William Lopez, a wrongly convicted New York prisoner has died over the weekend due to an asthma attack. He had served 23 years in prison for a crime he did not commit prior to his death.
According to RT.com, the wrongly accused man named William Lopez died just three days before the proceedings for his $124 million false imprisonment federal lawsuit are to commence.
Lopez's lawyer told reporters this week that the 55-year-old wrongly accused man who had served more than two decades behind bars for a crime he did not commit died on Sunday from an asthma attack.
The Associated Press reports that a pre-motion conference on his Lopez's case was supposed to happen on Monday while the proceedings for his federal lawsuit are to begin on Tuesday. However, the hearings have been postponed until a representative could be appointed to the estate, said attorney Dennis Kelly.
William Lopez, who was wrongly convicted of a 1989 case involving the shotgun murder of a suspected drug dealer named Elvirn Suria in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, served nearly a quarter-century in prison before a judge decided to throw him out of the conviction in January 2013. He was freed 20 months ago prior to his passing on Sunday.
"It was very shocking and untimely," founder of Jeffrey Deskovic Foundation for Justice, Jeffrey Deskovic, said. "He had a lot planned."
The said foundation paved the way for Lopez's freedom from prison. The group of attorneys from the foundation said that they were able to pull the wrongly accused man's case apart, reported New York Daily Times.
Brooklyn Federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis, who released William Lopez, was quoted saying that the 55-year-old's case was "rotten from Day 1." He also noted that the "evidence was flimsy to begin with and has since been reduced to rubble."
William Lopez's wife, Alice, said in the wake of her husband's passing that she's quite grateful to everyone who had helped her wrongly accused husband get the justice he deserved all these years.
"Bill was very happy that the Jeffrey Deskovic Foundation for Justice helped exonerate him and helped him reintegrate back into society," she said. "He always said that Jeff was his best friend."
"In the 20 months of freedom he had after his release, he found some measure of happiness, spending time with his wife, Alice, and rediscovering simple pleasures, such as watching football with friends on Sundays," Alice added.
As of late, Lopez's wife is expected to take charge of the case, which may grant her $124 million for her husband's wrongful incarceration.
The Jeffrey Deskovic Foundation for Justice was founded by Deskovic himself after he was released in 2006. He had served 17 years of life in prison for a wrongful conviction over a case that involved the raping and killing of a girl. DNA evidence helped Deskovic clear his name since it was proven that a different man had committed the crime.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
