Case of Jogger’s Murder Hinges, in Part, on Questions Over a Police Stop

Lieutenant Russo seeing a person that looks suspicious and then flowing up on it, that's called "excellent police work".

This guy is better off behind bars, that is if he wants to live. The streets will invoke their own justice should he walk...

If I understand this properly, the detectives who asked for a swab of Mr. Lewis's DNA are also the detectives who said it matched the DNA found at the scene. There could be a number of reasons Mr. Lewis's DNA was present at the murder scene; this may or may not make him the murderer. For these concerns, I hope that there will be an independent analysis of the DNA from both the murder scene and Mr. Lewis, and that there will be an independent inquiry into the reasons why his DNA was at the scene. This does not mean he didn't commit the murder -- but there is cause for some doubt, it seems to me. And we need a thorough examination before trying Mr. Lewis for Ms. Vetrano's murder. The manner of her death was horrible. She -- and her family -- are owed a proper trial conducted with scrupulous fairness. So is Mr. Lewis.

So the DNA is the only hard evidence. The rest of the information in this article makes it seems like they wanted to charge him with this crime, which leads me to wonder if the DNA was planted. God, I hope not, but this is Howard Beach. The family needs and deserves closure, and the only way to get there is lawful police work from the beginning.

The only confession that should be admissible is a confession made in open court. Treason is the only crime defined in the US Constitution. To convict for treason using a confession the Constitution requires the confession be made in open court. That standard should be applied to all criminal cases. If the police violate someone's rights then discipline the police but do not discard physical evidence. The criminal justice system should be concerned with determining guilt or innocence. It has become a game of trying to exclude evidence.

What's the definition of suspicious behavior and are the police allowed to stop a person whose actions fit that definition? Or the police are only allowed to reply to already committed act of crime?

missing from this article is any mention of Howard beach's history of racism and hostility towards black men in particular.

Chanel Lewis voluntarily gave a swab to police for DNA testing, and the sample matched evidence taken from the dead jogger’s fingernails and cellphone. https://crimewatchdaily.com/2017/06/16/slain-jogger-karina-vetranos-pare... Assuming there is no police corruption and DNA tampering, the dead victim's body provides the bulk of the evidence necessary to convict the suspect.

This sounds as if he was the most convenient one to pick up and charge with the crime. He's the right color, so to speak. He's mentally ill and therefore suggestible. And it saves the police the trouble of digging deeper to see if someone else did the murder. After reading the link to the Daily Beast, it also sounds as if he was fed a confession not that he was making one. It's more than a little unsettling to realize that some of the police in our country do not take our rights seriously and prefer to deny us access to lawyers or, in the case of a mentally disturbed man, access to his parents and a lawyer as a matter of course. Instead they take advantage of us to see if they can force us to incriminate ourselves which does save them time and trouble. Or, better yet, the DAs offer plea bargains and insist that the person is guilty. Innocent until proven guilty doesn't seem to exist in America any longer. Or it does if you have money but if you don't and you're on trial or awaiting trial the process can cost you your job, your home, and all your money. If Mr. Lewis did commit the crime there should be more convincing evidence out there. If he didn't and the case is considered closed whoever committed the crime can do it again. Perhaps I'm naive but isn't it the job of the police to do more than just arrest someone and badger them into a confession?