A Manhattan judge Friday dropped a second degree murder charge against a nurse who stabbed her husband to death in what she claims was self-defense — blasting District Attorney Alvin Bragg for refusing to allow the case to move forward.
New York Supreme Court Justice Diane Kiesel said she didn’t toss Tracy McCarter’s indictment on its merits — but rather because Bragg reversed course last month and declined to prosecute her.
“The Court finds no compelling reason to dismiss the indictment, but for the District Attorney’s unwillingness to proceed,” she wrote in the decision.
“It is not in the interest of justice for the Court to engage in a futile and unseemly stand-off with the District Attorney that would waste precious court resources, interfere with other important cases that must be prosecuted in this post-COVID backlog, and cause needless anxiety for the defendant and for the family of the deceased.”
Kiesel said her hands were tied after Bragg’s possible political move.
“Should the prosecution of this criminal transaction end with this written decision, it will be the District Attorney’s choice, and not the result of any dilemma caused by this Court,” she wrote.
In March 2020, McCarter was accused of killing her husband, James Murray, in her Upper West Side apartment building after a history of spousal abuse.
But Bragg sent Kiesel a letter Nov. 18 declaring he will file a motion to dismiss the indictment he initially supported against McCarter.
“After carefully reviewing all the evidence and extensively discussing this matter with members of my office, I have a reasonable doubt of whether Ms. McCarter stabbed Mr. Murray with the requisite intent to support a conviction of murder in the second degree,” Bragg wrote to Kiesel.
“I decline to proceed with prosecution of the indictment. Accordingly, because ‘courts lack the authority to compel the prosecution of criminal actions … I also recommend that the indictment be dismissed,” Bragg wrote.
McCarter cheered the indictment’s dismissal Friday.
“I am innocent. And I am devastated that on March 2, 2020, a man whom I loved lost his life,” she told The Post, adding alcohol played a role in her husband’s death.
“Dismissing the unjust charge against me can’t give back what I’ve lost, but I am relieved that this nightmare will finally be over, and I am determined to thrive once again,” she said.
Her lawyers called tossing the indictment a “just” outcome.
“We are incredibly proud to represent Tracy McCarter, who has fought her case for two and a half years to get to the only just outcome — dismissal. And we are extremely grateful to the community and advocacy groups that fought for Tracy until the end,” attorneys Sean Hecker, Alexandra Conlon, Anne Yearwood and others said in a statement.
