Judge: Family of Man Wrongly Jailed for Rabbi Werzberger’s Murder Can Sue City

The ex-wife and the children of a man who spent 23 years behind bars for a murder he didn’t commit can sue for having their loved one unjustly ripped from their lives, a judge ruled Wednesday, the NEW YORK POST reports.

Brooklyn federal Judge Frederick Block said Patricia Ranta and her children, Nicholas and Priscilla, can move forward with their lawsuit against the city for their loss of time with David Ranta, who was wrongfully convicted of the 1990 murder of Rabbi Chaskel Werzberger.

Ranta was awarded $6.4 million from New York City after Brooklyn prosecutors tossed his conviction in 2013.

The children were just 2 and 5 when their father went to prison, and Patricia says she was forced to divorce Ranta in 2005 because of the hardship caused by his imprisonment. Block’s ruling says the family, who live in New Jersey, can now cite “intentional or negligent infliction of emotional and mental pain, suffering, and distress” in their suit as they move forward.

“Plaintiffs were branded as the family of a murderer and deprived of the love and affection of their husband and father and have suffered their own independent injuries.” Read more at the NEW YORK POST.

{Matzav.com}