Two men convicted in decades-old Manhattan murders were exonerated on Monday — with one of them saying he “never lost faith” despite spending 25 years behind bars in the botched case.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office asked two judges to vacate the separate murder convictions of Jabar Walker, 49, and Wayne Gardine, 49, after investigations in conjunction with the Legal Aid Society and the Innocence Project found that both were wrongly convicted.
“This whole time year – 25 years of waiting — I never lost faith,” Walker said on the sidewalk outside Manhattan Supreme Court.
Walker was greeted by cheers of “He’s free!” from family and friends as he hugged and kissed his mother after walking out of the courtroom, no longer in handcuffs.
He was released from prison after spending about half of his 50-year sentence in the double-murder of William Santana, 32, and Ismael De La Cruz, 30, on May 28, 1995.
Walker, was just 20 at the time of the shooting, in which Santana and De La Cruz were each shot in the head as they sat in a car at 148th Street and Broadway in Harlem, The New York Times reported.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office, along with lawyers from Innocence Project, moved to scrap Walker’s 1998 conviction due to “newly discovered evidence” affecting witness testimony in the case.
During the nearly year-long probe, the DA said, investigators also uncovered evidence that Walker had not received meaningful legal representation to mount his defense.
“Not only was the case against Jabar Walker built upon unreliable and recanted testimony, he did not have the benefit of an effective defense attorney – one of the constitutional bedrocks of our justice system,” Bragg said in a statement.
“Despite these serious issues, Mr. Walker received a sentence that could have kept him in prison for his entire life. I am thrilled that he can now finally return home and thank the Innocence Project for its steadfast advocacy throughout this matter.”
Walker’s mother, Patrice Walker, 69, said she couldn’t wait to be reunited with her son.
“I’m feeling so good. My stomach is jumping like crazy. I can’t stop it, but to hold him out in the hall, then I will really know he’s home to stay,” she said shortly before her son walked free.
His stepfather, Terry Walker, 71, said Walker had a lot to catch up on after spending more than two decades locked up.
“He missed a lifetime. He missed his daughters growing up. He missed us getting older, things we could’ve done together. He missed all of that,” Terry said outside court.
Meanwhile, Gardine was incarcerated for 29 years after he was convicted of fatally shooting Robert Mickens, 22, in Harlem on Sept. 3, 1994.
His 1996 conviction was based on testimony from one eyewitness, a local drug dealer, who offered up information to cops as a favor to keep his nose clean, according to Bragg’s office.
New evidence uncovered from a second witness undermined the dealer’s testimony given at trial, prosecutors said.
The second witness vehemently denied his acquaintance’s account, saying they were both too far away to see or hear the shooter.
“Wayne Gardine was just 22 years-old when he was sentenced to decades in prison following a trial that we now believe relied on an unreliable witness and testimony – losing years of freedom due to an unjust conviction,” Bragg said.
“Unjust convictions are the height of injustice and while we can never completely undo the pain he has experienced, I hope this is the first step in allowing Mr. Gardine to rebuild his life and reunite with his loved ones.”
Gardine was released from the Fishkill Correctional Facility on parole last year, but faces deportation to Jamaica after being transferred to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
In a statement, Gardine thanked Legal Aid, as well as Bragg and the investigators “for their honest investigation, their respect for the truth, and for how quickly they worked on my case.
“I also want to thank my mom for being there all these years, and I want to thank myself for never giving up,” he said. “I’m happy that the justice system finally worked.”
