Convict to get new trial in 1995 murder The Associated Press
AUBURN — A 54-year-old upstate New York man serving a murder sentence will get a new trial after DNA testing cast doubt on his 13-yearold conviction. Sammy Swift was sentenced in 1995 to 20 years to life in state prison for the murder of Stephen DeLuca, who died five months after being beaten and left unconscious in his Auburn home during a robbery in April 1994. Swift’s conviction was based, in part, on blood evidence and testimony from a co-defendant who said Swift wiped his bloody arm on a couch cushion. Swift filed a motion earlier this year to vacate the conviction after new, more sophisticated DNA tests showed that the blood found in De-Luca’s home was not Swift’s. On Thursday, Cayuga County Judge Thomas Leone vacated the original conviction after deciding the results of the DNA testing would have changed the original verdict. “There’s a reasonable probability the verdict would be more favorable to the defendant,” Leone said. District Attorney Jon Budelmann said he believed jurors would return the same verdict despite the DNA test. Leone stayed his ruling to give Budelmann a chance to appeal. Swift will remain in jail pending a new trial. Stephen DeLuca Jr. said his family had been following the case, but were not prepared for Thursday’s outcome. “I haven’t had time to absorb the decision yet,” DeLuca told The Auburn Citizen. “I am upset at the judge’s decision but I still have faith in the court system to do the right thing. The murder had an impact on the family and this is just opening up old wounds.” In arguing to have the conviction overturned, defense lawyer Joseph Sapio said the prosecution made repeated references to the blood evidence during the trial and used it to link Swift to the crime scene. A state police lab expert testified at the trial that blood found at the scene was either type A or a mix of types A and O. DeLuca had type A blood, Swift type O. More precise testing was not available at the time. Without blood, there are no fingerprints or other physical evidence linking Swift to the crime scene, Sapio said. The prosecution is left with only the uncorroborated testimony of two co-defendants, who pleaded to reduced charges in return for their testimony.
DNA clears man after 19 years in prison Advanced testing excludes him in 1985 killing of 16-year-old girl
By WILLIAM KATES, Associated Press First published in print: Wednesday, November 26, 2008
UTICA — After more than 19 years in prison for a murder prosecutors now agree he didn't commit, Steven Barnes rejoined his family in time for Thanksgiving.
Barnes walked out of Oneida County Court a free man Tuesday after a judge ruled that advanced DNA testing cleared him of raping and killing 16-year-old Kimberly Simon in 1985.
"I'm overwhelmed. This is the happiest day of my life," said Barnes, now 42. "I've been waiting for this day for 20 years. I never gave up hope. I knew this day would eventually come."
Barnes said he was looking forward to a holiday meal with his family.
Simon's nude and bruised body was discovered along the Mohawk River in Whitestown in September 1985. More than two years would pass before Barnes was charged with raping and killing Simon, an acquaintance who had attended th same school.
Tried in 1989, Barnes was convicted of rape, sodomy, depraved indifference murder and two counts of murder related to the underlying sexual crimes.
Witnesses claimed they saw Barnes with Simon near the crime scene.
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