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David Warren and Eric Smokes in New York in 2017
Photo: New York Daily News / ZUMA Wire / IMAGO
After spending more than two decades in prison, two New York men have been acquitted of charges they killed a French tourist 37 years ago. Eric Smokes and David Warren "lost decades of their lives as a result of an unjust conviction," said prosecutor Alvin Bragg when announcing the decision.
Smokes and Warren were convicted in 1987 of attacking a 71-year-old tourist from France near Times Square on New Year's Eve. The man suffered a fractured skull and internal bleeding from a fall during the attack and died.
24 and 20 years in prison
The two defendants, aged 16 and 19 at the time, had always maintained their innocence, but after their conviction they spent 24 and 20 years in prison, respectively, before being released on parole. The case was only reopened in 2022.
According to prosecutor Bragg, it turned out that witness statements were false, contradictory or made under pressure. In addition, Smokes and Warren had an alibi that proved that they were not in Times Square on the night of the crime.
"I am impressed by the relentless commitment of Mr. Smokes and Mr. Warren and hope that today's decision can finally bring them some measure of comfort and justice," Bragg said, according to a report in the New York Times.
Applause and cheers in the courtroom
"Over thirty years later, you are still fighting for your right to have a court tell you that these convictions were unjustified, and so today I will grant you that right," Judge Stephen Antignani said, according to the New York Times. Cheers and applause broke out in the courtroom.
Recently, numerous convictions made in New York in the 1980s and 1990s have been overturned. At that time, the US metropolis was a crime hotbed, and the pressure on the police and public prosecutor's office was correspondingly high.
kub/AFP