DA reviews murder convictions involving retired detective

NEW YORK

The unprecedented review of cases comes just weeks after a man wrongly convicted of murder was released from prison.

The big question is, are there more people wrongly convicted of murder serving long sentences behind bars?

The NYPD detective retired 14 years ago.

"No comment, please respect my security, no comment," said Louis Scarcella, a retired NYPD detective.

Retired NYPD detective Louis Scarcella didn't want to talk Monday about being the focus of a massive investigation launched by the Brooklyn DA into scores of murder cases the cop investigated before his retirement in 1999.

One of those cases involved David Ranta, who spent nearly 23 years in prison before his murder conviction was thrown out two months ago.

Prosecutors cited Scarcella's flawed police work. At the time he maintained:

"I didn't do anything wrong, I stand by my investigation," Scarcella had said.

Derrick Hamilton, who paroled two years after 20 years in prison, says he was set up by Detective Scarcella.

"The main thing he did was to get a witness who didn't see the murder to come in and say she did," Derrick Hamilton said.

Hamilton is now trying to get his conviction overturned, but at least he's out.

Attorney Rob Kuby has several clients who remain in prison based on Detective's Scarcella's testimony.

Scarcella's pattern appears to be making up false confessions," Kuby said.

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