In 1989, police in Suffolk County, New York conducted an undercover sting operation and tape recorded a drug deal in which an undercover officer bought drugs.
The police believed that the voice on the tape was that of 38-year-old Clarence Braunskill, a man with a prior conviction for drug distribution who matched the description of the man selling the drugs.
In January 1990, Braunskill went to trial in Suffolk County Supreme Court. Based on the testimony of the undercover officers, a jury convicted Braunskill in January 1990 of selling and possessing drugs. He was sentenced to 20 to 40 years in prison.
Braunskill’s brother pursued his own investigation after the conviction and ultimately identified another man as the one who had sold the drugs. Braunskill's brother contacted the Suffolk County Districct Attorney's office, which commenced a re-investigation of the case. A subsequent voice analysis excluded Braunskill as the person who was speaking on the tape.
The real perpetrator, who looked and sounded similar to Braunskill, eventually confessed after the statute of limitations for prosecuting him had passed. Prosecutors moved to vacate Braunskill’s conviction. The motion was granted and he was released in April 1997.
Braunskill filed a claim with the New York Court of Claims which was settled for $850,000.
- Stephanie Denzel |