Bennett Gershman, a Pace University law professor hired as a paid expert by Syracuse and Onondaga County, filed a December 2025 report asserting that prosecutors “did not engage in misconduct” in the wrongful rape conviction of Anthony Broadwater. Just over a year earlier, Gershman told a reporter that the same prosecutors had “manufactured a case” against Broadwater, describing it as “the most heinous kind of prosecutorial misconduct — when the prosecutor is creating guilt.”
Broadwater spent 16 years in state prison and lived as a registered sex offender for nearly 23 more after his 1981 conviction for raping author Alice Sebold. In 2024, Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick stood in court and excoriated the original prosecution, supporting Broadwater’s exoneration. The conviction was thrown out. Despite this, Syracuse and Onondaga County continue to defend against Broadwater’s civil lawsuit seeking financial damages.
In his earlier comments to the reporter, Gershman called the prosecution’s conduct “‘Misconduct’ is kind of glib in this case. … It’s so much worse than plain misconduct. This is tyranny.” When interviewed for this article about his reversal, Gershman said he changed his mind after deeper analysis. “The facts,” he stated, “are more ‘complex’ and ‘nuanced’ than how he initially understood them.”
Ethics experts expressed concern about the shift. Stephen Gillers, emeritus professor and ethics expert at New York University School of Law, said while “it’s not unethical to change your mind,” Gershman’s reversal is “an embarrassment and it’s going to undermine his credibility going forward.” Rebecca Roiphe, a professor at New York Law School specializing in criminal law and ethics, called the situation “odd” and said it “raises concerns.” She distinguished between acting as a neutral commentator for news coverage and serving as a partisan expert witness, saying the roles should not be confused.
The original May 8, 1981 assault occurred in a park near Syracuse University, where Sebold was a freshman. Police initially disbelieved her despite medical examination and physical evidence supporting her account. After Sebold later spotted Broadwater on a street and reported him, he was arrested. At a crucial lineup, Sebold identified a different man as her rapist—a misidentification that Fitzpatrick said should have ended the prosecution immediately. “She didn’t pick out the wrong guy,” Fitzpatrick said. “She picked out the guy that she thought had raped her. And it wasn’t Anthony. Case is over. Stop.” The prosecution proceeded anyway, and Sebold identified Broadwater at trial.
Lawyers for both sides declined to comment for this article.
