Friends of Justice

Dear Friend of Justice,

I just received this from the Tankleff support team:

Today Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s office announced it would not retry Marty, citing insufficient evidence to prove his guilt.

For Marty, it’s all over but the paperwork, as Suffolk County Judge Robert Doyle still has to sign off on the AG’s motion to dismiss the charges. That should be done by the end of July.

The mood is collective relief, with Marty celebrating at home with family, friends and supporters.

Hopefully this is the end of Marty’s ordeal, but it’s not the end of the story, and we’ll be following it all on www.MartyTankleff.org and the Marty Tankleff Blog.

Today Marty profusely thanked his family, friends and supporters, and that includes every one of you who took the time to witness what was happening here. Without public opinion and support, he doesn’t make it this far.

Congratulations, Team Tankleff!
__________

It was just over two years ago that Jim D’Entremont and I went down to New York to attend a fundraiser for Marty Tankleff. The day before the event, we received a call from John Swomley telling us that Judge Fecteau had granted Bernard Baran’s new-trial motion.

Attending that fund raiser was bittersweet. Nearly everyone had heard about Bee and they congratulated us on the victory. But Marty and his supporters were still reeling from a nasty decision by the judge who had heard his appeal.

Two years ago today, Bernard Baran was released from prison. And his case still is not resolved. But we are joyous that Marty’s case is resolved, and that he can now get on with his life.

Will this country ever see any meaningful criminal-justice reform so that fine young people like Marty Tankleff, Bernard Baran, and so many others won’t have to spend the best years of their life rotting in dangerous, degrading prisons?

-Bob Chatelle