A Long Island man was set free from prison in May after serving three decades for a murder he did not commit.
Now the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office wants to review its closed criminal cases to overturn and prevent wrongful convictions.
District Attorney Tim Sini wants funding from the U.S. Department of Justice to work with a New York University Law School legal clinic to identify problems within the county’s justice system.
Newsday reports the study would review previous cases where there were legitimate claims of innocence or evidence of wrongdoing from law enforcement.
The study comes after a judge vacated the murder conviction of Keith Bush. Authorities forced him into signing a false confession, and Bush served much of his adult life for the killing of a North Bellport teenager in 1975.
The federal grant would provide the county with $275,000 to conduct a study for two years.