Wrongly Convicted Brooklyn Man Freed After 21 Years In Prison

BROWNSVILLE, BROOKLYN — A man who spent 21 years in prison for a murder walked free Wednesday after the Brooklyn District Attorney's office told a judge he had not received a fair trial.

The Brooklyn District Attorney's office moved to vacate Jabbar Washington’s murder conviction, arguing that jurors were falsely led to believe Washington had been identified by a witness, according to an official statement.

DNAinfo reported that his handcuffs were removed at Brooklyn Supreme Court Wednesday afternoon, freeing him to leave with his sobbing family.

Washington, 43, had been incarcerated since 1996, when he was arrested for allegedly participating in the robbery of a known crack den at 265 Livonia Ave. on Jan. 21, 1995, prosecutors said.

One year later, Washington — along with six other men accused of shooting five people and killing one during the $1,500 heist — was charged with murder when he was identified in a line-up by shooting victim Lisa Todd, said prosecutors.

But although Todd recanted her testimony just two days later, explaining she recognized Washington from the building and not as an attacker, Washington faced murder charges in Brooklyn Criminal Court, prosecutors said.

And while Washington’s prosecutors did not submit Todd’s false identification as evidence, they did allow Detective Louis Scarcella — the retired officer, recently investigated for misconduct, who conducted the line-up — to testify that Washington had been identified by a witness, according to a statement from the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office.

No evidence of Todd’s recantation was presented to the jurors and they found Washington guilty of murder, sentencing him with 25 years to life in prison, prosecutors said.

“Following a thorough and fair investigation by my Conviction Review Unit, it was determined that Mr. Washington did not receive a fair trial and crucial information that would have been useful to the defense was withheld,” said Acting District Attorney Eric Gonzalez in a statement.

“Given the unresolved issues of credibility in this case, we cannot prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt so we will not seek a retrial and move to dismiss the indictment.”

Washington’s case is the 23rd conviction to be overturned by Conviction Review Unit investigators, who, according to prosecutors, examined the six other convictions in the case and found them to be just.

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