New York judge throws out conviction in infamous death of tourist

NEW YORK – A judge has thrown out the conviction of man who has spent a quarter-century behind bars in a notorious New York City tourist killing. The ruling means a new trial in a case that helped crystallize an era of crime and fear in the nation’s biggest city.

A Manhattan judge overturned Johnny Hincapie’s conviction Tuesday after a monthslong hearing on the 1990 death of Brian Watkins of Provo, Utah.

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Watkins was killed defending his parents from a subway-platform mugging while the family was visiting for the U.S. Open tennis tournament.

An exonerated co-defendant and a witness who came forward in the last two years said Hincapie played no part in the attack. He said his confession was coerced.

Prosecutors said there was “no credible newly discovered evidence.”