Call On Governor Hochul to Sign Challenging Wrongful Convictions Act

Wrongfully convicted and their families call upon District Attorney Conviction Review Units (CRU) to speed up processing of backlogged cases as victims languish in prison for decades. Ask City council to provide judicial, prosecutorial and police oversight. Press conference and rally at New York City Hall on Tuesday, September 19, 2023, at 10:30 am.

These CRUs often spend years reviewing cases and reject most. Also, among the concerns are that Judges in trial courts routinely deny innocence claims after long delays. NYPD still does not consistently record custodial interrogations in precincts, and police investigators can legally lie to those being interrogated which can lead to coerced, false confessions.

“It is taking far too long to review cases while many innocent people are spending decades behind bars. Speed up and move these cases forward,” says Derrick Hamilton, co-founder and Director of Legal Affairs of Families and Friends of the Wrongfully Convicted. “For every wrongfully convicted man or woman languishing for decades in prison, the real perpetrators remain in our community continuing to commit serious crimes. We must not have these families suffer anymore. The promise of a conviction review is in most cases a promise never kept.”

With over $360 million in wrongful conviction settlements paid by New York City since 2016, the City Council should step up and take a more active role in criminal justice reform, providing oversight to the CRUs, police and judiciary. The Council should provide additional funding to the CRUs to add more attorneys and investigators to deal with the backlogs.

Families and Friends of the Wrongfully Convicted are also calling for Governor Hochul to sign the “Challenging Wrongful Conviction Act” S. 215 / A. 2878 recently passed by both houses of the New York State legislature The new law would provide the right to post conviction legal counsel; enable those who have pleaded guilty to seek to overturn their convictions based upon actual innocence; allow for post-conviction discovery and remove procedural roadblocks to relief.

Justice Delayed

In Brooklyn, victims of infamous NYPD detective Louis Scarcella have been waiting decades for justice. James Jenkins has served 36 years in prison, his Scarcella case was in the CRU for years, and Judge Sharen Hudson has slow moved a hearing for over two years. Kevin Smith served 27 years in a Scarcella-related case, while his CRU review has gone on close to 10 years through three Brooklyn DAs: Hynes, Thompson and Gonzalez. Nelson Cruz, another Scarcella victim, served 27 years. His innocence pleas went unheeded at the DA, and his innocence hearing was shockingly denied by the judge who was found to be suffering from Alzheimer’s.

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg must engage in a much more vigorous effort to right so many wrongs. He needs to address a huge backlog of cases, properly staff the CRU and treat the epidemic of wrongful convictions in New York as important. Danny Rincon has served 30 years of a 158-year sentence. He awaits awaiting action from the DA.

In Queens, DA Melinda Katz has established a CRU led by a defense attorney, but it needs more staff and a larger budget as the process is too slow moving. Harold Marshall remains imprisoned after 25 years, and Stephan Brathwaite’s case languished in CRU until he was finally paroled after serving 30 years. The Queens D.A. opposed his parole.

In the Bronx, DA Darcel Clark has a barely functional CRU, and has not allowed open discovery. Joe Sanchez has served 16 years after terrible prosecutorial misconduct; Manny Lugo remains in prison for 25 years even though another man was convicted of the murder.

https://wrongfullyconvicted.info

COMPTROLLER OF CITY OF NEW YORK ANNUAL CLAIMS REPORT WRONGFUL CONVCITON SETTLEMENTS
Read here

 FY 2022 $86.8 million in Settlements

Samuel Brownridge -25 years (1994-2019) $13.0 million
Pablo Fernandez-24 years (1995 – 2019 )$12.0 million
Shawn Williams24 years (1993 – 2018) $10.5 million
Rafael Ruiz -25 years (1984 – 2009) $8.99 million
Gerard Domond-28 years (1998-2016) $8.4 million
Eric William Rodriguez-21.17 years (1999 -2021) $7.0 million
Grant Williams -23 years (1996-2019) $7.0 million
Julio Negron- 9.75 years (2006-2015) $6.25 million
Bladimil Arroyo- 17.5 years (2001-2019) $5.35 million
Calvin Buari -22 years (1995-2017) $4.0 million
Rhian Taylor -8.75 years (2008-2017) $3.0 million
Triston Pinheiro-2.83 years (2005-2008) $500,000
Phillip Boykin- 3 years (2016-2019) $390,000
Alfred Edwards- 1 year (2011-2012) $175,000
Danny Ponder- 2.5 years (2018-2021) $150,000
Neal Watts-5 years (2013-2018) $100,000

TOTAL: 242.5 years $86.8 million

Chart 7: Reversed Conviction Payouts, FYs 2016–2022

FY 2016 – $62.2 Million
FY 2017 – $99.9 Million
FY 2018- $33.3 Million
FY 2019 – $20.3 Million
FY 2021 – $59 Million
FY 2022- $86.8 Million

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Pamela has expressed deep remorse and taken responsibility for her behavior that led to the murder of her husband Gregg Smart.

Her trial was a sensational display of how a narrative contrary to the facts in the case can drive the media and the courtroom. Like Amanda Knox, as well as Damien Echols and the West Memphis 3, facts are often obscured or ignored completely to gain a conviction or produce a sensational news report. In Pamela Smart’s case, we witnessed this in the extreme. A movie was aired even before her trial, and hers was one of the first trials ever televised gavel to gavel. Over 1200 news articles, almost all based on a prosecution narrative, were exposed to a jury that was not sequestered during trial

Pamela’s life without parole sentence is excessive and inhumane, as well as disproportionate to the sentences of the actual killers. The four young men who killed Gregg Smart have been free for years.

She has worked tirelessly to grow and change. She has dedicated herself to helping others during her three decades in prison. She has helped hundreds of women get their high school diplomas, associates, and bachelor’s degrees, worked as a certified HIV/AIDS counselor, and is currently in her 7th term as the elected grievance representative. She has furthered her own education by achieving a Doctorate in Biblical Studies, a Master of Science in Law, and a Master of Fine Arts in English Literature. She graduated from all three programs with a 4.0 GPA.

Pamela was selected by her Pastor for a leadership position in her church and has served her church community in that role for decades.

She is now asking New Hampshire’s Governor Christopher Sununu, the New Hampshire Executive Council and the Office of the Attorney General to have mercy on her and reduce her sentence so that she can return home.

If you can please support Pamela Smart’s effort to gain a commutation of her sentence. Reach out to New Hampshire Governor Sununu, Attorney General John M. Formel, as well as New York Governor Kathy Hochul, and New York’s Attorney General, Letitia James and other elected officials in New York and New Hampshire.

See pamelasmart.com

The Honorable Chris Sununu
Governor
State House
107 North Main Street
Concord, NH 03301
(603) 271-2121
(603)271-7680 Fax

Attorney General John M. Formell
New Hampshire Dept of Justice
33 Capitol Street
Concord, NH 03301

The Honorable Kathy Hochul
Governor of New York
NYS State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224
1-518-474-8390

Attorney General Letittia James
The Capitol
Albany, NY 12224-0341

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Habeas Corpus Petiton Filed In Federal Court on Behalf  Rosemond Asks That He be Released

(Clarksville, West Virginia, October 7, 2021) James Rosemond, founder of Czar Entertainment, in New York, who has served ten years of nine consecutive lifetime sentences in Federal prison, today filed a Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus in United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virgina, alleging that former President Donald J. Trump commuted his sentence prior to leaving office. He was never released.

According to the filing, “On December 18, 2020, then-President Donald J. Trump commuted Rosemond’s sentence to the time he had already served.  President Trump telephoned Jim Brown (the former NFL running back, actor, and criminal justice advocate) and his wife Monique Brown (the director of a leading social justice organization), two of the numerous people who have supported Rosemond’s years-long efforts to obtain clemency.  According to the sworn declarations submitted by the Browns in support of this petition, President Trump said, in a room full of his staff, that he had “looked at everything” Rosemond submitted, that he “believe[d] you guys” (Rosemond and the Browns), and that Rosemond would be “home for Christmas.”   The Browns took that statement to mean exactly what it said: that “Rosemond’s sentence was commuted on December 18, 2020,” and that he would be freed and sent home within a week. “

According to sworn affidavits submitted with the filing, Jim Brown stated, “On December 18, 2020, President Trump called me and informed me that he had decided to commute Mr. Rosemond’s sentence to the time he had already served in prison. 

“During this conversation, President Trump told people in the room with him: “Let’s get this guy home for Christmas.” He told me that he had “looked at everything”—meaning the materials we had provided about Mr. Rosemond’s case—and “believe you guys” that Mr. Rosemond’s sentence should be commuted.  “I want to do this,” President Trump added, referring to the commutation.” 

Donald Trump called Jim Brown and NFL great Herschel Walker and told them he was granting the clemency and he would be home for Christmas. Senior advisor to the President Jared Kushner also called Rosemond’s attorneys and Michael J. Williams and told them Rosemond had been granted clemency and would be released from USP Hazelton Federal prison in Bruceton Hills, West Virginia. The White House informed the family to “pick Jimmy up the following Tuesday or Wednesday.” They then went 400 miles from Brooklyn to pick up Rosemond upon his release days before Christmas.

According to the submission, “An act of clemency need not be conveyed in any particular form so long as the President communicates it publicly; it does not have to be in writing or announced to any specific person or entity. Second, the wording of the clemency does not matter so long as the President reasonably conveys the clemency decision; no legal phrasing, such as “pardon” or “commutation,” is necessary to accomplish an act of clemency. Third, once the President completes an act of clemency, it cannot be revoked, either by the President granting clemency or by his or her successor.

Michael Rayfield, of Mayer Brown LLP, Rosemond’s attorney, said, “I’ve had the privilege of representing Jimmy Rosemond for over six years, and I’ve never had any doubt that he was wrongfully convicted.  On December 18, 2020, President Trump reached the same conclusion:  He commuted Jimmy’s sentence to the time he had already served in prison and announced that Jimmy would be “home for Christmas” (which was the following week).  Unfortunately, the record of President Trump’s decision was never transmitted to the warden of the prison, and Jimmy is now being held in custody in violation of his constitutional rights. 

“As our petition explains, the President completes an irrevocable act of clemency—here, a sentence commutation—by publicly communicating the clemency decision.  Neither the form nor the wording of the clemency decision is relevant under the law, and once it happens, it can’t be reversed regardless of whether any record is delivered.  Simply put, Jimmy is serving a sentence that no longer exists. 

“I continue to be hopeful that the Biden Administration will act on Jimmy’s commutation. But as an alternative, we’ve sought habeas corpus relief in federal court.  This exact situation is unprecedented, but it’s clear to me that Jimmy doesn’t belong in prison for another day.” 

In conclusion to the petition, “The Court should grant Rosemond’s petition for writ of habeas corpus and direct the Warden of USP Hazelton to release Rosemond from prison immediately.”

Rosemond grew up poor in Brooklyn, NY in 1965. In 1996, Rosemond founded Henchmen Records, which would later become Czar Entertainment, a music management company based in Manhattan.  Rosemond represented multiple high-profile musicians, actors, and athletes, including Mike Tyson, Michael K. Williams, Wyclef, Brandy, Salt‑N‑Pepa, and Akon.

James Rosemond was charged and convicted of violating the federal “Drug Kingpin” statute based on the testimony of five informants who were found with contraband and were facing long sentences, one of whom later admitted that he was the “kingpin but they wanted Jimmy [Rosemond].”  These witnesses each served less than four years in prison and have been home since 2014 or earlier.   

Rosemond maintains his innocence. He was tried four times and had his murder conviction overturned by the Second Circuit Federal Court after it was revealed that the key government witness told prosecutors that “Rosemond never ordered him to commit a murder.” He told the government from the beginning—both in private meetings and at trial—that Rosemond “never told me to murder Lowell Fletcher” and “never mentioned killing Fletcher at all.”  

Rosemond was sentenced to a total of nine consecutive life sentences. He has been in federal custody since 2011.

In January 2015, Rosemond began to seek clemency from the Obama Administration, and he continued those efforts after President Trump was elected. His clemency petition received overwhelming support from diverse sectors of society.  Among his most ardent supporters were Jim and Monique Brown, and actor Michael K. Williams who led the effort to seek to overturn his conviction and then a commutation. While they had worked for years, it was during the famous Oval Office meeting with Kanye West in October of 2018, that Jim Brown and his attorney presented President Trump with evidence supporting Rosemond’s innocence and requesting he commute Rosemond’s sentence to time served, which he subsequently did.

Weldon Angelos, prison reform activist and president of The Weldon Project/Mission Green, said “Being an activist on criminal justice reform and a person who was once sentenced to 55 years in prison for a small amount of marijuana, I know everyone needs a second chance ,and Jimmy Rosemond should not be excluded from this consideration and sentenced to death by incarceration. “

Don Sikorski, producer of, UNJUST JUSTICE, a documentary on James Rosemond, said “Prosecutors used every unethical method to get a conviction. Jimmy Rosemond’s case is the epitome of everything that’s wrong with the criminal justice system. How does a young black man from Brooklyn get more life sentences than El Chapo when both were accused of the same crime, sentenced in the same courthouse while they had no evidence against Jimmy Rosemond that he was a kingpin. Any President should be interested in this case.”

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Families of the Wrongfully Convicted, Attorney Justin Bonus and co-founder Derrick Hamilton applaud New Jersey State Attorney General Gubrir Grewal and his colleagues in the Statewide Conviction Review Unit vacating the conviction of Taron Hill, who was wrongfully convicted of a murder that his brother committed in Camden, NJ. In 2004. He was released on Friday, July 9, 2021, in Camden, NJ.

Hill has served 14 years of a 60-year sentence imposed in 2007, even though Hill’s older brother had admitted that he was the shooter. It was a double homicide in which two innocent bystanders were killed. He was identified by a woman who was a drug addict through a single photograph. Even though she had named another man as the person she saw, not Taron. The only other pieces of evidence against Taron are jailhouse informants, who both have recanted.

Almost immediately after Taron’s conviction, family members came forward and told authorities and the court that Anthony confessed. Now the NJ AG’s Office, in their first case that they have handled, are vacating this conviction.

Attorney Justin Bonus and Derrick Hamilton said, “The New Jersey Attorney General has proven that transparency and cooperation with defense lawyers and family members can actually result in justice. Other states and municipalities across the country can learn from the integrity shown by New Jersey State Attorney General Gubrir Grewal and his colleagues in the Statewide Conviction Review Unit. It does not have to remain an adversarial relationship. In fact, justice is served when it is a cooperative effort.”

Notice of Motion for a New Trial HILL CRU

State’s Response Brief to Defendant’s Motion for New Trial (McBride)

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Vincent Simmons, after 44 years in prison on a 100 year sentence, might finally get his day in court fighting for his innocence of the rape of two 14 year old white girls in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, an assault that never happened.

After the first Judge Spruill removed himself last month, the current judge, William Bennett, ordered the District Attorney, Charles Riddle, removed from the case as well.

Testimony, in the 12 Judicial District Court in ALexandria, LA, today, by Simmons original attorney, Mike Kelley, 44 years ago, stated on the record, that he never received any discovery from the DA’s office or police, including the medical examiner reports that proved there was no sexual assault of the girls. He also testified that he never was made aware of a police lineup in which Mr Simmons was presented to witnesses shackled in the line up. see photo

Simmons’ Attorney, Justin Bonus, Also Presented Evidence that Witnesses Have been Facing threats and intimidation from Keith Laborde, the Man who Witnesses Say Lied About Simmons Involvement in 1977 rape which resulted in his 100 year sentence

Background

Two weeks after the night of May 9, 1977, two 14-year-old twin white girls and their 18-year- old cousin were visiting with relatives and mentioned nothing about being raped and kidnapped until one of the relatives noticed a scratch on the man’s neck. Things immediately changed and the three told them a concocted story about being assaulted by an unknown Black man. The relatives, skeptical that they were telling them the whole story, two weeks after it allegedly occurred, advised them to go to the police.

At the police station, they could not provide many details other than a Black man attacked them. While there were no corroborating witnesses and no evidence at all of a rape and kidnapping, it did not stop the police from picking up a young Black man from town and taking him into the station. Unable to truly understand the charges against him, as he had only sixth grade education and was illiterate, the police denied him an attorney and the ability to make a call. He was then placed in a line up with a few other men, but there was only one man in the line up that day who was handcuffed and placed in restraints – Vincent Simmons. The twins and their cousin identified the man with the handcuffs and shortly thereafter in the stationhouse Simmons was shot point blank in his chest.

He was tried less than 60 days later and in one day convicted of the charges. He was sentenced to 100 years in prison. He has served nearly 44 years, mostly in solitary confinement. Old and sickly, Vincent remains  in Angola Prison.

 New evidence has emerged that the alleged 1977 rape of two 14- year-old white girls in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, never happened. New witnesses have come forward and provided sworn statements that there was no sexual assault, rape or kidnapping, and that the alleged victims lied about the attack by an unknown Black man. There was absolutely no DNA or other evidence tying Simmons to the alleged crime.

Other evidence includes the coroner report that was kept hidden from the defense at the time of the trial, and recently corroborated by a forensic pathology expert, proving that neither of the girls were assaulted and raped.

The lone Black person on the jury now states in a sworn affidavit that she was not only scared and coerced into a conviction, had she known of the medical reports, she would have likely acquitted Mr. Simmons. “I now believe Vincent is innocent.”

Expert witness identification evidence that shows that the alleged victim identification of Simmons was shocking especially considering that he was handcuffed when placed in the lineup and selected by the alleged victims. See photo of lineup https://bit.ly/3jYA99n

According to experts, Vincent Simmons was convicted by “a legal process that paralleled the prosecutions of scores of black men accused of crimes by white women.” Police conducted no investigation and there were efforts by police to coerce him to confess. One complaining witness told police that her uncle was very upset and talked about taking the law into his own hands. The other referred to black men as Niggers and told police that all Blacks looked the same to her. The trial was held 51 days after the crime, and defense counsel had very little time to prepare his case. Simmons was convicted by a jury composed of 11 whites and 1 African American in two days and received an extremely severe sentence. “His trial, for all practical purposes, was a legal lynching.”

Contact:  Lonnie Soury. lsoury@soury.com, (917) 519-4521
Attorney Justin Bonus, justin.bonus@gmail.com,  (347)-920-0160

See www.freevincent.com
www.wrongfullyconvicted.info

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/05/us/vincent-simmons-rape-case-new-testimony-hearing/index.html

View transcript

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Read more about this film project.

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