Innocent Man Gets New Trial

Can you imagine languishing in prison for a crime you did not commit? Well, that is exactly what happened to Martin Tankleff.

Mr. Tankleff had just turned 17 when his parents, Seymour and Arlene, were slashed and bludgeoned in their spacious home in Belle Terre, on a North Shore cliff overlooking Long Island Sound on Sept. 7, 1988. He was arrested that day, based on the disputed confession, which became the prime evidence in his conviction.

Appeals to state and federal courts challenging the admissibility of the confession were rejected, sometimes narrowly.

Several new witnesses came forward starting in 2003, implicating Joseph Creedon and Peter Kent as the killers. Mr. Tankleff said he believed the two had acted at the behest of his father’s embittered business partner, Jerard Steuerman.

Let's hope he receive justice this time.