Tankleff, finally free of charges, calls for reforms

07.25.08

Marty Tankleff was released from a New York prison in December, but it took until this week for charges against him to be officially dropped. On his second day as an officially free man, he told to a group of attorneys on Long Island yesterday about the dangers of false confessions and critical reforms to prevent them.

"For 20 years, in my case, there have been two competing versions of what took place in the interrogation room," Tankleff told the audience, going on to speak about the importance of videotaping complete interrogations so juries can see the facts for themselves.

Tankleff, who woke up one morning in 1988 in the Long Island home he shared with his parents to find his mother dead and his father unconscious, allegedly told police he may have “blacked out” and committed the crimes. His father later died in the hospital, and Tankleff, 17,  was convicted of the murdersand sentenced to 50 years to life in prison. He served 17 years before his release in December.


Watch video from yesterday’s speech at Newsday.com

.

Leave a Reply

Thank you for visiting us. You can learn more about how we consider cases here. Please avoid sharing any personal information in the comments below and join us in making this a hate-speech free and safe space for everyone.

This field is required.
This field is required.
This field is required.

We've helped free more than 250 innocent people from prison. Support our work to strengthen and advance the innocence movement.