| First Name | John |
| Last Name | Restivo |
| Year of Conviction | 1987 |
| Year of Exoneration | 2005 |
| State of Conviction | New York |
| Trial, Bench Trial, or Guilty Plea | Trial |
| Type of Crime | Rape and Murder |
| Death Sentence | No |
| Gender of Exoneree | Male |
| Race of exoneree | White |
| Juvenile | No |
| Type of Innocence Defense |
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| Description / Quotes from Testimony Concerning Defense | ● Telephone records showed defendant receiving a call at his home from his mother-in-law for 11 minutes at the time the crime occurred. Friend described sanding floors with defendant the night of the crime. |
| Did the defendant testify at trial? | Yes |
| Quotes from Exoneree Testimony | “Q: Were you with John Kogut and Dennis Halstead on the night of Novemner 18th, 1984? A: No. Q: Were you in your van in Lynbrook on November 10th, 1984? A: No. Q: Did you rape [the victim]? A: No. Never. Absolutely not. Q: Did you watch her be killed? A: No. Q: Did you watch her strangled? A: No. Q: Were you there at all, John? A: No. Q: Where were you that night? A: I was home.” |
| Types of evidence at trial |
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| Type of Forensic Evidence |
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| Types of Flawed Forensics |
|
| Brief Quote / Description of Testimony | The analyst testified that hairs were “microscopically alike.” The latent fingerprints excluded. |
| Jailhouse informant, Co-defendant, Incentivized Witness | J |
| Examples of Non-Public or Corroborated Facts and Inconsistencies | ● Details included how victim was killed (strangulation). ● Non-public details in John Kogut’s reported and false confession see False Confessions Appendix. ● Non-public details in jailhouse informant’s statements (see Halstead) |
| Quotes from testimony #3 | Jailhouse informant testified that Restivo “told me about his two friends who he did it with, a guy named Dennis and a guy named John, that they were in his brother’s van when they seen this girl… they started forcing her to have sex.” Second informant stated that Halstead told him “I didn’t kille her. I just raped her,” and that he described how Kogut had killed the victim with a “moving strap” or a rope. Additional witness said Halstead had told her “That he didn’t murder her. That he only raped her.” |
| Quotes regarding any deal or leniency with informant, or prior use of informant | Jailhouse informant denied any deal, “No deal was made, sir,” but he inculpated a co-defendant and pleaded guilty to lesser charges and received a lower sentence (4-8 years) than that originally sought (14 years). Second informant admitted that prosecutors would recommend that he serve six months, lower than the prior offer of 10 months, and that police moved him to a “nice plush motel” and not jail, during trial. |
| Highest level reached | Appeal |
| Claims Raised During All Appeals and Postconviction |
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| Harmless Error Rulings |
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| Citations to judicial opinions | People v. Restivo, 209 A.D.2d 448 (N.Y. App. Div. 2 Dept. 1994) |