The New York State constitution charges the District Attorney's Office with the responsibility of prosecuting all crimes in Onondaga County, however, I believe in doing far more.

 

Not only must we punish the guilty, but we must protect the innocent; not only must we convict an abusing spouse, but make sure all citizens can live in a safe environment; and not only must we put violent predators behind bars, but make sure our children are prepared to live productive and crime free lives.

 

If you have any questions or comments, please contact my office at 315.435.2470, or e-mail us at daweb@ongov.net .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"The office of the District Attorney is responsible for all criminal prosecutions in Onondaga County and works in conjunction with all the law enforcement organizations in the boundaries of the County to investigate any criminal felonies or misdemeanors."

 

 

 

 

 

 

October 12, 2011

The Post Standard

Letter to the Editor

Clinton Square

Syracuse, New York 13202

 

To the Editor:

 

            Let me begin this by stating that I do not know who viciously assaulted Christina Gristwood in her bedroom in the early morning hours of January 12, 1996. I do know that two people admitted committing this horrible crime and for that reason alone if the case were tried today I would likely be able to convict neither.

 

            Your editorial of October 12, 2011 makes a number of excellent points regarding this sad saga. Before I address those and educate your readers on what steps this District Attorney's Office has taken to prevent wrongful convictions, let me point out some factual errors that need to be corrected.

 

            1. ". . . Mastho Davis told Onondaga County Court Judge Anthony Aloi: 'I want to admit to a murder I committed.' Seven years earlier, Davis said, he assaulted Christina Gristwood, a Clay mother of five."

 

            Not so.

 

            On March 18, 2003, Davis, a mentally ill career criminal, actually stated to Judge Aloi that he wanted to admit to a murder, but never provided a single detail about the crime and certainly never mentioned the Gristwood name. The reader is clearly left with the impression that law enforcement ignored this information when in fact Judge Aloi simply protected his rights and advised Davis to speak to counsel. This was before Davis swore at Judge Aloi several times amongst his other choice remarks. It may also be important for your readers to know that Criminal Procedure Law §60.50 specifically prohibits convictions based upon a defendant's confession alone, without additional evidence or proof pointing to his guilt. One of the reasons for this provision is to prevent a confession made by a mentally unstable or an otherwise innocent person as the sole proof of his guilt at a trial.

 

            2. Gristwood said he called 911.

 

            Technically, that is true, although he first called a family member and when he got around to calling 911 he informed the operator that his wife may have committed suicide, a preposterous assertion given the state of the crime scene, that justifiably raised suspicions amongst the investigating officers.

 

            3. After sixteen hours of interrogation, deprived of food, with no sleep for thirty-four hours, Gristwood signed a confession.

 

            Not so.

 

            Before Gristwood's trial in 1996, Justice John Brunetti held a three day Huntley Hearing in this case, the sole purpose of which was to determine the voluntariness of defendant's confession.

 

            As to the issue of sleep deprivation, when raised by counsel, Justice Brunetti noted" "Well, first of all, let me say this to you: I am not prepared to believe the defendant." He went on ". . . I have found that he was not fatigued at the time he made the incriminating statements. The videotape shows that now." (Please recall that serial killer Nicholas Wiley was interrogated for close to forty-eight hours and gave a confession ultimately adjudicated to be voluntary.)

 

            As to the issue of food, Justice Brunetti found as a matter of fact that "defendant . . . was offered but refused food and was offered refreshment and took advantage of it from time to time."

 

            The scorecard on the voluntariness of this confession now stands at one Superior Court Judge (with two decades served as a defense lawyer) and twelve jurors voting for voluntariness and one Court of Claims Judge voting for coercion fifteen years later.

 

            4. Gristwood's lawyer kept trying to get the conviction overturned.

 

            Well, not quite.

 

            The most common vehicle to get a conviction overturned is an appeal. As of 2004, Gristwood's lawyer had still not even filed an appeal. After Davis identified to authorities the case he was talking about, a thorough review of Davis' statement was ordered by this office, the results of which were immediately shared with defense counsel and the court. This led to what is known as a 440 Motion before Justice Brunetti, who properly vacated Daniel Gristwood's conviction. Justice Brunetti even went on to note in his vacatur order, ". . . it should not be left unsaid that both the State Police and District Attorney of Onondaga County have handled this matter with the utmost candor and professionalism, a fact appreciated by the court."

 

            I wish the criminal justice system was perfect, but it is not and never will be. I wish I knew who assaulted Christine Gristwood, but I do not. I wish Daniel Gristwood and Mastho Davis had never spent time together in prison before Davis made his admissions, but they did. I wish physical evidence could conclusively show that the perpetrator left his DNA at the scene, but no physical evidence implicated either Daniel Gristwood or Davis. And I wish three outstanding State Police officers were not forced to defend their reputations a decade and a half after their actions because of the fourteen people whose job it was to determine if Mr. Gristwood gave a voluntary confession, only thirteen agreed with them.

 

 

 

            What I can control is an effort to make sure wrongful convictions are as rare as possible. To that end, three years ago I persuaded my colleagues in the New York State District Attorneys Association to establish an Ethics and a Best Practices Committee, the latter already calling for videotaping of confessions from beginning to end and increased scrutiny and care in identification procedures. We are also raising awareness about the phenomenon of false confessions and have numerous other areas of criminal justice procedures under review at this moment.

 

            If he didn't assault his wife, and my personal belief is he did not, I do not know why Mr. Gristwood admitted to this terrible deed. I do know it was not because he was mentally ill nor was it because he was tired, or hungry, or coerced. I do not know why Mastho Davis would commit and then admit to this crime. I do know he did not admit to it because of an attack of conscience. Guilty consciences do not conveniently appear only after the statute of limitations has lapsed and only after spending time at a psychiatric ward with the person already convicted of the crime. If Mr. Gristwood spent even a day in jail for a crime he did not commit, everyone involved in the case, including me, is sorry for that. Most of all though, I am sorry I cannot bring justice for CHRISTINA GRISTWOOD.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

 

WILLIAM J. FITZPATRICK

DISTRICT ATTORNEY

WJF/mac