Convicted NY killer serving 22 years to life freed on technicality after judge rules he was held in wrong prison
A convicted murderer serving a 22-years-to-life sentence was set free and his conviction tossed — all because officials had goofed and locked him up in the wrong jail.
Terrence Lewis was sprung on the technicality earlier this month while doing time for the fatal drive-by shooting of Johnny Washington, 29, in Rochester on May 26, 2015.
Monroe County Supreme Court Justice Stephen Miller was forced to let Lewis, 31, out of the maximum-security prison in Seneca County – despite the fact he was convicted and sentenced in 2018, the Democrat & Chronicle reported.
The decision stemmed from a mistake over where Lewis was held during his Empire State case.
“It’s a tough, tough pill to swallow that someone gets a walk on a murder conviction because of a transport error,” said Kyle Steinebach – a former prosecutor with the Monroe District Attorney’s Office who handled Lewis’ case.
Lewis was transferred to a Pennsylvania federal lock-up in a separate drug conviction case while the New York case was pending – which is a violation of the federal Interstate Agreement on Detainers Law [IAD], according to Miller’s Feb. 5 decision.
The rule, passed by Congress in 1970, mandates that an inmate charged in an unrelated case in a separate jurisdiction must be held and tried in the locale where he’s charged before he can be returned to the prior lock-up. If the rule isn’t followed, the case in the second juridiction must be dismissed.
Steinebach explained that the DA’s office and Lewis’ defense attorney both asked the judge for Lewis to remain in New York during the case – a motion which the judge granted at the time.
“How it happened, I don’t know,” Steinebach told The Post. “But someone made a mistake that means that someone who murdered somebody in our community is going to get off on a conviction.
“It shouldn’t be that hard to follow the rules,” Steinebach said. “The judge ordered he stay. Why isn’t he staying?”
This also poses a risk to the witness that took the witness stand during trial and identified Lewis as the killer, Steinebach said.
“Now that person’s life is in jeopardy in my opinion,” he said.
Miller’s decision acknowledged regret that a killer had to go loose but said under the law Lewis must be cleared.
“The harsh reality is that despite a jury of 12 members of our community determining, after hearing all of the evidence set before them, that defendant is guilty of the murder of Johnny C. Washington, this administrative jail decision made based on jail population and timing, not the law, unequivocally entitles defendant to dismissal of the murder in the second-degree indictment with prejudice under the exacting requirements of the anti-shuttling provisions of the IAD,” Miller’s decision reads.
Steinebach said that while he understands “the law says what it says” he thinks this type of violation should be handled differently.
“I don’t think the recourse should be that he gets to walk,” Steinebach said. “I think the resources should be that he gets retried.
“The recourse to the law seems to be a bit out of proportion with the potential harm,” the former prosecutor added.
Monroe County Sheriff Todd Baxter apologized to Washington’s family and friends, and promised to ensure this never happens again.
“To the family and friends of 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 in a statement. ”I extend my sincere apology.”
Baxter’s spokesperson, Amy Young, claimed no one ever raised the issue in Lewis’ case before.
The Sheriff’s office has since reviewed its procedures and trained staff on transfers. And an audit of previous transfers going back to 2018 showed there weren’t other cases involving the IAD, the office said.