The Brooklyn District Attorney’s office Wednesday dismissed the indictment against a man who’s spent the last 8 years behind bars for a double murder.
A joyous Wayne Martin vigorously hugged his defense attorneys in the hallway outside the courtroom, after Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Matthew D’Emic vacated the charges.
“I would like to thank [DA] Ken Thompson, and thank the review committee for their effort,” an ecstatic Martin said, before adding, “I would like to see him do something on behalf of the other innocent people sitting in prison.”
When asked about Marc Fliedner, his former trial prosecutor, Martin paused before saying, “He knows what he did. It’ll come out.”
Martin’s 2010 conviction was vacated on July 7, after an investigation by the DA’s office uncovered alleged misconduct by since-retired trial prosecutor Fliedner.
Fliedner, who made headlines during the manslaughter trial of former NYPD Officer Peter Liang, has vigorously denied the accusations.
He is accused of redacting the name of another possible suspect the a homicide investigation report, known as a scratch sheet, before it was turned over to Martin’s defense team.
An investigation into that incident is ongoing.
“I think Mr. Fliedner knew to a significant degree what he was doing,” defense attorney James Henning said. “But he’s not the only villain in this.”
“We thank the judge for his just resolution,” the attorney added.
Fliedner did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Martin said he now plans to “get my life back,” and spend more time with his family and five children.
“I took my daughter to school the other day,” he proudly crowed. “It’s indescribable.”
Responding to defense attorney’s comments, Fliedner balked at being referred to as a “villain.”
“Sadly, villains do make their way into the workings of our criminal justice system,” he told The Post, adding “I am not one of them.”
“I and those with whom I have worked closely for over two decades know that I have maintained the highest ethical standards and have vigilantly protected the rights of those accused,” the now-retired prosecutor concluded.
ADA Mark Hale asked Judge D’Emic to dismiss the indictment Wednesday after his office’s investigation found there were “unresolved, unresolvable” issues that came to light.
“It would be unfair and unjust to proceed with a trial prosecution,” Hale added.
Martin was sentenced to life without parole for the fatal shooting of tire shop owner Gary Turner and employee Ricardo Davis in East Flatbush in 2005.
“Following a thorough re-examination of this case, I have concluded that a lack of reliable evidence, compounded by the utter failure to disclose exculpatory evidence at the original trial, would make it impossible to retry this case,” Brooklyn DA Ken Thompson said in a statement.
“Therefore, we moved today to dismiss the indictment against Mr. Martin in the interest of justice,” the DA concluded.
Martin is the 21st person freed by Thompson’s Conviction Review Unit.