Understanding the Michael Rhynes wrongful conviction case: What you need to know

Michael Rhynes, a Rochester man convicted on two murder charges in 1986 for a barroom killing, had his conviction overturned last week and walked free Tuesday after 37 years in prison.

Acting State Supreme Court Justice Stephen Miller vacated the conviction after the two primary witnesses against Rhynes both admitted under oath that they lied.

Rhynes has been behind bars since he was arrested Oct. 6, 1984, a week after two men were killed in a botched robbery at Rico's Restaurant in Rochester. That makes his wrongful detention the second-longest on record in New York history, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.

Rhynes was 23 years old when he was arrested; now he is 62 years old.

What crime was Michael Rhynes convicted of?

Rhynes was imprisoned for 52 years to life on two counts of murder, one of robbery and one of assault. Prosecutors said he was one of three gunmen who entered Rico's Restaurant on Lexington Avenue in an attempt to rob the owner of money he kept on hand to cash factory workers' paychecks.

The owner, Enrico Ferrari, declined to open the safe. In the resulting scuffle, the gunmen fatally shot Ferrari and a customer, Robert Hurysz.

Four men were arrested in connection with the killings. According to prosecutors, Rhynes and Jesse Hammock were the ones who fired the shots; Adrian Jackson was in the bar with them but didn't shoot; and Thurman Dicker drove the getaway car. All four were sentenced to 50 or more years in prison in separate trials in 1986.

How long was Michael Rhynes in prison?

Rhynes has been behind bars since Oct. 6, 1984, when he was first arrested and taken to Monroe County Jail. He has been in state prison since his conviction Aug. 15, 1986.

According to the National Registry of Exonerations, only 30 people have done more time in prison on a wrongful conviction, and only one of them was in New York. That was David Bryant, who did more than 40 years for a crime he did not commit.

Why was Michael Rhynes' conviction overturned?

Rhynes appealed different procedural aspects of his case on nine different occasions over the years. This most recent, successful one was based on recantations from the two witnesses whose testimony sealed his fate.

Joe Smith and Roy Timmons both testified at trial that Rhynes had confessed to the crime while in Monroe County Jail after his arrest. That was almost the entire basis of the conviction; there was no physical evidence, confession or eyewitness account.

Earlier this year Smith and Timmons both returned to court and admitted under oath that they'd lied in exchange for reduced sentences.

Will Michael Rhynes get a financial settlement?

It's certainly possible.

The successful motion he filed is reserved for instances where new evidence comes to light after conviction. One of the criteria is that the exculpatory information was unknown and essentially unknowable at the time of the trial. That raises the standard for a claim of prosecutorial misconduct.

There are other steps along the way that could be grounds for a civil lawsuit, though. For example, Joe Smith testified that he wrote several times to the district attorney after Rhynes' conviction to tell them that his testimony had been false. He said he never heard back about it.

If Rhynes could prove that the district attorney knew of potentially exonerating information and withheld it on purpose, that could possibly lead to a lawsuit and settlement. His attorney declined to comment on that question Tuesday.

In 2014 Frank Sterling, who served 19 years for a murder he did not commit, received $8.6 million in a settlement with Monroe County and the city of Rochester.

In 2011 Douglas Warney received $3.8 million from the city of Rochester after serving nine years for a murder he did not commit.

Will Michael Rhynes be tried again?

It's very unlikely. Assistant District Attorney Perry Duckles essentially ruled it out in court, saying the prosecution needed to decide the best path forward "for all parties."

As Miller noted in his decision, the statements of Smith and Timmons were the basis for Rhynes' conviction. Without them and nearly 40 years after the original crime, it's hard to imagine a second successful prosecution.

What happens next with the Michael Rhynes case?

Rhynes will return to court Jan. 8. His conviction has been overturned but his original indictment on the murder charges is still on the books. Resolving that indictment is the last step between Michael Rhynes and unqualified freedom.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Understanding the Michael Rhynes case: What you need to know