Jailed 23 years, NY man is freed, has heart attack
NEW YORK — A New York City man whose murder conviction was overturned after 23 years in prison has suffered a heart attack on his second day of freedom.
David Ranta’s lawyer tells The New York Times that the former inmate had a serious heart attack Friday night and is being treated at a New York hospital.
Ranta walked out of jail Thursday after a judge threw out his conviction in the 1990 killing of a Brooklyn rabbi.
Brooklyn prosecutors had recently concluded Ranta’s prosecution in the death of Rabbi Chaskel Werzberger was fatally flawed.
Werzberger was killed by a bandit fleeing a botched robbery. One witness said a police lineup that helped convict Ranta had been rigged.
Ranta is 58. He told reporters Thursday that his new freedom was emotionally overwhelming.
