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Two best friends have been cleared after serving more than 20 years in prison for a murder they didn't commit, per People.
Eric Smokes, 56, and David Warren, 53, were wrongly convicted of murdering Jean Casse, a French tourist who was killed near Times Square in the early hours of New Year's Day in 1987.
Smokes, 19 at the time, and Warren, 16, maintained they were in Manhattan on the night of Casse's death to watch the ball drop, but they never went above 48th Street.
Though Casse was killed on 52nd Street, witnesses claimed they were at the scene. The pair, who have been friends since childhood, were convicted and sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. Warren was put on parole in 2007, and Smokes was released in 2011.
Years later, the witnesses who testified against the two said they were treated like suspects by police and felt the need to lie.
Warren and Smokes' alibis on the night of the killing were also corroborated by their friends. More, the description of the murderer didn't match either of the men.
In 2020, a motion to dismiss their convictions was denied. Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg decided to reopen the case a year later and recommended that Warren and Smokes' convictions be overturned.
On Wednesday (January 31), State Supreme Court Judge Stephen Antignani vacated their convictions, formally clearing the pair's names.
“Eric Smokes and David Warren lost decades of their life to an unjust conviction,” Bragg said in a statement. “I am inspired by the unyielding advocacy of Mr. Smokes and Mr. Warren and hope that today’s decision can finally bring them a measure of comfort and justice. I thank our Post-Conviction Justice Unit for its thorough reinvestigation, and to the Court for its careful consideration of this matter. It is never too late to reconsider the integrity of old convictions, because everyone in New York deserves equal justice under the law.” Warren and Smokes intend to file a civil lawsuit.
Warren and Smokes reportedly plan to file a civil lawsuit.
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