A man who was wrongfully imprisoned has been set free after spending 29 years of his life in jail.
David McCallum and his friend Willie Stuckey were only 16 years old when they admitted to kidnapping and murdering Nathan Blenner and disposing his remains in October 1985. The victim's remains were found in Brooklyn's Aberdeen Park.
Judge Matthew D'Emic dismissed their conviction on Oct. 15.
McCallum, now 45, wept upon the judge's dismissal of his indictment. However, his happiness was tempered because only he will be walking out a free man.
"This is a bittersweet moment because I'm walking out alone," said McCallum, referring to the absence of Stuckey.
Stuckey died in prison in 2001.
The conviction of McCallum and Stuckey were hugely dependent on two short confessions of the men, which were recorded. The pair were convicted of kidnapping, robbery, murder and possession of deadly weapons.
However, investigators now think that the confessions that McCallum and Stuckey made were forced upon them by the detectives working on the case, which Kenneth Thompson, Brooklyn District Attorney, said is part of the "legacy of disgrace" that the former District Attorney, Charles Hynes, left for him.
"I think the people of Brooklyn deserve better, and I think we should not have a national reputation as a place where people have been railroaded into confessing to crimes they did not commit," said Thompson regarding the case, which is just one of the many cases currently being further investigated by his office's newly created Conviction Review Unit.
Both McCallum and Stuckey recanted their confessions prior to their trial and maintained that they were innocent even after being thrown into jail.
Even with the supposed confessions, many inconsistencies marred the case of Blenner's murder. One discrepancy is that the two teenagers confessed to driving a Buick through Brooklyn before leaving the vehicle where Blenner's body was found, despite the pair not receiving driver's education or owning driver's licenses.
According to Thompson, the family of Blenner was heartbroken with the news. However, he pledged to continue the search for the killer of Blenner.
The case of McCallum and Stuckey is the 10th case to be overturned by Thompson's office since he took the position in January. The Conviction Review Unit has gone through 30 cases, with over 100 remaining.
