September 6, 2024

Firm helps secure $19 million for wrongful conviction of Jaythan Kendrick

Today, our firm, alongside the Law Offices of Joel B. Rudin and Bloch & White LLP, settled claims against the City of New York on behalf of Jaythan Kendrick’s estate for $15 million, following a $4 million settlement against the State of New York last month. Kendrick spent 26 years in prison for a murder he did not commit before being exonerated in 2020 based on DNA evidence, witness recantations, pervasive misconduct by the trial prosecutor, and revelations that police fabricated key evidence. The Queens judge who vacated Kendrick’s conviction, Joseph A. Zayas, called it a “monumental” “miscarriage of justice” and a “travesty.” Kendrick’s journey to exoneration began with years of pro bono work by Tom Hoffman, assisted by Jonathan Hiles, followed by WilmerHale and the Innocence Project.

Kendrick’s federal lawsuit alleged that NYPD detectives fabricated statements, planted evidence, and coerced witnesses to falsely identify him, and that prosecutors misled jurors and hid exculpatory evidence, consistent with office-wide practices at the time.

Tragically, Kendrick died in 2022, his health broken by his long imprisonment. Kendrick was a father, a US Army Veteran, and a US Postal Service worker with no prior criminal record or history of violence. He never stopped fighting for his freedom or for accountability for the people who framed him.

August 13, 2024

Queens Daily Eagle reports on civil settlements of firm clients Rohan Bolt and Gary Johnson

The Queens Daily Eagle published an article, entitled, “Police misconduct in Queens drives ballooning cost of settlements,” that discusses the recent cases of firm clients Rohan Bolt and Gary Johnson, as well as their co-defendant, George Bell. According to the article, “The settlements rank as the second, third and fourth largest police misconduct payouts of the past seven years in New York City.”

The article notes that police “officers and prosecutors had evidence at the time of Bell, Bolt and Johnson’s trial that suggested that a gang known as Speedstick was behind the murders,” but “none of the evidence was ever shared in court, and the three Queens men were each sentenced to life in prison.” The article further notes that, after this misconduct came to light and the three men were exonerated, the “two assistant district attorneys who had originally prosecuted the case, Brad Leventhal and Charles Testagrossa, both resigned from their respective positions.”

You can read the article here.

March 20, 2024

Firm settles federal civil rights and state settlements totaling $19 million and $19.3 million for clients Gary Johnson and Rohan Bolt

Today, the firm settled the federal civil rights lawsuits of Rohan Bolt and Gary Johnson for $15.2 million and $15 million, respectively. This follows Bolt’s and Johnson’s recent settlements with New York State, under the Unjust Conviction and Imprisonment Act, for $4.1 million and $4 million, respectively. The total settlements are two of the largest ever awarded for wrongful convictions. Tom Hoffman and Jabbar Collins, assisted by Jonathan Hiles, represented Bolt and Johnson in these lawsuits.

Bolt and Johnson, and their co-defendant George Bell, were exonerated in 2021 based on newly-disclosed records that proved their innocence, including an earth-shattering police report that identified the true culprits–and that police and prosecutors concealed at trial. The firm obtained this exonerating police report while reinvestigating the related wrongful conviction of another firm client, Robert Majors, who has since been exonerated.

At the time of their arrests, Johnson was 22 years old and working two jobs to support his mother, while Bolt was a 35 year-old father of four. Since their release, Bolt and Johnson have been reconnecting with their families and advocating legal reforms to address wrongful convictions and prevent them going forward. By exposing law enforcement misconduct in Queens, their case is helping other wrongfully convicted people victimized by the same corrupt practices.

August 12, 2023

Anthony Sims co-authors opinion piece in City Limits

Today, City Limits published an opinion piece written by two wrongfully convicted men, Greg Mingo and firm client Anthony Sims. Mingo was granted clemency in 2021 after nearly 40 years in prison, and Sims was paroled in 2022 after nearly 25 years in prison. Both men are innocent but have yet to be exonerated. In their op-ed, Sims and Mingo urge Governor Hochul to sign the Challenging Wrongful Convictions Act (CWCA), which would reduce legal barriers to innocent New Yorkers challenging their wrongful convictions. Specifically, CWCA would give people with colorable wrongful conviction claims greater access to evidence and forensic testing as well as the right to appeal adverse court decisions. As Sims and Mingo note, the proposed law would also give people who pled guilty a chance to prove their innocence in court, if they have compelling evidence.

You can read their op-ed here.

July 10, 2023

Firm client Anthony Sims granted leave to appeal denial of wrongful conviction claim

Today, a judge of the Appellate Division, Second Department, granted Anthony Sims leave to appeal the denial of his wrongful conviction claims. With leave granted, Sims’ appeal will now be heard on the merits by a full panel of judges. This is a significant victory, since the State appeals court grants leave to appeal in fewer than 10 percent of post-conviction cases.

Sims’ appeal argues that he was wrongfully convicted of the murder of a Chinese restaurant worker that was, in fact, committed by the star prosecution witness, Julius Graves. Detectives suppressed an eyewitness statement identifying Graves as the shooter and coerced another witness to implicate Sims by separating the witness from her child. At a post-conviction hearing, Graves admitted he had lied at trial and had conspired to hide the murder weapon after the crime.

In addition to Tom Hoffman and Jonathan Hiles, Sims is represented in his appeal by the Emery Celli law firm.

June 22, 2023

Tom Hoffman quoted in AP article on push to reform New York’s post-conviction laws

Tom Hoffman was quoted in an AP article discussing proposed reforms to New York’s post-conviction statute, Criminal Procedure Law § 440, that would reduce legal barriers to innocent people challenging their wrongful convictions. The proposed bill, spearheaded by the Innocence Project and exonerees, would give wrongfully convicted New Yorkers greater access to evidence and forensic testing and also give them the right to appeal lower court decisions denying their post-conviction motions. As Hoffman notes, under the current law, the wrongfully convicted are on “pins and needles” just hoping appeals courts will agree to consider their case. The new law, if passed, would also provide relief to innocent people who have pleaded guilty but possess strong evidence of innocence. Studies have shown that many innocent people are coerced into pleading guilty by the threat of draconian sentences.

You can read the article here.

April 18, 2023

Firm client Kelly Cooper settles federal civil rights lawsuit for $10 million

Today, the City of New York agreed to pay Kelly Cooper $10 million for the 22 years he spent behind bars for a crime he didn’t commit. Cooper was convicted of the 1992 murder of an MTA token booth clerk, who was shot and killed on the job in an attempted robbery. At the time of the crime, Cooper was elsewhere playing cards, a fact supported by the testimony of four alibi witnesses. Nevertheless, Cooper was convicted based on dubious eyewitness testimony.

Tom Hoffman began reinvestigating Cooper’s case in 2015 and later joined forces with exoneree and paralegal Jabbar Collins, who had been incarcerated with Cooper. Together, they uncovered proof that two eyewitnesses had only identified Cooper after police threatened to charge them if they did not “cooperate.” Both eyewitnesses recanted and, in 2020, a Brooklyn judge dismissed all charges against Cooper.

Cooper’s lawsuit targeted the NYPD detectives who coerced witnesses to falsely identify him. The lawsuit also alleged that the trial prosecutor had falsely told jurors a key eyewitness was a good Samaritan who “didn’t need any kind of deal” on his own criminal cases when, in fact, the opposite was true.

Hoffman and Jonathan Hiles continue to represent Cooper in his wrongful imprisonment lawsuit against New York State, which is ongoing. You can read more about Cooper’s case here.

February 16, 2023

Anthony Sims featured again on Wrongful Conviction with Jason Flom

Jason Flom, a founding member of the Innocence Project, hosted Anthony Sims for a second time on his podcast for a case update. In December, Sims was paroled after nearly 25 years in prison for a Brooklyn murder he didn’t commit. Since returning home, he has been spending time with his family and working at the Ford Foundation, where he won a prestigious two-year fellowship. Sims has also spent time mentoring at-risk youth and advocating reforms to prevent wrongful convictions and to give “voice to the people who can’t be heard” behind bars.

Unfortunately, despite overwhelming evidence of Sims’ innocence and another man’s guilt, the Brooklyn DA’s Office has not agreed to vacate Sims’ conviction. As a result, the case will soon be decided by a Brooklyn judge. You can listen to the podcast episode here.

December 1, 2022

Anthony Sims released on parole after 25 years in prison

Today, Anthony Sims walked out of Queensboro Correctional Facility a free man for the first time in 25 years. In 1999, Sims was convicted of a Brooklyn murder committed by another man, Julius Graves. Sims’ release followed the approval of his parole application at his first board appearance. Sims' wife, Keisha Sims, greeted him outside the facility, together with members of his legal team. Keisha told The Indypendent, “We’re over the moon regarding Anthony’s parole status…but we’d rather celebrate his exoneration.” The firm has been fighting to overturn Sims’ conviction at a hearing before a Brooklyn judge.

October 20, 2022

Firm settles federal lawsuit of Robert Majors for $3.3 million

Today, the firm settled a wrongful conviction lawsuit on behalf of Robert Majors for $3.3 million. Majors was convicted of the 1997 shooting and robbery of two off-duty police officers who were ambushed while delivering cash payroll. Both victims survived the brutal attack. At the time of the crime, Majors was at his chiropractor’s office, as confirmed by both his chiropractor and medical records. However, police arrested and charged Majors in a rush to judgement and then, with prosecutors, conspired to frame him to bolster their weak case. Majors was convicted in 2000 and sentenced to 62 years-to-life in prison.

Majors’ lawsuit alleged that NYPD detectives pressured eyewitnesses to falsely identify him, while deliberately ignoring evidence of his innocence. Worse yet, Queens prosecutors withheld both an eyewitness account that exculpated Majors and a police informant’s statement that named the true perpetrators. In 2018-2019, Tom Hoffman and Jonathan Hiles uncovered this long-buried exculpatory evidence and obtained DNA test results that further confirmed Majors’ innocence, leading to his exoneration in 2020.

As a free man, Majors has enjoyed quality time with his wife and children while also working full-time delivering medical equipment. As he stated upon his release, “Going from 62 years-to-life to freedom is an amazing turn of events.” You can read more about Majors' case in The National Registry of Exonerations.

June 6, 2022

Federal civil rights lawsuits filed for firm clients Rohan Bolt and Gary Johnson

Today, the firm filed federal civil rights lawsuits on behalf of clients Gary Johnson and Rohan Bolt. In March of last year, a Queens judge vacated their convictions and ordered them released after 24 years in prison for a 1996 double-murder they did not commit.

Bolt and Johnson, along with co-defendant George Bell, were exonerated upon the revelation that police and prosecutors withheld from the defense an earth-shattering police report that identified the true culprits–members of the “Speedstick” robbery gang. The firm obtained this exonerating police report, by sheer coincidence, while reinvestigating the wrongful conviction of Robert Majors for another of Speedstick’s crimes.

Bolt and Johnson continue to grapple with profound trauma, even as they savor their newfound freedom. At the time of their arrests, Johnson, then 22 years old, was hoping to soon start a family. Bolt, meanwhile, was a 35 year-old father of four young children–who would grow up without a father. The firm is fighting to ensure Bolt, Johnson, and their families receive compensation and justice for their untold suffering.

September 8, 2021

Firm client Anthony Sims’ case featured on Wrongful Conviction with Jason Flom

Jason Flom, a founding board member of the Innocence Project, hosted a podcast episode on Anthony Sims' fight for exoneration. Sims has spent 23 years wrongfully incarcerated for a 1998 Brooklyn murder, even though the evidence implicates the prosecution's key witness, Julius Graves. In April, the firm filed a motion to vacate Sims’ conviction based on evidence of his innocence as well as law enforcement misconduct.

The podcast episode explores this newly discovered evidence of Sims’ innocence, including a suppressed report from an eyewitness who saw Graves running from the crime scene with the shotgun used in the murder. In their interviews, Tom Hoffman and Jonathan Hiles detail the case facts as well as their ongoing efforts to overturn Sims’ conviction in court. Flom also talks with Sims about his life before and after his conviction, his relationship with his sons, and his marriage to Keisha Sims, who first contacted the firm about Anthony's case.

You can listen to the podcast here.

June 24, 2021

Firm client Kareem Bellamy settles wrongful conviction lawsuit for $8 million

New York City has agreed to pay $8 million to Kareem Bellamy, who spent 14 years in prison for a Far Rockaway murder he didn’t commit. Tom Hoffman has represented Bellamy since 2004, and Jonathan Hiles since 2013. Joel Rudin and law firm Emery Celli also serve as co-counsel. Bellamy’s settlement with the City follows his $2.75 million settlement with New York State, which was discussed in the Harvard Law Bulletin.

Bellamy was exonerated by Queens Supreme Court Judge Joel Blumenfeld after the prosecution case crumbled and another man confessed to the crime. Bellamy’s federal civil rights lawsuit against New York City arose from law enforcement misconduct. Specifically, detectives John Gillen and Michael Solomeno fabricated statements and a lineup identification. Meanwhile, Bellamy’s trial prosecutor gave a misleading summation and failed to disclose that his office had paid a witness and given her free housing in exchange for her false testimony.

In 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals issued a landmark decision, Bellamy v. City of New York, 914 F.3d 727 (2d Cir. 2019), upholding Bellamy’s civil claims and holding that the City of New York can be held liable for prosecutorial misconduct caused by the policies of a district attorney’s office. Thereafter, the firm obtained evidence that the Queens District Attorney’s Office condoned rampant misconduct for decades. Indeed, in response to an appellate decision finding that a Queens prosecutor had lied to jurors, DA Richard Brown wrote his top aide Jack Ryan, “Jack, I think we’ve been getting away with this sort of thing for a long time.” But instead of addressing such misconduct, the Queens DA’s Office let prosecutors keep “getting away” with it. Thanks in part to Bellamy’s case, this pattern of constitutional violations by Queens prosecutors has now formed the basis for multiple wrongful conviction claims.

June 4, 2021

Queens DA agrees to dismiss all charges against George Bell, Rohan Bolt, Gary Johnson

The Queens DA has agreed to dismiss all charges against George Bell, Rohan Bolt, and Gary Johnson, who spent a combined 72 years in prison for a double homicide they didn’t commit.

In March, a Queens Judge vacated their convictions, finding that prosecutors had intentionally concealed a police report showing the crime was committed by the “Speedstick” gang. Judge Zayas found 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[.]” Following the court’s decision, two long-time Queens prosecutors were forced to resign for their “egregious misconduct.”

As reported by the Queens Eagle, the firm obtained the exonerating police report while reinvestigating a related case, and Tom Hoffman used the report to help exonerate Bell, Bolt, and Johnson.

May 6, 2021

Rally held for firm client Anthony Sims

Today, firm attorneys Jonathan Hiles and Tom Hoffman spoke at a rally in support of firm client Anthony Sims. The rally, which featured a large crowd of supporters, called on the Brooklyn DA to vacate Sims’ conviction. Other speakers included Sims’ wife, his sons, his parents, and other exonerees and advocates, including firm client Kelly Cooper, who had the same trial prosecutor as Sims.

Sims was wrongfully convicted of the 1998 murder of Li Run Chen, a 27-year-old immigrant who was killed by a single shotgun blast while working at a Chinese takeout restaurant. The real killer, Julius Graves, admittedly took the shotgun used in the murder back to his home and then conspired to hide it. However, when questioned by police, Graves implicated Sims, and the prosecution used Graves as its star witness.

Now an eyewitness has reported that she told police she saw Graves running from the Chinese restaurant with the shotgun, but police ignored her. Hoffman and Hiles have also obtained records showing that, in exchange for Graves’ testimony, the prosecution secretly gave him $25,000 and also excused his probation violations. Based on this and other evidence, the firm filed a motion to vacate Sims’ conviction that is now pending.

You can read more about Sims’ case on the Free Anthony Sims website and see a clip of Jonathan Hiles speaking at the rally here.

May 2, 2021

CNN reports on Kelly Cooper’s exoneration and life as free man

CNN published a lengthy feature by reporter Jeff Winter on Kelly Cooper’s exoneration and first tastes of freedom. As the article reports, Cooper recently moved to North Carolina with his childhood sweetheart, Sandy, and their 10-year-old daughter, Layla. Cooper suffers ongoing trauma from his long imprisonment but, he says, “My freedom supersedes my worries.”

As CNN reports, Cooper spends his days with his family, including his grandchildren, and enjoys being a stay-at-home dad and cook. “Besides God, [cooking] was one of the therapeutic things that kept me strong in prison,” Cooper says.

The article discusses the successful effort to exonerate Cooper by Tom Hoffman and paralegal Jabbar Collins, who was incarcerated with Cooper prior to his own exoneration. Together, they uncovered evidence of Cooper’s innocence and law enforcement misconduct that led to Cooper’s exoneration.

The article notes that “Hoffman has worked on the cases of other Black men wrongfully convicted. He has helped resurrect Jaythan Kendrick, Kareem Bellamy and Robert Majors, and assisted – along with Collins – the legal teams of George Bell, Gary Johnson and Rohan Bolt, who were released in March.”

You can read the article here.

March 8, 2021

Queens judge vacates convictions of George Bell, Rohan Bolt, Gary Johnson

Today, Queens Supreme Court Justice Joseph Zayas issued a decision vacating the convictions of George Bell, Rohan Bolt, and Gary Johnson, who have each spent 24 years in prison for a double-homicide they didn’t commit. The three men were wrongfully convicted of the 1996 murder of a check-cashing store owner and off-duty police officer.

The firm played an important role in the exonerations, as reported by the Queens Eagle. While working on a related case with Jonathan Hiles, Tom Hoffman obtained a police report that showed a gang, “Speedstick,” was responsible for the cash-checking murders. At the time of the investigation and trial, both police and prosecutors had this evidence implicating “Speedstick,” but instead of seeking justice, they framed Bell, Bolt, and Johnson. Worse yet, they used false statements from witnesses to convict the three men.

Judge Zayas noted that “no physical evidence, fingerprints, or surveillance video linked Bell, Bolt, or Johnson to the crimes” and that the witnesses against them had “serious sentencing exposure” and “incentive to testify in the way they believed the People wanted them to.” Judge Zayas further found 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[.]”

You can read Judge Zayas’ opinion here.

You can read more about firm clients Gary Johnson and Rohan Bolt’s case in The National Registry of Exonerations.

November 19, 2020

Ernest “Jaythan” Kendrick is exonerated after 26 years in prison

Today, Queens Supreme Court Judge Joseph Zayas vacated Jaythan Kendrick’s conviction for the 1994 stabbing murder of an elderly lady in Long Island City. Judge Zayas told Kendrick he was “sorry” and called his conviction a “monumental” “miscarriage of justice” and “travesty” that “took way, way too long to discover.” Kendrick is now a free man after 26 years of wrongful imprisonment.

His exoneration resulted from collaboration between the Queens County DA’s Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU), lawyers from the Innocence Project and WilmerHale law firm, and Tom Hoffman and Jonathan Hiles. Hoffman played an instrumental role in getting the case off the ground in 2016 and reinvestigating with Hiles.

The reinvestigation yielded myriad evidence of Kendrick’s innocence. Forensic testing of the murder weapon revealed the DNA of another man, not Kendrick; an eyewitness who was just ten years old when the crime occurred recanted his identification of Kendrick and swore police had manipulated him; and new evidence disproved the testimony of the other eyewitness against Kendrick, who had lied to secure leniency on his own cases. The reinvestigation also revealed that police planted evidence, and the trial prosecutor elicited false testimony and misled jurors in his summation.

Kendrick thanked his legal team and stated, “Nobody really understands what it is to be in prison when you are innocent and you know you’re innocent and you’re behind the wall. … If anything could come from this, somebody has to figure out how to stop innocent people from going behind that wall.”

You can read more about Kendrick's case in The National Registry of Exonerations. You can read the Queens DA press release here.

October 20, 2020

Firm client Robert Majors wins freedom and dismissal of charges after 23 years in prison

On October 7, 2020, Robert Majors was released on parole, after a Queens judge overturned his conviction based on newly disclosed evidence of his innocence. Majors had served 23 years in prison.

Today, the Queens District Attorney’s Office agreed to permanently dismiss the attempted murder and robbery charges for which Majors was wrongfully convicted. Now Majors can move on with his life and focus on spending time with his wife, children, and other family and friends.

As Majors stated upon learning he would be released, “Going from 62 years-to-life to freedom is an amazing turn of events.”

You can read more about the case in this NBC New York article.

May 18, 2020

Queens judge vacates Robert Majors’ conviction

Today, Queens Supreme Court Judge John Latella vacated Robert Majors’ convictions for attempted murder and robbery, together with his 50-year prison sentence for those crimes. Judge Latella, who had convicted Majors at a bench trial, found that Queens prosecutors had deprived Majors of a fair trial by suppressing evidence of his innocence. Majors is now eligible for parole after 23 years in prison.

Majors was convicted of the 1997 shooting and robbery of two off-duty police officers, who were ambushed while delivering cash payroll in Flushing, Queens. Both victims were badly wounded but survived. As the crime unfolded, Majors was at his chiropractor’s office receiving treatment for a debilitating back injury. However, unbeknownst to Majors, his brother-in-law was one of the perpetrators, and police arrested both men after spotting them together the next day. In their zeal to “solve” a police shooting, detectives pressured eyewitnesses to falsely identify Majors. Majors’ attorney, meanwhile, neglected to call his chiropractor as a witness.

For years, Majors fought to prove his innocence. In 2018, Tom Hoffman and Jonathan Hiles took his case and uncovered a sworn affidavit, from days after the crime, in which a police informant identified the three perpetrators and exonerated Majors. Police and prosecutors had credited this affidavit, but they hid it from Majors for 20 years. The firm also obtained DNA evidence and an eyewitness description that excluded Majors as a participant in the crime.

After Judge Latella announced his decision, Hoffman stated, “Your Honor, it is not every day a 50 to life sentence is set aside. Mr. Majors has been in a dark hole for 23 years. Today your Honor has given him a light at the end of the tunnel. On behalf of Mr. Majors, we thank you.”

You can read more about Majors' case in The National Registry of Exonerations.

March 25, 2019

Firm client Robert “Haji” Jones released on parole

Today, Haji Jones walked out of the Shawangunk Correctional Facility a free man after nearly 25 years in prison for the 1994 murder of Antoine Stone in Far Rockaway, Queens. After Stone was shot, as he lay bleeding, he told eyewitnesses that a drug dealer had shot him, not his friend, Haji Jones.

Jones was convicted in 1996 upon the testimony of two eyewitnesses who later recanted their identifications and swore police and prosecutors had pressured them to lie. Attorney Tom Hoffman began representing Jones in 2014, alongside Gibson Dunn and The Legal Aid Society. Despite the witness recantations and other exonerating evidence, a Queens judge denied Jones’ motion to vacate his conviction, and an appeals court refused to even hear his case. Despite these setbacks, the firm will continue to fight to fully exonerate Jones and clear his name. In the interim, Jones intends to make the most of his freedom–spending time with his family, including his children, starting a job, and re-acclimating to the outside world.

Read this New York Times article for more information on Jones’ case.

January 29, 2019

Firm secures landmark federal appeals court victory for Kareem Bellamy

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has issued a decision vindicating firm client Kareem Bellamy as well as broader efforts to hold prosecutors accountable for their misconduct. Bellamy spent 14 years in prison for a Far Rockaway murder he didn’t commit prior to his exoneration in 2011 and subsequent civil lawsuit. 

Today’s ruling, Bellamy v. City of New York, 914 F.3d 727 (2d Cir. 2019), reversed a flawed lower court order dismissing Bellamy’s lawsuit. The Second Circuit held that Bellamy can in fact sue New York City for policies of the Queens District Attorney’s Office that caused prosecutors in his case to mislead jurors and conceal a bribe they paid their star witness. This decision cements the rule that a city may be held liable for the unlawful policies and misconduct of its district attorney’s office. The Second Circuit also upheld Bellamy’s claims against NYPD detectives who fabricated inculpatory statements as well as a corrupt lineup identification. Now Bellamy can pursue further evidence of police and prosecutorial misconduct and, ultimately, secure compensation for the years he lost behind bars.

Jonathan Hiles worked with firm co-counsel Joel Rudin on the appeal. You can read the Second Circuit’s decision here. For more information on the case, see this feature in the Harvard Law Bulletin.