TOM HAYS
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) -- A judge has freed a man convicted in the 1990 killing of a Brooklyn rabbi.

David Ranta's murder conviction was vacated on Thursday with the support of prosecutors.

Rabbi Chaskel Werzberger was shot on Feb. 8, 1990, by a man fleeing a botched robbery. Thousands attended the funeral for the Hasidic rabbi.

A recent review by the Brooklyn district attorney's office cast doubt on witness testimony and concluded detectives had mishandled aspects of the investigation.

The 58-year Ranta has been serving time in a Buffalo prison.

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