Forced Confessions and Suppressed Evidence: This Year's Overturned Convictions in Brooklyn
Albert Samaha
Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson has dismissed seven convictions this year. Three of them involved former Detective Louis Scarcella, the subject of this week's feature story, The Tragedy of Louis Scarcella. Thompson's office is reviewing all 71 convictions tied to Scarcella, a review that began under the previous D.A., Charles Hynes. The three other dismissed convictions, however, were among the 30 or so non-Scarcella cases also under review.
Here are the facts on the seven dismissed convictions:
The crime: On June 18, 1992, 39-year-old Annie Yarbough and 12-year-olds Chavonn Barnes and Latasha Knox were fatally stabbed in Yarbough's Coney Island apartment.
The evidence: Yarbough's 18-year-old son Anthony discovered the bodies and called the police. He went with them to the precinct to give a statement. His friend, 15-year-old Sharif Wilson, accompanied him. Police separated them and questioned them. Wilson gave a statement saying that that he was present during the murder, and that Anthony Yarbough was the killer. Anthony Yarbough signed a confession.
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2014/08/guide_to_brooklyn_dismissed_convictions_2014.php