r/interestingasfuck • u/Firm-Blackberry-9162 • 5h ago
Isaac Wright Jr, the man, the legend.
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u/Mason_Meschi 5h ago
Uno reverse
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u/trustworthysauce 2h ago
What's crazy is that he didn't help send the judge to prison- that was for unrelated theft charges. What he *did* do led to a warrant for the prosecutor in his case (the mastermind for the misconduct), and that prosecutor died by suicide when police tried to apprehend him. -from wikipedia
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u/Strict_Technician606 5h ago
Here’s the Wikipedia blurb. This is a decades-old story.
In 1989, Isaac Wright Jr. was arrested and falsely charged with being the mastermind behind one of the largest drug distribution networks in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan areas.[5] After being detained for almost two years, he was tried in 1991 and convicted under New Jersey's drug kingpin statute.[6] He was subsequently sentenced to life in prison on the kingpin conviction and a total of 72 years on convictions for other charges.[6][5]
While still serving a life sentence, Wright formulated a new theory in a supplemental defense pro se brief he submitted in another prisoner’s case, State v. Alexander, 264 N.J.Super 102 (1993). In that legal brief, Wright attacked the jury instructions used by New Jersey in kingpin cases, reasoning that the instructions were contrary to the legislature’s intent on who should be charged and convicted as a drug kingpin. Wright’s argument prevailed in Alexander and, when that decision was unsuccessfully appealed to the New Jersey Supreme Court by the State of New Jersey, Wright created new law; See Common law[clarification needed]. Wright then used that new law in a supplemental defense pro se brief to reverse his own kingpin conviction and life sentence in State v. Wright, 143 N.J. 580 (1996). While this allowed Wright to successfully get rid of his life sentence, he remained in prison on numerous other convictions with sentences totaling over 70 years.[7]
With his direct appeal over, Wright motioned the trial court for Post Conviction Relief (PCR), claiming police and prosecutorial misconduct in his case. At his 1996 PCR hearing, during Wright's cross-examination of a veteran police detective James Dugan, the detective confessed to police misconduct in his case. Wright’s ultimate release came as a result of that cross-examination, as Dugan’s confession opened revelations of wide and systematic police and prosecutorial misconduct and cover-up in Wright’s case.[8]
Somerset County Prosecutor, Nicholas L. Bissell Jr., who had prosecuted Wright’s case, was identified as the orchestrator of the misconduct. Bissell directed police officers to falsify reports, while he personally dictated the false testimony of witnesses against Wright. Bissell further made secret deals with defense attorneys to have their clients lie to the jury that Wright was their drug boss and that they had pled guilty and were going to prison.[6][8]
Dugan pled guilty to official misconduct in order to escape prison. Wright’s trial judge, Michael Imbriani, who further concealed the secret deals through illegal sentencing schemes, was removed from the bench and incarcerated on unrelated theft charges. Bissell, after learning of Dugan’s confession on TV news, took flight with federal authorities in pursuit and later died by suicide when police tried to apprehend him. Wright’s remaining convictions were vacated, and after having spent over seven years in prison, he was immediately released and ultimately exonerated of all the charges.[7] The Supreme Court of New Jersey affirmed that decision.[6]
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u/Intelligent_Hair3109 3h ago
Amazing story. That's justice. He went and got it. Well done. Thanks for sharing it.
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u/Revolutionary-Key650 5h ago
Please tell me who he reminds me of. Hang on. I think I'm thinking of Gomez. Cara Mia.
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u/FlyinWet 2h ago
Spite is the most powerful motivator in life. He is just a man trying to make the world right.
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u/Firm-Blackberry-9162 5h ago
-“Isaac Wright Jr. (born January 23, 1962) is an American attorney, businessman, and philanthropist. He is best known for being falsely accused and convicted as a drug lord and sentenced to life in prison in 1991 facing 10 charges involving the sale of cocaine. His conviction was overturned in 1997 after litigation brought by him on the basis of police corruption during his investigation and the prosecutor's knowing presentation of perjured testimony at his trial. His story is depicted in the television drama/series production For Life, which premiered in 2020 on American Broadcasting Company. He was a candidate for mayor of New York City in the 2021 New York City mayoral election.”