An innocent New Yorker spent 18 years in an American prison after a witness identified him in another person’s photograph. The publication mentioned that New York Times.
On Christmas Eve 2004, there was a shootout that killed a 14-year-old boy and injured a man.
Police showed witness photos of six suspects involved in the incident. The witness identified the man in one of the photos. It was Sheldon Thomas. The court sentenced him to 25 years in prison.
18 years later, prosecutors learned that the photo was not of Sheldon Thomas, but of his namesake, who lived in the same area. Investigators, prosecutors and the sentencing judge were reportedly aware of this and deliberately punished the innocent.
Formerly at Missouri Court accepted An innocent man who spent almost 30 years in prison. During the announcement of the acquittal, 50-year-old Lamar Johnson wasn’t too touched, he just pursed his lips and nodded slowly, closing his eyes. The judge noted that the evidence for Johnson’s innocence was indeed credible, meaning that there was no way to keep the innocent behind bars.