This is Lorenzo Cat Johnson, and this is my latest, titled “Who is Christopher Abruzzo?” For most people, the name Christopher Abruzzo is unknown. Although a state official for over two decades, his name is not a household word, but to me, I’ll never forget that name. He was a Deputy Attorney General who presided over the false and malicious prosecution of two innocent men in 1996. How do I know that? I’m one of those men.
In 1997, A. G. [Attorney General] Abruzzo allowed false testimony to be given repeatedly to a jury. Testimony of new release of hidden records now show, 19 years later, that both the A.G. and police knew it was false and misleading. Unfortunately, the jury didn’t know. If they knew what was withheld, there never could have been a conviction or an arrest. But, Abruzzo was ambitious, he wanted to make a case. He went to a [unclear] of telling the jury that the chief witness had no reason to lie. What Abruzzo failed to do was tell the jury and defense lawyers that this witness was a suspect in this crime. He made a case — a bad one, a corrupt one.
Now, Abruzzo’s name has surfaced again, this time as part of a government scandal for officials circulating sexual, explicit, and racist materials via emails. Abruzzo accepted and sent dozens of such messages on his office computer, a violation of O.A.G. guidelines; pornographic emails–hundreds of them. What does this say about Abruzzo’s judgment, his thinking, his character? But remember, he prosecuted two young men, Lorenzo Johnson and Corey Walker, with false testimony. What kind of character is that? The pain within. Free the innocent. This is Lorenzo Cat Johnson.
These commentaries are recorded by Noel Hanrahan of prison radio.
