The Peekskill man who spent half his life in prison for a crime he didn?t commit has filed a federal lawsuit claiming misconduct in various law enforcement departments.
Jeffery Deskovic was 16 years old when he was wrongly convicted of raping and murdering his Peekskill High School classmate Angela Correa in November of 1989. He was freed a year ago after DNA evidence pointed to another man, already in prison.
The suit says authorities ignored the fact that semen recovered from the scene was not from Deskovic, but still the prosecution continued. Deskovic says he made a false confession to police under duress after being questioned without a lawyer for hours. The suit names the Peekskill Police Department and the Westchester medical examiner. The lawsuit claims those two agencies created evidence against him.
Deskovic is also suing the Putnam County sheriff investigator who administered a lie detector test and a corrections officer he says abused him in prison. In order to win the suit, Deskovic must prove his civil rights were violated. It appears he will sue the state as well.Related InformationReport: Sloppy work led to wrongful WC conviction Justice served after wrongful murder conviction Wrongly convicted Peekskill man opens new chapter in his life Judge formally wipes slate clean for wrongly convicted Peekskill man Peekskill man recently freed from prison slams former DA Pirro DNA evidence frees Peekskill man after 16 years in prison