A New York City man was found not guilty Thursday after spending 23 years in jail for a murder he did not commit.
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Grant Williams of Staten Island was charged with the shooting death of Shdell Lewis on April 5, 1996, outside the Stapleton public housing complex. In November 1997 he was found guilty by a jury and later sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
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“Nothing I can say can undo 25 years of that nightmare,” said State Supreme Court Justice Wayne Ozzi, who overturned his 1997 conviction. “I hope there is a bright future for you,” he added.
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This is the first wrongful conviction case to be overturned in Staten Island, prosecutors said Thursday.
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Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon hugged Grant and apologized for delaying justice.
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“I just want to tell everyone that you never know how strong you are until it is put to the test,” said Williams, 50, outside the courthouse. “When they put you in a situation where you really have to survive, that’s where your strength kicks in for me.”
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“I never lost my strength,” Grant confessed. “I never lost faith and I definitely want to praise the new district attorney who stepped in and made my life different and brought me here today, because right now I would still be sitting in a cell.”
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How the events occurred
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The case of Williams, who was on probation at the time, relied solely on the testimony of a witness and a NYPD, and ignored other witnesses.
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A 17-year-old witness told cops that it was probably a turf war and a gang member they called “Boo Boo,” a nickname by which they happened to know Williams.
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Detectives spoke to a man who was with Lewis when they shot him and who had told them that the man was not the killer. However, this detail never came to light.
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After being located in Virginia and extradited to New York, Williams was placed in a recognition parade that included only the two witnesses who had “identified” him.
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The jury sent the judge a note saying they were “hopelessly tied,” but the judge sent the jurors back. A guilty verdict was reached in less than an hour, according to the prosecutor’s office.
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In his 2000 appeal, Williams asked that DNA be tested from a “WuTang” cap that the suspect dropped at the crime scene, but had been destroyed by police.
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After attorneys for Williams discovered additional evidence and witnesses, the man was released on parole in December 2019.
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“Given the overwhelming amount of exculpatory evidence first presented in this review, as well as the totality of the circumstances of the investigation in this case, which in several cases challenge what we now accept as best practice, we now believe that Mr. Williams he is truly innocent and we conclude that our justice system failed him, “McMahon said in a statement Thursday.
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DNA tests force the release of a man who spent 21 years in prison by mistake
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