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Two New York City men who remained in prison for more than three decades saw freedom Monday after a state court overturned their murder convictions based on withheld evidence.
Carlton Roman and Christopher Ellis, both Black, faced murder charges in 1989 and 1990, respectively. Both men served at least 30 years in prison for crimes but saw their fortunes changed when state judges in separate cases recently overturned their convictions: Roman saw total exoneration, while Ellis saw his charges vacated.
"An exoneration couldn’t have happened to a nicer man," James Henning, an attorney for Roman, told Fox News on Tuesday. "If what was known about the evidence now were known at the time of trial, [Roman] would have been acquitted."
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Roman, 26 at the time, faced charges for murder and attempted murder as a college graduate with no criminal record and a fiancée who corroborated his whereabouts at the time of the crime in Queens. He served 32 years in prison. Ellis, 20 at the time, faced charges of murder and armed robbery despite performing as a DJ at his brother’s birthday party on Long Island the night of the incident. A witness denied that Ellis was present at the time of the murder, but the police did not tell prosecutors of this testimony.
Carlton Roman pictured with his legal team following his exoneration. Roman spent over 30 years in prison for crimes he did not commit.
Henning joined the case in 2017 and took over after a number of other attorneys departed the case following the loss of a previous motion. He has now seen his faith and hard work rewarded with a total exoneration as the indictment was dismissed as part of the decision.
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Henning noted that the involvement of the Queens Conviction Integrity Unit was a huge boost for Roman’s chances.
"In the post-conviction arena, anything can happen the next day," Henning explained. "You never know when the real shooter might come out and confess. Strange things can happen."
"I’ve seen guys who looked like they didn’t have a shot, and the next thing you know, something pops up and there’s new evidence," he said.
Carlton was convicted on the testimony of two eyewitnesses but no ballistic or forensic evidence. A judge sentenced him to 43 years in prison, but one of the witnesses, Paul Anderson, recently recanted his account after the Integrity Unit noted as many as six different versions of events according to various interviews and testimonies he provided, ABC 7 News reported.
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The prosecutor who originally tried the case against Roman is no longer practicing with the office, so Henning believes no further action will occur, either through inter-office disciplinary action or otherwise, he said.
However, the process is not done, yet, for Ellis: The people will decide whether to try a new case or outright dismiss the indictment, as was done with Roman’s charges, The New York Times reported.
Christopher Ellis remained in prison for around 30 years after he was wrongly convicted of murder due to withheld evidence by the Nassau County Police Department.
"In many ways, it’s an appalling case," Ilann Maazel, an attorney for Ellis, told Fox News. "The Nassau County Police Department, we know now, hid evidence, including confessions and leads – they hid all of this for three decades from the defense and the prosecutor."
The police held Ellis for 18 hours at the time to break him down and force a confession from him, which Maazel labeled as "misconduct on every level."
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Maazel joined the case in 2014 when Ellis reached out to him to take over the case. Since 2015, Maazel has fought to see his client freed – a man that he said he has been "impressed by" in many ways.
"He’s managed to not be bitter, not be angry," Maazel said. "He’s had almost zen-like patience that the truth will set him free."
"The police railroaded these young men and treated them as if they were nobody," Maazel explained. "They spent 30 years behind bars, and it’s a terrible tragedy."
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Ellis was able to finally hug his son, 30, for the first time as a free man on Monday.
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