After decades of captivity, two New York inmates have been acquitted. Prosecutors cited incorrect witness statements and procedural errors as reasons for overturning the verdicts, which involved separate cases. One of the men was convicted of double murder in the 1990s.
It is the latest embarrassment for the New York Police Department after several convictions in high-profile cases were overturned due to errors or misconduct by investigators. The two men who have now been acquitted are Wayne Gardine and Jabar Walker, both of whom were sentenced to prison for crimes in New York in the 1990s.
Witness received financial support from the Public Prosecution Service
Walker was sentenced to two terms of 25 years to life for killing two men in a car in 1995. An eleven-month investigation by the Innocence Project organization and the Public Prosecution Service has now shown that the only eyewitness at the time had given conflicting information. The organization also said the woman received financial benefits from the accuser for her testimony.
Local media showed photos of Walker, who was released after his hearing. He then shines with a gray goatee among family members and other supporters.
The second acquitted convict risks deportation
Wayne Gardine served more than eighteen years in prison for a 1994 murder, at the height of New York’s crack epidemic. Although he has now been acquitted and has already served his entire sentence, he is now threatened with deportation to his home country Jamaica.
Prosecutors said they had joined legal aid group The Legal Aid Society’s request to quash and dismiss the charges against Gardine due to “newly discovered evidence.” Gardine, who was 22 at the time of his conviction, “served nearly three decades in prison before being released on bail in 2022,” she continued. “He was subsequently transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, where he remains in custody.”
Gardine is “still not a free man,” said his lawyer Lou Fox of The Legal Aid Society. He faces “additional and unjustified penalties if he is deported.”
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
