Murder conviction vacated for man who spent 19 years in prison

Huwe Burton, who was arrested in 1989 after he confessed to fatally stabbing his mother, had his conviction vacated and his name cleared Thursday by a Bronx Supreme Court judge.

News 12 Staff

Jan 25, 2019, 12:29 AM

Updated 1,916 days ago

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Huwe Burton, who was arrested in 1989 after he confessed to fatally stabbing his mother, had his conviction vacated and his name cleared Thursday by a Bronx Supreme Court judge.

Burton was arrested when he was 16 years old after he confessed to stabbing his mother when she wouldn't give him money to pay a drug dealer. A two-year re-examination of his case revealed new evidence to prove his confession was coerced.

Burton's lawyers, alongside the Bronx District Attorney's Conviction Integrity Unit, found the officers from the 47th Precinct who questioned Burton actually forced confessions from two other men, just months prior. They say the officers used interrogation tactics that are now considered "psychologically coercive."

They also discovered evidence that suggests another suspect, who has since died, actually committed the crime.

Burton spent 19 years in prison before he was released on parole 2009.

“Continue to fight. Don't lay down. The moment you lay down, that's when it's over,” Burton said after the judge’s ruling.


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