Wrongfully Convicted Man Wins Freedom

Wrongfully Convicted Man Wins Freedom
By JENNIFER PELTZ
Nov. 21, 2009
AP

NEW YORK (Nov. 21) - A prison system official says a New York City man is free after spending nearly two decades behind bars for murder before a judge declared him innocent.
Fernando Bermudez was released from the Sing Sing prison in Ossining at about 2:10 p.m. Friday. A Manhattan judge overturned Bermudez's 1992 conviction last week, saying it stemmed from unreliable witness testimony.


Fernando Bermudez walks with his wife Crystal, left, near a New York courthouse Friday, after a Manhattan judge tossed out his 1992 murder conviction.
But Bermudez remained behind bars because he hadn't served a 27-month sentence in a federal drug case.
A federal judge on Thursday ordered that Bermudez be released at least until June 30 while his lawyers ask federal officials to credit his drug sentence as served.