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Adam Bradley

Other Assault Exonerations where No Crime Occurred
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On February 28, 2010, Adam Bradley, the 48-year-old mayor of White Plains, New York, was charged with assaulting his 37-year-old wife, Fumiko, by slamming a door on her finger and splashing her with hot tea.
 
Although Fumiko later sought to drop the charges, Bradley went on trial in December 2010 before a Westchester County judge who heard the case without a jury. Fumiko, who had filed for divorce three months prior to the trial, testified that Bradley had slammed a door on her hand, injuring her finger, and had thrown hot tea at her. On cross-examination, she denied ever telling anyone that she believed the door shut on her hand accidentally.

Bradley testified and denied that he attempted to injure his wife. He said that the tea had spilled inadvertently on both him and his wife and that Fumiko’s hand was caught accidentally when he and Fumiko pushed it back and forth during a quarrel.

The defense tried to introduce the testimony of two witnesses to show that Fumiko had, on a number of occasions shortly after the bedroom door incident, told them that she thought that the door had been shut on her hand accidentally. The trial judge barred the testimony, ruling that the testimony was hearsay and “too remote or speculative” to be relevant.

On December 9, 2010, the judge convicted Bradley of misdemeanor attempted assault, harassment and criminal contempt. Bradley was sentenced to three years probation and was ordered to have no contact with his wife for five years. He also resigned as mayor.

In October 2011, the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court reversed the conviction and ordered a new trial, ruling that the barred testimony was relevant.

In June 2013, Bradley went on trial a second time in Westchester County before a jury. On June 21, after defense witnesses testified that Fumiko had told them she thought the injury to her finger was the result of an accident, the jury acquitted Bradley.

—Maurice Possley

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Posting Date: 8/20/2013
State:New York
County:Westchester
Most Serious Crime:Assault
Additional Convictions:
Reported Crime Date:2010
Convicted:2010
Exonerated:2013
Sentence:Probation
Race/Ethnicity:White
Sex:Male
Age at the date of reported crime:48
Contributing Factors:Perjury or False Accusation
Did DNA evidence contribute to the exoneration?:No