ever win the lottery

they will receive a substantial portion of the winnings. Til then, I can can only send them my good wishes and spread the word of the fine job they do.

[lumberjack_jeff]

19. And no insurance, no doubt.

Is this guy bad luck or what?

[ReRe]

20. The State of New York can not turn it's back on this man....

.... If there isn't a law in this country to compensate innocent prisoners for their years behind bars, there should be. Otherwise, this is an example of justice without justice. Surely the State of New York will be sure this man is taken care of now and will compensate him for all the years he lost ASAP, so he won't lay there and worry himself into another effing heart attack over the GD hospital bill. I do hope he recovers soon and gets all the medical attention he needs, since health care isn't exactly a priority in our prison system. Get well, David. You're going to be a grandpa soon!

[nessa]

22. It appears it's possible to get compensation but you must bring a suit...

not easy, not quick and not cheap.

http://newscastmedia.com/blog/2010/10/20/man-wins-18-5-million-in-compensation-after-false-imprisonment/

[ReRe]

23. That's not ok...

... the victim in this case should not have to sue. It will finish him off (due to his delicate health situation.) I hope the family and a good lawyer can do it on his behalf. I still say there should be a federal law. I remember cases where the freed, found innocent, prisoner did get compensation seemingly without having to sue. Maybe it's just certain states who do this? I may be completely wrong. Thanks.

[Franker65]

24. Talk about bad luck...

Hope he pulls through. Can't imagine his situation, walking around New York again after being wrongly locked up for 23 years.

[Ash_F]

29. Maybe not just luck.

I bet he was feeling all kinds of emotions and a good deal of anxiety mixed in after being freed.

[JimDandy]

28. The absolute injustice of it all.

I am so sad for him.

[Ash_F]

30. New York should pay for all his medical bills /nt

[PolitFreak]

31. No

Menachem Lieberman, the little fuck who falsely identified Ranta and then kept quiet for two decades, should pay his medical bills!