Three years later: Restivo, Halstead and Kogut

Posted: January 2, 2009 6:00 pm

In 1986, three New York men were arrested and convicted in New York on charges of abduction, rape and murder based on a false convention and faulty scientific testimony at trial. It wasn’t until 2005, 17 years after they were first convicted, that John Restivo, Dennis Halstead and John Kogut were rightfully exonerated.

Restivo, Halstead and Kogut were loosely connected before their convictions. Both Halstead and Restivo had been interrogated by police as part of their investigation and Restivo would sometimes hire Kogut to help with his family’s moving business. However, after the police gave Kogut a polygraph exam and subsequently interrogated him for 12 hours, all the while telling him that he, Restivo and Halstead were responsible for the victim’s rape and death, that Kogut signed a confession provided to him and written by a police officer. By the time Kogut signed the confession, he had, given five other versions of the crime. In this sixth account of events, Restivo, Kogut, and Halstead were in Restivo’s van when they came across the 16-year-old girl, who they would later supposedly rape and strangle near a local cemetery.

Because of Kogut’s confession, Restivo’s van was searched and police would soon find two hairs that were deemed microscopically similar to those of the victim. The prosecution relied heavily on testimony from hair comparison expert Dr. Peter DeForest, who testified that the hairs could not have been deposited in the vehicle while she was alive. According to Dr. DeForest, the hairs found in Restivo’s van displayed “advanced banding,” a condition caused by bacteria eating away at the interior of the hair shaft.

After his confession, Kogut was tried separately in March 1986. Restivo and Halstead were tried together in November 1986 on the grounds that the two hairs corroborated Kogut’s confession. All three were convicted of rape and murder.

It wasn’t until 2003 that attorneys for the three men obtained property records from the police department that would eventually lead to the discovery of an intact vaginal swab from the original rape kit that had never been tested. The Innocence Project represented Restivo and worked closely with attorneys for Halstead and Kogut.  Test results of the swab excluded all three men as perpetrators. In addition, after years of research of the hair bonding technology, the state’s expert witness at the time of the original convictions provided the defense with an affidavit declaring that the hairs could not have been shed by the victim during the time that she would have allegedly been in the van.

In light of these revelations, John Restivo, Dennis Halstead and John Kogut had their convictions vacated in June 2003. Prosecutors retried Kogut two years later, and he was found not guilty on December. 21, 2005. Little more than a week later, the Nassau County District Attorney’s office, having declared that it could not prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, dismissed all charges against Dennis Halstead and John Restivo on December. 29, 2005.

Other Exoneree Anniversaries Last Week

Leonard McSherry, California (Served 13 Years, Exonerated, 2001)

 

Tags: New York, Dennis Halstead, John Kogut, John Restivo, False Confessions

 

Thankful for Freedom

Posted: November 24, 2009 5:55 pm

We have a lot to be thankful for this year at the Innocence Project – from the joy of seeing our clients walk out of prison to rejoin their families after decades behind bars to successful policy reforms across the country to prevent wrongful convictions. We’re also thankful for our dedicated – and growing – network of supporters, who worked tirelessly this year to help free the innocent from prison and raise awareness of wrongful convictions and the causes of injustice.

We asked five of our clients what they’re thankful for this week, and we found their answers pretty inspiring. Here’s what they said:

	JOHN RESTIVO, Florida "I’m grateful to the Innocence Project and all of its supporters this Thanksgiving. I'm grateful for the hope they gave me when they first took my case, and I'm grateful to be spending Thanksgiving with my family this year, instead of in prison."
	JAMES GILES, Texas "I feel blessed this Thanksgiving. It's amazing that sometimes we forget all of the things that God makes possible. I’m so happy to be free and to able to share my blessings with friends and family this Thanksgiving."
	BYRON HALSEY, New Jersey "I’m thankful to be home for Thanksgiving. I now have a choice of what to do with my life — in prison you have no choices. Even though life can be hard these days, I wouldn’t trade what I have for anything."
	BARRY GIBBS, New York "I’m thankful that I’m free and alive. I’m surrounded by good people and I’ve got my health. I can travel and live my life and I’m lucky to have a great support network."
	RICKIE JOHNSON, Louisiana "I'm thankful to be free this Thanksgiving and to have my family back in my life after so many years."

 

Tags: James Giles, Byron Halsey, Rickey Johnson, John Restivo

 

Four Years Free

Posted: December 29, 2009 3:40 pm

In 1986, three New York men — John Restivo, John Kogut and Dennis Halstead — were wrongfully convicted of killing a 16-year-old girl on Long Island. Their convictions rested on a false confession and faulty scientific evidence, and the men would serve 17 years in prison before DNA testing proved their innocence. Four years ago this week they were finally exonerated.

At the men’s original trials, the prosecution relied heavily on testimony from a hair comparison expert who testified that hairs found in Restivo’s van came from the victim and could not have been deposited in the vehicle while she was alive. According to the analyst, the hairs found in the van displayed “advanced banding,” a condition caused by bacteria eating away at the interior of the hair shaft. This testimony was later discredited.

The Innocence Project and several other attorneys and organizations worked on the cases of the three men. Centurion Ministries, a nonprofit organization based in New Jersey, worked on their cases beginning in 1994. After years of appeals, DNA testing was finally conducted on evidence from the crime scene in 2003, excluding the three men as perpetrators. Their convictions were overturned, but prosecutors sought to retry Kogut. He was acquitted in December 2005, and it was four years ago today that prosecutors dropped charges against Halstead and Restivo.

Faulty forensics, like the hair testimony that contributed to these three wrongful convictions, have been a major cause of wrongful convictions for decades. More than half of DNA exonerations involved unvalidated or improper forensic science.

The Innocence Project supports federal forensic reform in the United States to ensure that scientific practices used in criminal cases are scientifically valid. Learn more about these critical reforms and take action today.

Other Exoneree Anniversaries This Week

Leonard McSherry, California (Served 13 Years, Exonerated, 12/28/01)

Tags: Dennis Halstead, John Kogut, John Restivo