Lawyer Looks to Have Conviction Overturned in Murder of Fairfield University Student

The lawyer for a man convicted of killing Fairfield University student-athlete Mark Fisher in 2003 is asking a judge to vacate the murder conviction, claiming the prosecution mishandled evidence during the trial, according to the New York Times.

The Times reports that the lawyer for John Giuca, who is serving a sentence of 25 years to life, said the missteps made by the district attorney included the “knowing use of false and misleading testimony” and “fraudulent evidence” during the trial.

Fisher, 19, was shot dead near the Brooklyn home of Giuca, whom he had just met, after a night of barhopping in Manhattan according to the Times.

The New York Post reports that as part of the filing, Giuca’s lawyer claims a jailhouse informant got a break in exchange for his testimony in the trial.

The district attorney’s conviction review unit had examined Giuca’s case in January but didn’t overturn the conviction because there was “no evidence of actual innocence,” according to the Times.

Read the full report at the New York Times here.