Court drops convictions of 3 men wrongfully imprisoned for 1996 murder of off-duty NYPD officer
NEW YORK (WCBS) Three men who spent two decades in prison had their convictions dismissed in a Queens court Friday after new evidence was uncovered.
Cheers erupted as George Bell, Gary Johnson and Rohan Bolt walked out of criminal court free men with their names cleared, CBS2’s Natalie Duddridge reported.
The three were wrongfully convicted of a double murder in Queens and spent 24 years in prison.
“I dreamt about this moment for so many years, for so many years waking up in a prison cell looking at bars,” Bell said.
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QUEENS, N.Y., June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ George Bell, Rohan Bolt and Gary Johnson, who were wrongfully convicted of a double murder in Queens and incarcerated for more than 24 years, were notified today that Queens District Attorney ( DA ) Melinda Katz has agreed to drop all charges and vacate their convictions on the grounds that newly discovered evidence probably would have led to their acquittal.
CBS News
Three men who claim innocence spent 24 years behind bars. Now, freedom feels surreal
Last Updated Mar 10, 2021 6:30 PM EST
Three men who were just released from prison after spending 24 years behind bars for a crime they say they did not commit are speaking to CBS This Morning after a judge overturned their convictions.
George Bell, Gary Johnson and Rohan Bolt were each sentenced to at least 50 years for a deadly attempted robbery in New York City. Their lawyers argued the case was based on false confessions and racial bias. The feeling of freedom is is so surreal right now. Like, words just can t describe, George Bell told CBS News Nikki Battiste.
NYC judge slams prosecutor’s office behind the wrongful homicide convictions of three men
Three men were released from prison on Friday after the Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU) in the Queens, New York, District Attorney’s Office found that they had been wrongfully convicted of double homicide.
George Bell, Gary Johnson and Rohan Bolt were found guilty in the 1996 murders of Ira “Mike” Epstein and off-duty NYPD Officer Charles Davis during the armed robbery of a cash-checking store.
“Today is the day I found the key. Today is the day, today is the day, today is the day, I am going home,” Bell said in a video conference from Green Haven Correctional Facility in Stormville, New York, with Johnson and Bolt by his side.
Three men were released from prison on Friday after the Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU) in the Queens, New York, District Attorney's Office found that they had been wrongfully convicted of double homicide.