Current:Home > Back2 men exonerated for 1990s NYC murders after reinvestigations find unreliable witness testimony-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
2 men exonerated for 1990s NYC murders after reinvestigations find unreliable witness testimony
View Date:2024-12-23 22:32:49
NEW YORK (AP) — Two men who served decades in prison for separate murders in New York City were exonerated on Monday after reinvestigations found that they had been convicted based on unreliable witness testimony.
Jabar Walker, 49, walked free after he was cleared of a 1995 double murder. He had been serving 25 years to life for the crime.
Wayne Gardine, also 49 and convicted of a 1994 murder, was exonerated after being paroled last year. But he has also been accused of entering the United States illegally as a teenager and is now in immigration detention facing possible deportation to his native Jamaica.
Both crimes took place eight blocks apart in Harlem, and both convictions were vacated after defense lawyers worked with the Manhattan district attorney’s office’s conviction review unit to clear the men’s names.
Walker, who was represented by the Innocence Project, was 20 years old when he was arrested for the shooting deaths of Ismael De La Cruz and William Santana Guzman.
The new investigation of Walker’s case found that police had pressured a witness to incriminate Walker by implying that they would charge him with the shootings if he did not cooperate. The witness later recanted his testimony.
Another witness who said she had seen the shootings had received monetary benefits from the district attorney’s office, which was not disclosed to Walker’s defense, according to the Innocence Project.
“Mr. Walker received a sentence that could have kept him in prison for his entire life,” District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement. “I am thrilled that he can now finally return home and thank the Innocence Project for its steadfast advocacy throughout this matter.”
Walker entered a Manhattan courtroom in handcuffs on Monday and left a free man. The New York Times reported that Walker silently mouthed, “I made it,” when Justice Miriam R. Best vacated his conviction.
Gardine was 20 when he was arrested for the fatal shooting of Robert Mickens, who was shot nearly a dozen times.
His conviction was vacated after the reinvestigation from the district attorney’s office and the Legal Aid Society found that the single eyewitness who testified at trial had pinned the killing on Gardine to please his own drug boss, who was friends with the victim.
“Unjust convictions are the height of injustice and while we can never completely undo the pain he has experienced, I hope this is the first step in allowing Mr. Gardine to rebuild his life and reunite with his loved ones,” Bragg said.
Gardine was paroled last year after a total of 29 years behind bars but is now in immigration detention in upstate New York and facing possible deportation.
Gardine’s attorney with the Legal Aid Society, Lou Fox, said Gardine denies entering the country illegally and should be released.
“We are elated that Mr. Gardine will finally have his name cleared of this conviction that has haunted him for nearly three decades, yet he is still not a free man and faces additional and unwarranted punishment if deported,” Fox said in a statement.
veryGood! (8782)
Related
- Love Actually Secrets That Will Be Perfect to You
- A small earthquake and ‘Moodus Noises’ are nothing new for one Connecticut town
- Indiana nears law allowing more armed statewide officials at state Capitol
- New Mexico ranks last when it comes to education. Will a mandatory 180 days in the classroom help?
- Barbora Krejcikova calls out 'unprofessional' remarks about her appearance
- Fact Focus: Claims Biden administration is secretly flying migrants into the country are unfounded
- Rust weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez-Reed convicted of involuntary manslaughter in accidental shooting
- Xcel Energy says its facilities appeared to have role in igniting largest wildfire in Texas history
- Man who stole and laundered roughly $1B in bitcoin is sentenced to 5 years in prison
- This week on Sunday Morning (March 10)
Ranking
- The View's Sara Haines Walks Off After Whoopi Goldberg's NSFW Confession
- New Jersey sees spike in incidents of bias in 2023
- Amy Robach Shares She's Delayed Blood Work in Fear of a Breast Cancer Recurrence
- Jake Paul fight against Mike Tyson is announced for July 20 and will be streamed live on Netflix
- Police identify 7-year-old child killed in North Carolina weekend shooting
- US Army soldier indicted, accused of selling sensitive military information
- Tyla cancels first tour, Coachella performance amid health issue: 'Silently suffering'
- Sweden officially joins NATO, ending decades of post-World War II neutrality
Recommendation
-
Special counsel Smith asks court to pause appeal seeking to revive Trump’s classified documents case
-
Automaker Rivian pauses construction of its $5 billion electric truck plant in Georgia
-
Where to find Stanley Easter tumblers now that they've sold out
-
This week on Sunday Morning (March 10)
-
Pitchfork Music Festival to find new home after ending 19-year run in Chicago
-
Mississippi Supreme Court affirms a death row inmate’s convictions in the killings of 8 people
-
Conservation groups sue to stop a transmission line from crossing a Mississippi River refuge
-
Lululemon's We Made Too Much Section Seems Almost Too Good to be True: $118 Bottoms for Just $49 & More