Emel McDowell, a Brooklyn man, was exonerated on Thursday after spending nearly two decades in prison for a murder he did not commit. McDowell, who was only 17 years old at the time of the murder, had maintained that his friend was responsible for the shooting.
However, despite conflicting witness statements and McDowell’s insistence, the police arrested him after only a 24-hour investigation. It was later discovered that the police had failed to adequately investigate the friend who was likely responsible for the shooting.
After years of being wrongfully convicted and fighting for justice, McDowell’s conviction was finally vacated on Thursday.
The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Conviction Review Unit confirmed that another individual had fatally shot the victim, as McDowell had consistently maintained.
McDowell, who had acted as a mentor to other inmates during his time in prison, now works as a litigation and trial paralegal at a criminal defense firm in Manhattan.
Despite witness statements confirming McDowell’s story, he was still tried and wrongfully convicted for the murder in 1992. Even after the trial, more witnesses came forward to exonerate him, and he immediately sought to have his conviction overturned.
In 2007, he submitted a letter written by the real shooter, which essentially admitted to firing the kill shot. However, the letter was not investigated nor presented during the trial.
Ultimately, McDowell was granted a court hearing in December 2009, during which prosecutors presented him with an offer to plead guilty to manslaughter and receive a sentence of six to 18 years in exchange for his freedom.
McDowell agreed to the deal, but his attorney argued that he only admitted guilt to avoid an ongoing prison term. The Conviction Review Unit eventually interviewed witnesses, confirmed the authenticity of the letter, and determined that McDowell’s friend had shot the victim in self-defense.
»Injustice rectified: Brooklyn man wrongly convicted for murder finally exonerated after 19 years«
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