Posts in Category ‘Wrongful Convictions’

Article

New York State Will Pay ECBAWM Client Anthony Broadwater $5.5 Million for Wrongful Conviction

Anthony Broadwater served 16 years in prison and decades on the sex offender registry for a rape he did not commit. Now, New York State has agreed to pay Mr. Broadwater $5.5 million to settle his wrongful conviction claims.

Mr. Broadwater, who is Black, was convicted in a 1981 bench trial of raping author Alice Sebold based on a questionable eyewitness identification and a lineup in which Ms. Sebold, who is White, identified a different Black man. The only other purported evidence against Mr. Broadwater was a microscopic hair analysis, which has since been deemed unreliable junk science by the FBI.

Mr. Broadwater was exonerated in 2021 after his attorneys David Hammond and Melissa Swartz exposed multiple errors that occurred during Mr. Broadwater’s trial. “I’m not going to sully this proceeding by saying, ‘I’m sorry.’ That doesn’t cut it,” said Onondaga District Attorney William Fitzpatrick in 2021 when he agreed to the overturning of Mr. Broadwater’s conviction. “This should never have happened.”

Mr. Broadwater was represented in his lawsuit against the State of New York by ECBAWM attorneys Earl Ward, Andrew G. Celli, Jr., and Max Selver, along with Mr. Hammond and Ms. Swartz.

Press
“New York to pay Anthony Broadwater $5.5M for wrongful conviction in rape of Alice Sebold,” Syracuse.com

Article

Gary Lawrence Murder Conviction Tossed Based on Brady Violations

Gary Lawrence, one of three young Black men wrongfully convicted in 1993 of the murder of Hofstra football coach Joseph Healy who then served over twenty-four years in prison, has just had his conviction overturned. With the help of ECBAWM, one of Mr. Lawrence’s co-defendants, Christopher Ellis, had his conviction overturned in 2021.

Relying on questionable and uncertain witness testimony and a coerced confession, a jury convicted Mr. Lawrence of murder and attempted robbery. He was sentenced to two consecutive terms totaling 32 ½ years to life imprisonment. The police developed at least 11 different leads in the case. Shockingly, they kept both the leads and the investigations into each of these leads secret from Mr. Lawrence and his co-defendants. These investigations included detailed notes and in some instances polygraph examination results.

After his arrest, Mr. Lawrence was questioned for approximately 19 hours without food, drink, or sleep. Ultimately the police were able to coerce a confession from Mr. Lawrence – but the facts as laid out in the statement did not match the facts of the murder.

“This Court finds that given the information contained in the memo book notes and the unnamed homicide file, the sheer volume thereof, the new suspects, potential witnesses, and leads contained therein, the undisclosed evidence is clearly material,” the Court explained in its ruling. “The Brady violations were substantial, and because of them the People failed to provide access to meaningful witnesses and information.”

“We are pleased that the Court vacated Gary’s unjust conviction,” said ECBAWM partner Ilann M. Maazel, counsel for Mr. Lawrence. “Gary served his complete sentence in prison and on parole and has been a solid citizen ever since he was released in 2015. He has always maintained his innocence for this horrible crime. He sends his condolences to the family of Mr. Healy for the unimaginable loss they have suffered.”

Press
“Second Hofstra conviction in 1990 killing of assistant football coach overturned, court papers show,” Newsday

Article

Anthony Sims Freed After 25 Years

Anthony Sims has been granted parole and freed from prison after serving over 25 years for a murder he did not commit. Anthony was wrongfully convicted of murdering Li Run Chen at a Brooklyn restaurant; evidence that was withheld from the jury exonerated Anthony and points to Julius Graves – the prosecution’s only eyewitness to the shooting – as the killer.

In an interview with NBC New York’s Sarah Wallace, ECBAWM partner Ilann M. Maazel, one of Anthony’s attorneys, explained what led to his unlawful conviction. “The NYPD basically ignored any evidence that exonerated Anthony, and the most glaring example is when an independent witness saw Julius Graves exit the restaurant with a gun right after the shooting, told that to the police, and the police kept that information, apparently, to themselves.”

Prosecutors have labeled two witnesses who testified that the police fabricated interview reports as “incredible” and continue to back Graves’ version of the events. “They seem to want to stand behind this man who has lied repeatedly under oath in different statements over the years and it’s frustrating,” said another of Anthony’s attorneys, ECBAM partner Sam Shapiro.

Anthony’s motion to vacate his conviction is currently pending before the Hon. Danny Chun in Kings County. A decision is expected in January.

Keisha Sims, Anthony’s wife, told NBC New York she will never stop fighting. “Not just only for my husband, but there’s a lot of Anthonys out there.”

ECBAWM attorneys Ilann M. Maazel, Sam Shapiro, and Nairuby L. Beckles, along with co-counsel Thomas Hoffman and Jonathan Hiles, represent Anthony Sims. More information about the case is available on the Free Anthony Sims website.

Article

ECBAWM Client Gets $8.25 Million in Wrongful Conviction Case

On November 15, 2022, the City of Detroit agreed to pay $8.25 million to settle a federal wrongful conviction lawsuit brought by ECBAWM on behalf of Kendrick Scott. Mr. Scott spent over 19 years in prison for a murder he did not commit as a result of civil rights violations by Detroit Police Department detectives. The case alleged that the detectives coerced witnesses, including an intoxicated 14-year-old boy, into giving false statements and also hid evidence, including an exculpatory statement the victim made to her sister.

Mr. Scott was wrongfully convicted in 2000 and was exonerated in 2018, after the University of Michigan Innocence Clinic secured a reversal of his conviction from the Michigan Supreme Court and the prosecutor’s office later dismissed all charges. “Nothing will change the fact that Mr. Scott lost nearly two decades of freedom for something he had nothing to do with,” ECBAWM attorney Zoe Salzman said. “But this settlement speaks to the seriousness of the harm Mr. Scott experienced and will help Mr. Scott focus on the future.”

ECBAWM attorneys Zoe Salzman and Nick Bourland represent Mr. Scott, along with Bill Goodman of Goodman Hurwitz & James PC in Detroit.

Related News
ECBAWM Defeats Detroit Police Officers’ Attempt to Avoid Trial in Wrongful Conviction Case
ECBAWM Files Case for Innocent Man Who Spent 20 Years in Jail

Article

ECBAWM Files Civil Rights Lawsuit on Behalf of George Bell, Wrongfully Imprisoned for Over 24 Years

ECBAWM, together with co-counsel Scott Stevenson, has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the city of New York and eight former New York City police officers on behalf of George Bell. The suit alleges that as a result of rampant misconduct by the police and prosecutors within the Queens County District Attorney’s Office, Mr. Bell was convicted of a double homicide that he did not commit. Mr. Bell faced the death penalty before being sentenced to life in prison. He was 19 years old at the time of his arrest. Mr. Bell’s conviction was vacated and he was finally freed at the age of 44, having spent over 24 years incarcerated.

During the criminal investigation of the crimes for which Mr. Bell was charged the police pursued Mr. Bell based on an unreliable tip, interrogated Mr. Bell through the night on Christmas Eve, and then brutally beat him until he agreed to falsely confess. After Mr. Bell’s arrest, the prosecution and/or police came into possession of exonerating evidence that they did not disclose to Mr. Bell. This evidence made clear that a local armed robbery gang called Speedstick, not Mr. Bell, had committed these murders, and law enforcement knew it years before Mr. Bell was even tried. Rather than admit that they had the wrong man, police and district attorneys suppressed this evidence and fabricated additional evidence to implicate Mr. Bell. These civil rights violations were part of a pattern of the Queens District Attorney’s Office under District Attorney Richard Brown that has recently come to light and has formed the basis for multiple wrongful conviction claims against the City of New York. When vacating Mr. Bell’s conviction, Queens County Supreme Court Justice Zayas concluded that law enforcement’s handling of Mr. Bell’s case “leaves the distinct impression that the suppression of the [exonerating] information was not an isolated instance of misconduct, but part of a larger pattern of behavior that was calculated to deprive the defendants of fair trials, which is particularly egregious given that the death penalty was being sought against 19-year-old George Bell.”

Mr. Bell is represented by Richard Emery, Earl Ward, Debra Greenberger, and David Berman of ECBAWM, as well as co-counsel Scott Stevenson.

Article

CNN Investigates Wrongful Conviction of Anthony Sims

The wrongful conviction of Anthony Sims for the 1998 murder of Li Run Chen is the subject of a recent investigation by CNN reporter Jeff Winter. Anthony has served 23 years in prison despite undisputed evidence that points to a different perpetrator altogether, and despite decades of wrongdoing by law enforcement officials in withholding substantial Brady material and evidence of Anthony’s innocence.

CNN’s detailed report presents the timeline of the crime, the initial investigation, trial, and current legal hearings on Anthony’s motion to vacate his conviction and dismiss all charges against him. It also recounts testimony from a new witness whose testimony directly implicates another individual and exonerates Anthony.

As previously established, Mr. Chen was killed by a single shotgun blast while working at a Chinese restaurant in Brooklyn. Anthony has maintained throughout his arrest and incarceration that the murder was committed by his former friend Julius Graves – who was, conveniently, the single eyewitness to testify at trial that Anthony fired the fatal shot. In the current hearing on Anthony’s motion, however, Graves’ neighbor Rachel testified that the murder was committed by Graves because he was mad that Mr. Chen had touched Graves’ wife’s hand earlier that day. Rachel also testified that she saw Graves running out of the restaurant after she heard a shot, and that she called the police to tell them that Graves was the killer.

“On the basis of (Rachel’s) testimony alone, it’s plain that Anthony Sims did not receive a fair trial and his conviction should be vacated,” said Ilann M. Maazel, one of Anthony’s attorneys. “The jury never heard any of this evidence.”

ECBAWM attorneys Ilann M. Maazel, Sam Shapiro, and Nairuby L. Beckles, along with attorneys Thomas Hoffman and Jonathan Hiles, represent Anthony Sims. More information about the case is available on the Free Anthony Sims website.

Article

ECBAWM Defeats Detroit Police Officers’ Attempt to Avoid Trial in Wrongful Conviction Case

In a December 28, 2021 decision, United States District Judge Paul D. Borman rejected a motion for summary judgment filed by four Detroit Police Department (“DPD”) officers seeking to drastically narrow the scope of a lawsuit brought by Kendrick Scott, an innocent man who was wrongfully convicted of murder and spent nearly two decades in prison as a result of the DPD officers’ egregious misconduct.

The Court ruled that Mr. Scott’s case will proceed against all four DPD officers and held that each of Mr. Scott’s federal civil rights claims must be decided at a jury trial. Specifically, the Court found that, in light of the evidence presented by ECBAWM, a jury must decide whether the DPD officers violated Mr. Scott’s constitutional rights by suppressing exculpatory evidence and forcing witnesses to testify falsely.

“Mr. Scott endured almost 20 years in jail for a crime he did not commit. We look forward to showing all the evidence of this injustice to the jury at trial,” said ECBAWM partner Zoe Salzman.

“The Court’s decision makes clear that police officers who threaten witnesses and suppress exculpatory evidence—and do so without any regard for the rights and liberty of an innocent man—cannot escape liability on a technicality,” said ECBAWM attorney Nick Bourland. “Mr. Scott deserves to present his case to a jury and this victory guarantees that he will have his day in court.”

ECBAWM attorneys Zoe Salzman and Nick Bourland represent Mr. Scott.

Article

JJ Velazquez’s Sentence Is Commuted After Fighting for His Freedom for 23 Years

On August 17, 2021, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo commuted the sentence of ECBAWM client Jon-Adrian (“JJ”) Velazquez. Mr. Velazquez has maintained his innocence ever since he was wrongfully convicted in 1998 for a murder he had nothing to do with. Now he has been released from prison and reunited with his family, friends, and supporters.

While incarcerated in the New York correctional system for over 23 years, Mr. Velazquez seized every opportunity to learn, support his peers, and give back—all while fighting for his freedom. He emerged as a leader at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility, where, among other achievements, he earned his college degree with honors, founded a youth program to combat gun violence, organized nonviolence workshops for incarcerated people and their families, and led various fundraising efforts to support his community on the outside.

ECBAWM attorneys Jonathan Abady, Earl Ward, Sam Shapiro, and Nick Bourland represented JJ Velazquez in his clemency efforts.

Article

Second Circuit: Forensic Examiner Not Entitled to Qualified Immunity

In a significant qualified immunity ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit denied a state ballistics examiner’s motion to dismiss a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 civil rights lawsuit.

ECBAWM client Vernon Horn was incarcerated for over 17 years for a crime he did not commit. His wrongful conviction stemmed from exculpatory evidence that was concealed before and during trial: New Haven Police detectives hid phone records in the basement of a detective’s house because they did not support the case against Horn, and the Connecticut State Police ballistics examiner failed to disclose that he prepared a second ballistics report that falsely implicated Mr. Horn because the original report would have exonerated him.

Following their release from prison in 2018, Mr. Horn and his co-defendant Marquis Jackson brought civil actions against the City of New Haven and certain law enforcement officials for violating their constitutional due process rights under Brady v. Maryland.

The state ballistics examiner, James Stephenson, filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuits against him on the grounds that he is entitled to (a) qualified immunity for failing to turn over exculpatory evidence and (b) absolute immunity for preparing the second false ballistics report because he did so at the prosecutor’s direction. The U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut denied Stephenson’s motion to dismiss and he appealed to the Second Circuit.

In upholding the lower court’s ruling and denying Stephenson’s motion to dismiss, the Second Circuit wrote that “no reasonable forensic examiner in Stephenson’s position” would have concluded that Brady did not apply. The Court also concluded, “The allegations here are consistent with [Horn’s] theory that Stephenson independently decided to manipulate the margin of error upon learning that the memo … would weaken the state’s case against [Horn].”

Vernon Horn is represented by ECBAWM lawyers Ilann Maazel and Nick Bourland along with co-counsel Doug Lieb and Tamar Birckhead.

Article

ECBAWM Wins Prison Release for Christopher Ellis, Who Served 30 Years After Being Wrongfully Convicted

On Monday, August 9, New York State Supreme Court Justice Patricia A. Harrington ordered the release from prison of Christopher Ellis, a man who served over 30 years for a crime he did not commit.

Mr. Ellis was accused of committing a murder on Long Island in 1990. Despite no physical evidence against him, Mr. Ellis, who is Black, was investigated by white detectives, convicted by an all-white jury, and sentenced to prison in 1992. Last month his conviction was vacated because the police had concealed multiple murder suspects from the defense and, apparently, the prosecution.

“The police showed absolutely no regard for Chris,” said ECBAWM partner Ilann Maazel, noting that during Mr. Ellis’ 18-hour interrogation he was denied food and drink and repeatedly roused from sleep. “He was worthless to them. And he is one of many young Black men who have had that experience.”

The Nassau Country District Attorney’s Office will decide by September 20 whether to retry Mr. Ellis.

Mr. Ellis is represented by Mr. Maazel and ECBAWM associate Scout Katovich.

Press
“After Key Evidence Was Withheld, 2 Men Spent 3 Decades in Prison,” The New York Times
“Man jailed for murdering Hofstra coach has conviction overturned after decades behind bars,” New York Post
“Judge orders Hempstead man released after 30 years behind bars,” Newsday
“‘I just want to run to the car’: NY man leaves prison after wrongful conviction,” PIX 11
“Long Island man’s conviction in 1990 murder of Hofstra coach tossed,” FOX 5
“Nassau man’s murder conviction overturned after 3 decades behind bars,” News 12 Long Island [VIDEO]

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