Suffolk DA Tierney should commit to conviction review

Prosecutors should always be concerned with the guilt or innocence of those convicted of crimes, and should never let it become part of a political grudge match. Unfortunately, Suffolk County's Conviction Integrity Bureau, designed to investigate possible cases of wrongful conviction, has become mired in such a problem. It’s become a point of contention between the past and present district attorneys. And now, it has seemed to slow the pace of justice.

Shortly before his election as Suffolk district attorney, Ray Tierney reversed an earlier position and promised he would keep the bureau in place. During that campaign, then-incumbent DA Democrat Tim Sini charged that Tierney, an independent running on the Republican line, wanted to dismantle it. “I would like to make it very clear that I will NOT be disbanding the Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU),” Tierney wrote then, referring to the bureau. “In fact, my plan is to make the CIU stronger and more efficient in protecting those wrongly convicted.”

That sounded sensible from Tierney, a career prosecutor, and in the best interest of justice in Suffolk. But so far, Tierney’s unit has produced only two cases where convictions were vacated. Both originated during Sini’s tenure.

The slow pace raises concerns about how diligently his office is seeking justice for people imprisoned for years on false charges. The DA’s website no longer makes special mention of the bureau, which was created by Sini. But Tierney’s spokeswoman defended the progress of the bureau under his tenure, saying 51 cases are “in review or pending status.” But the response also quickly turned to a personal attack on Sini. “Upon taking Office we saw that the description of nearly every bureau in the Office contained language touting Tim Sini’s accomplishments,” Tierney’s office emailed. “We removed the description of each bureau to re-draft with neutral language.” The response was similar to Tierney’s campaign portrayal of Sini as a political self-promoter.

For decades, Suffolk has suffered from allegations of corruption and poor oversight in its handling of criminal investigations. Wrongful convictions on Long Island, though relatively rare, have cost taxpayers millions in damages. Nassau’s similar conviction integrity unit has reviewed 110 cases since 2015, with two prior convictions vacated.

In Suffolk, the most notable Conviction Integrity Bureau case under Sini’s watch was the vacated wrongful conviction of Keith Bush, who spent 33 years in prison, falsely accused of murdering a teenage schoolmate. Taxpayers eventually paid $21 million in compensation for a shameful conviction that cost Bush much of his adult life.

Reexamining previous convictions is fraught with political and financial criticisms and tests the mettle of any prosecutor. But the legacy of Suffolk — whose longtime former DA, Tom Spota, sits in federal prison for corruption — demands that the pursuit of justice always be fair, swift and without regard for political rivalry.