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Criminal Justice
Convicted man detained in wrong prison before murder trial is freed because of ‘anti-shuttling’ provision
A Rochester, New York, man convicted of second-degree murder in October 2018 has been freed from a maximum-security prison in New York because he was held at the wrong prison before his trial. (Image from Shutterstock)
A Rochester, New York, man convicted of second-degree murder in October 2018 has been freed from a maximum-security prison in New York because he was held at the wrong prison before his trial.
Judge Stephen T. Miller ruled last week that the conviction of defendant Terrence Lewis must be vacated, and his indictment must be dismissed with prejudice.
The Democrat & Chronicle, WROC, the Associated Press and the New York Post have coverage of the decision by Miller, a judge on the trial-level New York Supreme Court.
Lewis was incarcerated on a drug conviction at a federal prison in Pennsylvania when he was indicted in a fatal drive-by shooting in Rochester, New York. He was transferred to the jail in Monroe County, New York, where he was held for five months, but he was returned to the federal prison. The transfer decision was made by the jail without input from the parties or the judge in the case, Miller said.
The transfer was a violation of the “anti-shuttling” provision of the Interstate Agreement on Detainers, Miller ruled. In this case, the agreement required Lewis to continue his stay at the county jail until his murder trial concluded, unless he waived the provision.
The trial judge questioned Lewis’ attorney and the prosecutor during a pretrial hearing about whether Lewis had ever requested to return to federal custody. The prosecutor said after learning that Lewis had been returned to federal prison in Pennsylvania, “I got him back as soon as possible to the state side.”
The trial lawyer did not move to dismiss the indictment. Lewis’ appellate lawyer sought to vacate the conviction, arguing that Lewis’ trial lawyer was ineffective for failing to seek the case dismissal based on the anti-shuttling provision.
Miller agreed, saying the “harsh reality” is that the jail’s decision to return Lewis, “based on jail population and timing, not the law, unequivocally entitles” Lewis to dismissal of the indictment with prejudice.
Monroe County Sheriff Todd K. Baxter issued an apology in a press release.
“To the family and friends of [the murder victim] Mr. Johnny Washington, there are no words to take away the pain you are justly feeling that undoubtedly comes with the lack of fairness being served based on this decision, which violates the principles of justice,” Baxter said. “I extend my sincere apology.”
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