Jury finds Gary Lawrence not guilty in his second murder trial
Gary Lawrence was acquitted of murder in the killing of Hofstra coach Joseph Healy in 1990.
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Just minutes after a jury found Gary Lawrence not guilty of murder and attempted robbery, he told reporters, "I just feel relieved that justice has been served after all these years and the truth finally came out. That's all I wanted."
Lawrence was convicted of murder in the killing of Hofstra coach Joseph Healy and served an entire sentence -more than 20 years behind bars - before his conviction was set aside due to evidence that was never handed over.
During his retrial, one of the key pieces of evidence was a confession signed by Lawrence - a confession the defense maintained was coerced.
The defense said Lawrence was not there the night Healy was killed in an Arby's parking lot in Hempstead.
Jurors deliberated for approximately 90 minutes before the foreperson sent a note that they'd reached a verdict.
"In 42 years, I've never had a jury come back this quickly," said defense attorney Ron Kuby.
"We respect the jury's decision," said a spokesperson for District Attorney Anne Donnelly.
