Metro

‘Wrong man’ in 1975 slay enjoys first day of freedom in 38 years

NOW THAT FEELS GOOD: David Bryant yesterday hugs Lisa Kurtz of Centurion Ministries, the group that helped win his prison release. (
)

A Bronx man who spent nearly four decades in jail for a child murder he may have never committed spent his first day of freedom catching up on technology and marveling how much the world has changed since 1975.

“Wow, this is all new!” said David Bryant, 56, as he used an iPad to read the The Post’s coverage of his release from prison by a judge who ruled that the defense lawyer botched the case.

He was equally fascinated by the new iPhone bought for him by the advocacy group that helped get him sprung.

“The last time I was out, it was ‘tick, tick, tick,’ ” he said, moving his hand as if to dial a rotary phone.

High-tech electronics weren’t the only thing that amazed Bryant, who was just 18 when he was arrested for the brutal sex-slaying of an 8-year-old neighbor, Karen Smith.

“Last night they took me to dinner at a nice restaurant, and the appetizers were more than we would eat for a week,” said Bryant.

He “got about a half-hour of sleep” the night of his release, which he spent at the Princeton, NJ, home of Centurion Ministries director Kate Germond.

“In there [prison] the bed was like a rock, and here last night the bed was so soft,” he said.

“I’m like a little kid learning to walk again.”

Bryant broke down in tears yesterday at Centurion’s offices, where he hugged caseworker Muriel Bell — who spearheaded efforts to free him — and administrative assistant Lisa Kurtz, who regularly spoke with him in calls to prison.

“I don’t have words for all this,” Bryant said. “These are tears of joy.”

Bryant — who intends to use his experience to counsel youths “to never get in trouble” — wore a sweatshirt bearing the words “I didn’t do it.”

“I never had anything to do with that crime, never,” he said. “When they bury me, they better put this shirt on me.”

Renowned defense lawyer Ed Hayes — who prosecuted Bryant — stood by the case, saying it “was thoroughly investigated by an elite group of detectives, and there was a great deal of evidence given to the jury.”

The Bronx DA’s Office has not yet decided whether to re-try Bryant, whose release came after the judge found that Bryant’s lawyer failed to properly challenge blood and semen evidence at trial.