Marty Tankleff had just turned 17 when he was arrested for killing his parents, Seymour and Arlene Tankleff, in their home on Long Island, NY. Based on a dubious, unsigned "confession" extracted from him following hours of interrogation by a detective with a questionable background, Marty was convicted and sentenced to 50 years to life. After 17 years in prison, Marty's conviction was vacated by the New York State Appellate Division, Second Department, in December of 2007. On July 22, 2008, a judge signed off on a motion by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to dismiss all charges against Marty.
Click here for a summary • Read more in the blog
State Investigation Commission (SIC) Tip Line: 1.877.SIC.4NYS (742-4697)
NEWS, VIEWS & INFO
- Read Press Release, 1/7/2014: Martin Tankleff Settles Lawsuit Against State of New York (Hauppauge, NY, 1/7/2014
- Read H.R. 2095, the "Restitution for the Exonerated Act of 2009" introduced in the NY House of Representatives
- Marty files civil lawsuit
- Watch an excerpt of Marty and Prof. Saul Kassin on 'Oprah' - click here
- SIC Report of 2008: Vindication or Whitewash? - click here
- Holiday Greetings from Marty Tankleff - November 27, 2008- click here
- Tankleff & Salpeter Announce Fortress Innocence Group
- Marty thanks his supporters - read it here.
- NY Times: "Perseverance and Chance led to Reversal in '88 Murders"
- Marty Tankleff Testifies, Senator and Assemblyman apologize. Read more
Document Spotlight: The Truth is in There
- Steuerman's Missing Persons Report - 9/29/88
- Police Report - 9/8/88
- Loan Payment Demand Letter - 6/19/88
Editorials
- NY State Bar Association President Op-Ed: "Record Interrogations, Confessions" (2/25/08)
- Newsday editorial: "Suffolk Right to use Videotape for Interrogations" (2/11/08)
- Newsday editorial: "Next Act Begins in the Tankleff Drama" (1/20/08)
- Newsday Op-Ed: "Justice Perverted - Tankleff Case Holds Echoes of Suffolk's Long History of Misconduct by Police, Prosecutors; Change may be Needed" (1/13/08)
- NY Times editorial: "True and Untrue Confessions" (1/12/08)
- Newsday op-ed: "Marty Tankleff Was the Key to His Release" (1/6/08)
- Daily News editorial: "Find Tankleff Killers" (1/4/08)
- Newsday editorial: "Spota Right to Drop Tankleff Charges" (1/4/08)
- Newsday editorial: "Spitzer Should Pick Special Prosecutor to Look at Other Suspects in Murders" (1/2/08)
- NY Times editorial: "Could Marty Tankleff Be the Next Jeffrey Deskovic?" (12/30/07)
- Newsday Op-Ed by Bennet Gershman: "Tankleff Case Needs Special Prosecutor, not Spota" (12/30/07)
Watch Online
- Watch CBS's Erin Moriarty interrogate Det. McCready
Tankleff Case Maps
- Tankleff Case Character Map
- Corruption, Cover-Up and Conflict
- NY Times's Tankleff Character Map - click the graphic in this article.