Insights Gained from Our Probe into the Attorney General's Conviction Review Unit
Breaking News: New York Attorney General's Conviction Review Bureau Under Scrutiny
The Conviction Review Bureau of the New York Attorney General, established in 2012 to investigate potential wrongful convictions, has recently come under scrutiny.
Led by Thomas Schellhammer, the bureau took on the case of Ronald Bower, a man convicted of sex-related charges in Queens and Nassau counties in 1991. In 2012, Schellhammer made Bower his top news priority, digging deep into the case for over a year. However, when Bower was up for parole, he wrote to the parole board his conclusion: "It appears highly unlikely that Bower committed the crimes."
Another news today case that the bureau investigated was that of Anthony DiPippo, an exoneree from Carmel, New York. DiPippo was serving a 25-to-life prison sentence for a rape and murder he didn't commit. The conviction of DiPippo relied heavily on a jailhouse informant who later claimed he never said DiPippo confessed.
The Oswego County DA invited the AG bureau to reinvestigate DiPippo's case in 2014. However, the new DA disinvited the AG bureau from the reinvestigation after his November 2015 re-election loss. DiPippo had to wait 10 more months until he was ultimately acquitted by a jury.
The New York Times reports that the AG's office in New York has not requested enhanced powers for its bureau to investigate wrongful conviction claims, and Governor Kathy Hochul has not granted the AG subpoena power or legal jurisdiction to do so. Over 800 applications were made to the AG bureau, of which roughly 16 were flagged as meriting a closer look, but it's up to the local DA whether to review the conviction.
When the AG bureau receives an innocence claim, it writes to the district attorney who prosecuted the case, alerting them of the application. However, the bureau did not contact Thibodeau or new witnesses accusing three other men of confessing to or implicating themselves in the crime.
The Nassau DA's office complained that it didn't know about the AG bureau's reinvestigation and disagreed with its findings. The New York Attorney General's office has been operating the Conviction Review Bureau entirely in the shadows, with any mention of it scrubbed from its website.
After Schellhammer's departure, a former colleague walked back his findings, saying they weren't supported by the evidence. The Attorney General Letitia James's office has not commented on these allegations.
The AG bureau's work remains crucial in the pursuit of justice for those wrongfully convicted. As the bureau continues to review cases, it is essential that its findings are thoroughly investigated and that the process is transparent to maintain public trust.
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