United States
Eight years innocent in prison: Alleged murderer is released at 24
A man sat innocently in prison in the USA for eight years until the judiciary had to admit their mistake (symbolic image)
© Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images / AFP
Shamel Capers was 16 when he was convicted of murder. He has always maintained his innocence. Now, after eight years in a US prison, exculpatory evidence has emerged and Capers has been released.
Shamel Capers innocently spent a third of his life in prison. Now he is free again because exculpatory evidence was uncovered. As reported by the New York Times, Capers had been accused of murdering a 14-year-old when she was 15. She was on a bus in Queens, New York, in May 2013 when she was hit by a ricochet during a gang shootout.
A gang member testified at the time that he saw Capers firing at the bus. Based on this statement alone, Capers was sentenced to at least 15 years in prison. As soon as he entered prison, Capers said he began to prove his innocence from prison.
Lawyers support Shamel Capers
Years later, according to the newspaper, a New York law firm took on his case – and reopened the case and discovered a crucial detail: the main witness against Capers had been promised a significant reduction in sentence for his testimony on various charges. Under pressure, he then made the false statement. As early as 2014, in a phone call with his mother recorded by the prison, he admitted that he had never seen Capers shoot at the bus.
According to the New York Times, the lawyers approached the responsible public prosecutor with these findings. The new investigations lasted two years. The main prosecution witness also withdrew his original statement to the investigators. According to the newspaper, the prosecutor responsible now said: “In view of the new evidence, we could not let the miscarriage of justice exist.” The investigators responsible at the time no longer work for the public prosecutor, as a spokesman said.
Miscarriage of justice probably brings victims compensation
Now Capers can probably count on millions in compensation. But eight important years of his life – those of his youth and growing up – are irretrievably lost.
Source:“New York Times” (Paid content).