'More surreal than Salvador Dali': Wrongfully convicted NYC man freed after 17 years

NEW YORK - NEW YORK (AP) — Calling his hard-won freedom "more surreal than Salvador Dali," a man declared innocent after nearly 20 years behind bars for murder was released Friday, at least for now.

Fernando Bermudez might still have to serve time for an unrelated drug sentence, but for now, "it's an amazing feeling. Truth prevails over falsehood," he said shortly after leaving the Sing Sing prison.

"It feels wonderful. It feels surreal. It's more surreal than Salvador Dali," Bermudez said, referring to the Spanish artist, as he strode jovially up the steps to a suburban courthouse where he went to sign release paperwork.

A Manhattan judge last week overturned Bermudez's 1992 conviction, saying it stemmed from false and unreliable witness testimony. But Bermudez had still been held because he hadn't served a 27-month sentence in a federal drug-sale case.

On Thursday, a federal judge ordered Bermudez released at least until June 30 to allow his lawyers time to ask federal officials to credit his drug sentence as served.

He left the prison in suburban Ossining with his wife, Crystal. After stopping at the courthouse, he was headed to see their three children.

After that, "I'm going to take it one day at a time, appreciate the little things in life," said Bermudez, whose family lives in upper Manhattan.

Bermudez, 40, has been in jail or prison since his arrest in the Aug. 4, 1991, shooting of Raymond Blount. The 16-year-old was killed after a fight with another teen inside a Manhattan nightclub.

The other teen said Bermudez was the shooter. Four bystander eyewitnesses identified him from police photograph files and then a lineup.

But the eyewitnesses improperly conferred with one another before picking him from police photos, instead of identifying him separately, and each later recanted, state Supreme Court Justice John Cataldo found. The teen involved in the fight lied as he testified under an agreement sparing him criminal charges, the judge said.

No forensic evidence linked Bermudez to the crime.

The judge said a wealth of evidence pointed to a friend of the teen involved in the fight. The friend has denied involvement.

Cataldo not only threw out Bermudez's conviction but dismissed the charges, saying Bermudez had proven his innocence. Manhattan prosecutors have said they continue to believe the jury's guilty verdict was correct, and they are weighing a potential appeal and other options.

Bermudez said he harbored no bitterness toward anyone who contributed to his conviction.

"I forgave them a long time ago. Without that, I couldn't maintain my positive attitude," said Bermudez, who completed most of a college degree in prison.

Bermudez's 1991 arrest in a cocaine sting at a suburban mall predated the killing, but his federal prison term was put off because of the murder case.

Federal prosecutors didn't oppose Bermudez's temporary release. They declined to comment on whether they will oppose his request for relief from his federal sentence.