Three men in prison for the deaths of two men in 1996, including a New York Police Department officer who was out of service, had their convictions overturned on Friday because of information that prosecutors should have given to lawyers for defense in the trial, but they did not.
A judge released George Bell, Gary Johnson and Rohan Bolt on his own bail, while prosecutors reexamined the case.
The men spent more than 20 years in prison after their convictions in the December 1996 deaths of Ira Epstein, owner of a check cashing company, and officer Charles Davis, who worked as a security guard for the business at the time.
Queens County District Attorney Melinda Katz and defense lawyers filed a motion to overturn the convictions after an investigation found that an account of another man who implicated himself and his gangmates in the deaths, as well like the mental health records of someone who implicated Bell, Johnson and Bolt, were not handed over to defense lawyers.
“Our office does not dismiss the convictions lightly, and this is a tragic case that has affected many lives,” said Katz in a statement. “But a fair and accurate trial depends on prosecutors and defense lawyers knowing all the evidence so that the jury can make an informed decision about a defendant’s guilt or innocence.”
Katz said his office would be reviewing the evidence to see if the charges against the men should be dropped.