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Nassau County Supreme Court Justice Teresa Corrigan has recused herself from the “actual innocence” hearing for convicted pedophile Jessie Friedman.
The judge did so because she once served as the supervisor of one of the prosecutors in the original case from more than 25 years ago.
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Have you seen the 2003 documentary capturing the Friedmans? Well if not then you should.
The movie tells the story about how the Friedman family of Long Island New York was destroyed when the father, Arnold, was arrested for possession of child pornography.
He gave computer classes to kids in his Great Neck home and was, after his initial arrest, found to have been sexually abusing some of his students.
Arnold Friedman confessed to charges of sexually assaulting minors and committed suicide in prison in 1995. His son, Jesse, who was just a teenager at the time, also pled guilty and served 13 years in jails.
But Jesse has always maintained his innocence, saying that he only agreed to a plea bargain out of fear of being sent to prison for life. The documentary implies that he had no chance of getting a fair trial on Long Island and the judge refused to move it to another jurisdiction.
Now 45, Jesse Friedman is still fighting to clear his name and have his conviction overturned.
On the judge’s decision, he said, “I am eager for my new hearing to start as I am certain a fair review of the evidence will prove my innocence beyond any doubt.”
His lawyer, Ron Kuby, said, “We believe Judge Corrigan realized that the appearance of impartiality is crucial to the integrity of the legal process, especially in a case as important and public as this one.”
“We are hopeful that the new judge assigned to Jesse Friedman’s case will review the evidence of his innocence on its merits, free of the biases displayed by the District Attorney’s office in their recent court filings, as well as the three-year conviction review process that was found to be seriously flawed.”
