Suit filed after Pa. murder convictions overturned

UNIONTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania man who spent nearly 25 years in prison before his double-murder conviction was overturned has filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging violations of his constitutional right to a fair trial.

The lawsuit by 61-year-old David Munchinski names three former prosecutors, two of whom are now judges, as well as the estate of a former state trooper.

Munchinski was convicted in 1986 in the shooting deaths of Raymond Gierke and James Peter Alford in December 1977 at a cabin in Bear Rocks, Pa.

A federal appeals court last year upheld a judge’s dismissal of the charges, saying “staggering” violations of disclosure rules left the convictions “badly tainted and highly suspect.”

Munchinski’s attorney, Noah Geary, said his client would be seeking an eight-figure sum in economic, psychological and punitive damages. He said he hoped to reach a settlement, but if not “it would be up to a federal jury.”

“Fair is fair,” he said Wednesday. “The man did 27 years wrongfully, and it’s time to do the right thing.”