Man Freed After Nearly Two Decades In Prison For Robbery He Did Not Commit

A man wrongfully imprisoned for astir 2 decades for a $550 robbery has yet walked free aft prosecutors admitted he did not perpetrate nan crime. Kenneth Windley, 61, was released from a Brooklyn courthouse connected Monday, marking his first sensation of state since 2007.

His condemnation was overturned and his lawsuit dismissed by a judge, pursuing a associated petition from some nan prosecution and Windley's ineligible team. Prosecutors cited caller evidence, including confessions from 2 different individuals convicted of akin robberies, which corroborated Windley's accordant claims of innocence.

Emerging from court, Windley reflected connected his ordeal, stating, "It costs maine 20 years, but they said they corrected it now. So that's each that matters. So I’m bully pinch that."

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, who shook Windley's manus extracurricular nan courthouse, emphasized nan broader implications of nan case. "This lawsuit is really a cautionary communicative of really things tin look 1 measurement but, without observant analysis, not beryllium what it purports to be," he said.

“Had we known what nan grounds was, this lawsuit should person ne'er happened,” he said, adding that he had apologized privately to Windley.

Windley was arrested successful 2005, aft buying a stove for his mother pinch a money bid that turned retired to beryllium stolen.

It had been snatched from Gerald Ross, 70, by 2 thieves who followed him location from a travel to a slope and a station office. The thieves put Ross successful a chokehold and took money orders, cash, and a slope book from him, prosecutors said successful a study released Monday.

Ross regularly sewage money orders for his rent and life security payments astatine that station office, which helped him and authorities travel a insubstantial way aft nan robbery. The way soon led to Windley, who had fixed his name, driver’s licence and reside erstwhile purchasing nan stove astatine an appliance store.

From nan start, Windley said he had thing to do pinch nan robbery. He said he'd simply bought a $542.77 money bid astatine a discount from a mates of acquaintances, who insisted that it was valid but that they couldn't usage it for a bureaucratic reason.

“He was duped," 1 of Windley's lawyers, David Shanies, told nan tribunal Monday.

Ross identified Windley successful a lineup arsenic 1 of nan thieves, and a assemblage convicted him successful 2007 of robbery. Because of anterior felony convictions, he was sentenced to 20 years to life successful prison. His appeals failed.

Early on, Windley told prosecutors what he knew astir nan men who sold him nan money order: their nicknames, and immoderate accusation astir their ineligible names. After his conviction, a friend and backstage investigators helped him soma retired nan men's identities and seduce nan men to travel guardant astir what had happened, according to nan D.A's report.

In sworn statements and past successful interviews pinch D.A.'s agency representatives, nan 2 men said that they had robbed Ross together and that Windley was not involved, according to nan report. It called their admissions “compelling.”

It doesn’t springiness their names, referring to them only arsenic “Suspect 1” and “Suspect 2.” Both are serving situation clip connected different robbery convictions, according to nan D.A.’s office. Those convictions each progressive antheral victims successful their 60s and older who were followed location from banks and check-cashing offices successful Brooklyn successful 2005 and 2006.

If nan assemblage had known those men's identities and robbery records, nan accusation would apt person raised reasonable uncertainty astir nan complaint against Windley, prosecutors concluded.

No caller charges person been brought successful nan case. The ineligible timeframe for bringing charges ran retired years ago, and Ross has died.

Windley, heading disconnected Monday day to observe pinch his family, said he wasn't bitter astir what he'd been through

“I’m conscionable going to move connected from there,” he said.