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New York man exonerated after 23 years in prison dies

NEW YORK -- A New York City man freed after serving 23 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit died over the weekend.

His lawyer tells the New York Post William Lopez died suddenly Saturday from an asthma attack.

Lopez's $124 million federal civil lawsuit against the city for false imprisonment was set to begin Tuesday.

The 55-year-old Bronx man was freed in January 2013 after a judge called the case "rotten from Day 1" and threw out the conviction.

The case dated back to 1989. Prosecutors said two men shot a drug dealer with a double-barreled shotgun. Although no murder weapon or forensic evidence was found at the scene, prosecutors relied on two witnesses.

Attorney Jeffrey Deskovic says Lopez had hoped to travel and go to law school.

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