A federal judge heard arguments this week on a motion to dismiss an
unjust incarceration lawsuit filed by John Grega before he died in a car crash in New York. Defense attorneys for Vermont State Police
detectives, a Windham County prosecutor and the town of Dover argued in
U.S. District Court in Rutland that the case should be dismissed because
it was not a “constitutional case.” The estate of the late John
Grega is continuing the lawsuit filed against the detectives, prosecutor
and the town, alleging they maliciously and improperly handled the 1995
murder case. Jeff Grega was in court Tuesday on his brother’s
behalf as executor of the estate. John Grega’s attorney, Ian Carleton,
argued that his client was deprived of his right to a fair trial due to a
failure of investigation. “It’s not a case of 20/20 hindsight,” Carleton said. “These were pretty major problems.” He cited the cleaning up of blood and vomit from the crime scene as “truly outrageous.”.........John Grega was in prison for 18 years after being convicted in 1995 of the rape and murder of his wife Christine. In
2012, he was granted a new trial based on newly tested DNA evidence
that showed the DNA of an unknown man was found in Christine’s body — a
topic that was brought up numerous times in Tuesday’s proceedings. In August 2012, Grega was released from prison. He had maintained his innocence for the past two decades. A
second set of murder charges were filed against him but were dropped
without prejudice, meaning they could be refiled, pending additional DNA
testing. That criminal case is now moot. Grega was killed in a vehicle crash in January near his mother’s home on Long Island, N.Y.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20150618/NEWS01/706189884
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