According to the complaint, detectives with the Albany Police Department relied on statements that were later recanted and documented an alleged confession that Mr. Craft disputes ever making. The filing also asserts that no physical or forensic evidence connected Mr. Craft to the crime and that officials failed to pursue other leads, including an eyewitness account identifying a different individual.

After decades of incarceration, Mr. Craft moved to vacate his conviction in March 2025, with the Albany County District Attorney’s Office consenting to the motion. The court granted the motion on April 23, 2025, resulting in his release. The lawsuit now seeks damages and accountability for the violations that led to his wrongful imprisonment, as well as broader systemic failures that allowed such conduct to occur.

“After almost 25 years in prison, I am grateful to finally be home with my family,” said Sherodd Craft. “But nothing can give back the time I lost or the moments I missed with my children and loved ones. This case is about seeking accountability and making sure what happened to me does not happen to anyone else.”

“Sherodd Craft spent more than two decades imprisoned for a crime that he did not commit, based on the work of detectives whose misconduct is alleged in the complaint, including a discredited officer with a documented history of serious misconduct and involvement in other cases that resulted in wrongful convictions,” said Julia P. Kuan, Partner at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP. “While nothing can restore the years Mr. Craft lost or the time he was separated from his family, we never lost faith in his innocence. This lawsuit seeks accountability for the decades taken from him and the profound injustice he will carry with him for the rest of his days.”

“This lawsuit details how Mr. Craft’s conviction was built on statements that were coerced and fabricated, without any physical or forensic evidence linking him to the crime,” said Earl S. Ward, Partner at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP. “This lawsuit seeks to hold those involved accountable for the conduct alleged in the complaint and the consequences it had for Mr. Craft.”

ECBAWM attorneys Earl Ward, Julia Kuan, Sydney Zazzaro, and Nick Bourland represent Sherodd Craft.

Read the filing: Complaint

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