Ongoing Cases
The heart of our work is fighting to free innocent people who are serving decades-long prison sentences. Most of our clients have been incarcerated for 20 years or longer. Roughly half are serving life sentences. A smaller number have completed their sentences and are still hoping to clear their names. Below is a sample of ongoing cases where we are still fighting for exoneration.
ANTHONY ARRIAGA
Anthony Arriaga was convicted and sentenced to 25 years-to-life in prison for the May 7, 2003 shooting death of a 20-year-old Bronx man he did not know, much less have a motive to kill. Another man, a drug-dealer, did have a clear motive for the crime; indeed, as revealed by a long-buried police report, hours before the murder the victim expressed fear that the drug dealer “was going to kill him if he didn’t pay” back a drug debt. Yet Arriaga was prosecuted and convicted for the murder based on the testimony of a single witness who claimed he could see the shooter, who was standing on a Bronx sidewalk, from inside a basement-level apartment. This testimony was impossible: To see the sidewalk shooter from the basement the witness would have had to possess the unique ability to see through walls. This witness’s identification of Arriaga was orchestrated by NYPD detective Kevin Tracy, who has a documented history of misconduct. In fact, prosecutors have thrown out two homicide convictions, of Antonio Mallet and Kimberly Hanzlik, based on Det. Tracy’s coercion of witnesses and long history of bad acts. The firm is litigating a motion to vacate Mr. Arriaga’s wrongful conviction together with Matthew Bova of the Center for Appellate Litigation. Mr. Arriaga has always maintained his innocence and has used his time in prison to complete myriad programs, mentor fellow prisoners, and work towards a college degree.
ALVER GIRALDO
Alver Giraldo served nearly 25 years in prison for a 1989 shooting murder at a Jackson Heights bar that he had nothing to do with. The case rested on a single eyewitness who identified Giraldo as the culprit only after police showed his photograph in a suggestive manner. Multiple eyewitnesses and alibis have maintained that Giraldo was not at the bar and was, indeed, in Florida the night of the shooting. While incarcerated, Giraldo suffered greatly and lost touch with his wife and children. Nevertheless, he endured, teaching himself English, obtaining his GED, completing numerous programs, and founding a Spanish language ART (Aggression Replacement Training) program at Elmira Correctional Facility. At his first parole interview in 2013, Giraldo, by then 45, simply repeated, “I am innocent.” He was granted parole and, upon his release, deported to Colombia where he now lives, separated from his U.S.-based family. Even so, Giraldo has a uniquely positive attitude and spends time jogging, cycling, and reading, while still fighting to clear his name. The firm began representing Giraldo in 2025 and is reinvestigating his case in a continued effort to overturn his conviction and clear his name.
ANTHONY SIMS
In 1999, Anthony Sims was wrongfully convicted of a murder in a Brooklyn Chinese restaurant. The evidence always pointed towards the guilt of the prosecution’s star witness, Julius Graves, who took the shotgun used in the murder home, wiped off his fingerprints, and conspired to hide the gun from police. The firm began representing Sims in 2020 and was joined by co-counsel Emery Celli in 2021. Our reinvestigation revealed that an eyewitness saw Graves run out of the Chinese restaurant with the shotgun and that NYPD detectives had coerced another witness to testify falsely to implicate Sims. This new evidence was presented at a court hearing, but the judge declined to overturn the conviction. The firm appealed and, on March 11, 2026, the Appellate Division reversed the lower court’s decision and vacated Sims’ conviction based on newly discovered evidence. We are now working to have the case fully dismissed in the interests of justice. Sims, meanwhile, has completed parole and is working at the Ford Foundation. He also leads workshops for the Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP), mentors at-risk youth, and advocates for criminal justice reforms. You can read more at freeanthonysims.com.
KARIEM BROXTON
In 1999, Kariem Broxton, a husband and father, was convicted and sentenced to 100 years in prison for a fatal nightclub shooting committed by two other men. Both shooters pleaded guilty and have asserted Broxton’s innocence, but police and Queens prosecutors mistakenly decided Broxton was the third shooter despite ballistic evidence showing only two guns were used in the crime. Numerous eyewitnesses have sworn Broxton was not involved in the shooting, and the main eyewitnesses against him have recanted their identifications and attributed them to police pressure. Our investigation has uncovered further evidence of Broxton’s innocence and constitutional violations, and we are working to bring him home as soon as possible.
Broxton’s wrongful conviction has had a devastating impact on his family, who have fought tirelessly to prove his innocence. Despite these challenges, they remain steadfast in their commitment to seeing justice served.
HAJI JONES
Haji Jones served 25 years in prison for the murder of an old friend in Far Rockaway. As the victim lay dying, he told witnesses a “drug dealer”–not Jones–had shot him. Despite Jones’ innocence, police coerced two eyewitnesses to identify him. Jones was convicted in a corrupt trial and sentenced to 25 years-to-life in prison. In 2014, Tom Hoffman and Gibson Dunn agreed to represent Jones, with assistance from The Legal Aid Society. At a court hearing, both eyewitnesses recanted their identifications. Nevertheless, the hearing judge denied Jones’ motion, and an appeals court declined to hear his case. Jones earned parole in 2019, and has been gainfully employed since his release. He is a visual artist who enjoys fishing and spending time with his daughter and grandchildren. The firm is continuing to urge the Queens DA’s Office to give Jones’ case a second look and overturn his conviction.