Innocent New York ‘rabbi killer’ David Ranta freed from prison

NEW YORK – After 23 years in prison, a New York judge has freed David Ranta, the man wrongly convicted in the 1990 murder a rabbi. She said her apology was "grossly inadequate."

Ranta was convicted and sentenced to 37 years in prison for the murder of Rabbi Chaskel Werzberger, a Holocaust survivor.

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The murder of Rabbi Werzberger, who was killed during a botched jewelry heist, had a great impact on New York's religious Jewish community. Thousands of people attended his funeral.

"I'm overwhelmed," Ranta said. "I feel like I'm under water, swimming… As I said from the beginning, I had nothing to do with this case."

The BBC reported before he was freed the judge said: "To say that I am sorry for what you have endured would be an understatement and grossly inadequate – but I say it to you anyway."