PASSAGE OF THE DAY: Lewis was questioned by Gerarde, not as a defendant, but as a witness in an ongoing civil-rights trial for his alleged co-conspirator, Stefon Morant. Both Lewis and Morant were convicted of the 1990 double homicide of former alderman Ricardo Turner and his partner, Lamont Fields. Both spent two decades in prison. Both have long claimed they were framed by former city police Det. Vincent Raucci because of a drug debt. Almost 20 years after his criminal trial, Lewis’s conviction was overturned. Under the Toni Harp administration, the city later awarded $9.5 million to Lewis in a settlement. Morant, meanwhile, spent 21 years behind bars before receiving a sentence reduction and pardon. He eventually won a $5.84 million wrongful-conviction award from the state. Now, Morant is pressing a federal case called Stefon Morant v. City of New Haven in the Hartford courtroom of U.S. District Judge Sarala Nagala."
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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "In contrast to the city’s claim in court that no wrongdoing took place in the investigations of Morant and Lewis, retired Det. Michael Sweeney and his lawyer, Michael Ryan, have admitted that police misconduct occurred. Since 1999, Sweeney has maintained that his former colleague, Raucci, coerced witnesses and fabricated evidence. Even so, he is one of the named defendants in Morant’s case. In court on Tuesday, Ryan asked Lewis if he was aware that Sweeney testified on his behalf at his habeas trial. Through tears, Lewis said yes. “I’m thankful,” he said. “I gave him a hug” earlier on Tuesday. “You wouldn’t have gone up and given Mr. Sweeney a hug if you thought he was a dirty cop, correct?” asked Ryan. Lewis responded, “Correct.""
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STORY: "City puts Lewis back on trial," by Reporter Mona Mahadevan, published by The New Haven Independent, on May 13, 2026.
GIST: "In 2013, a federal judge overturned Scott Lewis’s murder conviction on the basis of police misconduct. Four years later, the City of New Haven paid Lewis $9.5 million in a wrongful-conviction settlement.
But in a federal courtroom on Tuesday, an attorney representing the City of New Haven questioned Lewis as if he were indeed the killer.
“Did you threaten [Stefon Morant] not to say anything about your involvement with the Turner-Fields homicide?” asked Thomas Gerarde, an attorney representing the city.
“I knew nothing about the Turner-Fields homicide,” responded Lewis.
Lewis was questioned by Gerarde, not as a defendant, but as a witness in an ongoing civil-rights trial for his alleged co-conspirator, Stefon Morant.
Both Lewis and Morant were convicted of the 1990 double homicide of former alderman Ricardo Turner and his partner, Lamont Fields. Both spent two decades in prison. Both have long claimed they were framed by former city police Det. Vincent Raucci because of a drug debt.
Almost 20 years after his criminal trial, Lewis’s conviction was overturned. Under the Toni Harp administration, the city later awarded $9.5 million to Lewis in a settlement. Morant, meanwhile, spent 21 years behind bars before receiving a sentence reduction and pardon. He eventually won a $5.84 million wrongful-conviction award from the state.
Now, Morant is pressing a federal case called Stefon Morant v. City of New Haven in the Hartford courtroom of U.S. District Judge Sarala Nagala.
Lewis was first called as a witness for Morant on Monday. He returned to the stand on Tuesday to face questions from Gerarde.
Last week, the Independent asked Mayor Justin Elicker if the city was walking back its decision to settle with Lewis by going to trial with Morant. Elicker said the two cases should not be compared. “From the outside, looking at any court case, there’s a lot of information that people – including the press – don’t have,” he told the Independent. Elicker did not respond to a follow-up request for comment by the publication time of this story.
Meanwhile, former Mayor Toni Harp in 2017 acknowledged that the justice system had failed Lewis. “We felt we had to do it [settle],” she told the Independent. “When officers do something like that, and it impacts someone’s life, the judicial system is going to exact a price. It’s unfortunate. And we’re paying for it.”
The argument now advanced by the city during Morant’s trial conflicts with Harp’s position. Since opening statements, Gerarde has argued that Lewis and Morant committed the murders.
For instance, on Tuesday, Gerarde accused Lewis of lying to police in 1991 when giving a voluntary statement to avoid implicating himself in the crime.
“Is the reason why you lied about” your involvement with dealing cocaine “when you were giving this statement because you didn’t want to put yourself as a major player…knowing that there was cocaine dealing associated with the Turner-Fields homicide?” asked Gerarde.
Lewis admitted that he “misplayed or misstated” his involvement with the cocaine trade. “But,” he added, “I certainly wasn’t going to tell [Raucci] anything about Frank Parise when I knew about [Raucci’s] relationship with him.”
Later, Lewis made clear that he declined to sign the statement he submitted to police. “That’s because I knew it wasn’t the truth — at least the complete truth,” he said.
At another point, Gerarde questioned Lewis about Ovil Ruiz, the key witness in the state’s prosecution of Lewis and Morant and one of multiple witnesses who have recanted their testimonies.
“If Ovil Ruiz is believed, you and Stefon Morant went to the Turner-Fields apartment with guns, right?” pressed Gerarde.
“[Ruiz’s] criminal trial testimony was false. It’s the reason why I’m sitting here today as an exonerated person,” replied Lewis.
Gerarde then targeted a letter written by Lewis to Ruiz in July 1991. The letter reads in part, “All you have to do is tell the lawyer the only reason you’re saying those things is because the prosecutor threatened to charge you with the crime and give you crazy time.” Later, it says, “I might come to court [in October]. But remember. Don’t incriminate yourself for nothing.” The letter is signed Mike Love and Mac Tonight, which are the street names for two people that Lewis believed Ruiz knew.
“That was your attempt to warn [Ruiz] he better not testify, am I right?” asked Gerarde.
“No, sir,” responded Lewis. Later, he acknowledged that he should not have sent the letter but had been feeling desperate. “The letter was stupid, I can admit that to this day.”
For his part, Gerarde told the Independent that his purpose in court was not to stake out the city’s position but to provide them with “the best defense,” which involves challenging the plaintiffs to meet their burden of proof.
When asked if the city had reversed its position from the 2017 settlement, Gerarde clarified that his position throughout the case has been consistent. Since opening statements, he has argued that “this is not a case of wrongful conviction.”
He said he could not comment on the city’s 2017 settlement with Lewis because he was not the lawyer who negotiated the agreement. When asked if there are reasons why a party might settle a lawsuit without agreeing with the plaintiff’s claims, he said yes.
In the context of Elicker’s comment, the Independent also asked Gerarde if the city has undisclosed evidence linking Morant and Lewis to the crime. He said he was not sure what the mayor might have been referring to and could not comment.
After testifying on Tuesday, Lewis shared his frustrations with the city’s continued efforts to frame him for the murders. He said he feels so much trauma from his time in New Haven that he refuses to even drive through the city.
In contrast to the city’s claim in court that no wrongdoing took place in the investigations of Morant and Lewis, retired Det. Michael Sweeney and his lawyer, Michael Ryan, have admitted that police misconduct occurred.
Since 1999, Sweeney has maintained that his former colleague, Raucci, coerced witnesses and fabricated evidence. Even so, he is one of the named defendants in Morant’s case.
In court on Tuesday, Ryan asked Lewis if he was aware that Sweeney testified on his behalf at his habeas trial. Through tears, Lewis said yes. “I’m thankful,” he said. “I gave him a hug” earlier on Tuesday.
“You wouldn’t have gone up and given Mr. Sweeney a hug if you thought he was a dirty cop, correct?” asked Ryan.
Lewis responded, “Correct.""
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.newhavenindependent.org/2026/05/13/city-puts-lewis-back-on-trial/
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."Lawyer Radha Natarajan: Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true;
