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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Murder |
Sentence: |
25 yrs to life imprisonment |
Years Imprisoned: |
27 |
Year Crime: |
1988 |
Year Convicted: |
1989 |
Year Cleared: |
2015 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
New York |
County or Region of Crime: |
Kings |
City of Crime: |
New York City |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Shabaka Shakur was wrongly convicted in 1989 of a double murder in Brooklyn, New York. Shakur's conviction was based on the testimony of New York homicide Detective Louis Scarcella that Shakur confessed to him that he committed the crime. Shakur's alleged confession wasn't audio or video recorded and it wasn't witnessed by anyone other than Scarcella. Shakur denied confessing to the crime. After his conviction by a jury Shakur was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. In June 2015 Shakur's murder conviction was reversed and a new trial granted based on new evidence undermining the credibility of New York homicide Detective Louis Scarcella's claim that Shabaka confessed to him. On June 4, 2015 the Kings County DA's Office announced that Shakur would not be retried and a motion for dismissal of the charges would be filed. On June 8, 2015 Shakur was released from custody." |
Conviction Caused By: |
False confession |
Innocence Proved By: |
"In June 2015 Shakur's murder conviction was reversed and a new trial granted based on new evidence undermining the credibility of New York homicide Detective Louis Scarcella whose claim that Shabaka confessed to him was the basis of Shakur's conviction. On June 4, 2015 the Kings County DA's Office announced that Shakur would not be retried and a motion for dismissal of the charges would be filed. On June 8, 2015 Shakur was released from custody." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
23 |
Age When Released: |
50 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"Wrongly convicted man, who has spent 27 years in prison, must spend one more weekend behind bars due to paperwork, By Andy Mai and Larry Mcshane, New York Daily News, June 5, 2015" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/wrongly-convicted-inmate-spend-1-weekend-prison-article-1.2248022 |
Information Source 2: |
"Man wrongly convicted of murder 27 years ago has to spend an extra week in prison due to a paperwork mix up, By Kelly Mclaughlin (Staff writer), Daily Mail (London, UK), June 5, 2015" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3112974/Wrongly-convicted-man-spent-27-years-prison-spend-extra-week-locked-paperwork-mix-up.html |
Information Source 3: |
"Released After 27 Years, an Ex-Inmate Is Mindful of a Detective’s Cases, By Noah Remnick (Staff), The New York Times, June 8, 2015" |
Information Location 3: |
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/09/nyregion/released-after-27-years-an-ex-inmate-is-mindful-of-a-detectives-cases.html?_r=0 |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org