Court admits mistake: Americans were imprisoned innocently for decades

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Eric Smokes was twenty and David Warren seventeen when they were charged with murder. In 1987, a French tourist was robbed and murdered in cold blood in Times Square. Warren (now 56) and Smokes (53) were held responsible – although they maintained their innocence to this day. Now the court has proven them right and admitted mistakes.

The arrest was based on eyewitness accounts. Warren’s incarceration ended in 2007 and Smokes was released in 2011. But despite serving their prison sentences, the two men were still considered murderers. As the New York Times reports, that has now changed: on Wednesday, the two were ultimately acquitted of the charges.

Key witness lied

While still in prison, Eric Smokes received a letter from the key witness in the case. In it he admitted that he had lied. He told investigators that Smokes told him he had taken someone’s life. According to his own statement, the witness did this to make a good impression, because he himself was suspected at the time.

Despite this confession, the two Brooklyn friends remained imprisoned. Over the years, the two’s lawyers have also exposed other weaknesses in the prosecution. But the district attorney’s office led by then-prosecutor Cyrus Vance Jr. (69) continued to refuse to request that the conviction be quashed.

“Anger, disappointment, pain because we’ve been dealing with the same issues for 33 years and we still haven’t gotten justice,” Warren said in 2020, explaining his feelings after the conviction’s overturn was again denied.

“A benchmark for comfort and justice”

In 2022, a new man, Alvin Bragg (50), took over the position of responsible prosecutor in the case. One of his first official acts was to order the case to be reopened. There was a hearing Wednesday in Manhattan Supreme Court, where Warren and Smokes were ultimately acquitted.

“Eric Smokes and David Warren lost decades of their lives due to a wrongful conviction,” Bragg said after the conviction was overturned. “I applaud the relentless defense of Mr. Smokes and Mr. Warren and hope that today’s decision can finally provide them with some measure of comfort and justice.”

The court acknowledges that the witnesses should not have been treated as suspects at the same time. The teenagers’ statements alone were enough for the jury to convict them. Several witnesses now admitted that they had not seen the crime. For example, police told a witness that another juvenile had already identified Warren and Smokes. And threatened that if he didn’t accuse her, he would be accused himself. (obf)

Source: Blick