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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
First Degree Murder |
Sentence: |
75 years to Life imprisonment |
Years Imprisoned: |
22 |
Year Crime: |
1992 |
Year Convicted: |
1994 |
Year Cleared: |
2014 |
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: |
"Antonio Yarbough (aka Anthony Yarbough and Tony Yarbough) and Sharrif Wilson were wrongly convicted after separate trials for the triple murder of Yarborough's mother, his 12-year-old sister, and her 12-year-old friend on June 18, 1992 at their apartment in Coney Island (Brooklyn), New York. Wilson was 15 and Yarbough 18 when they both falsely confessed police pressure implicating each other in the crime. The medical examiner determined the three victim's time of death was at a time when in was known Yarbough and Wilson were together 15 miles away in Manhattan, but neither of their lawyers raised that issue. Wilson was tried first and after he was convicted in 1993 the Brooklyn Asst. DA offered him a deal that if he testified against Yarbough he would be sentenced to a prison term of 9 years to life in prison -- instead of 27 years to life in prison. With Wilson testifying against him, Yarbough was convicted in February 1994 and subsequently sentenced to the maximum of 75 years to life in prison. DNA testing in 2013 of skin cells recovered from under the fingernails of Yarbough's mother were identified as DNA profile of a man whose DNA was recovered from a murder victim killed in 1999 -- years after Yarbough and Wilson were imprisoned. Based on the new evidence Yarbough and Wilson's convictions were overturned, and they were released from custody on February 6, 2014. Sharrif Wilson was 38 when he died on January 10, 2015 - less than a year after his release. Yarbough filed a claim under New York's wrongful conviction compensation statute, and in November 2014 N.Y. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman approved the payment of $3.6 million to him. It was reported that Wilson also settled with the State of New York for an undisclosed amount. Yarbough and the estate of Wilson filed federal civil rights lawsuits against the City of New York and the NYPD detectives in their case. On March 10, 2017 the City's settlement with Yarbough and Wilson's estate of payment to $13,000,000 to each was filed in federal court in Brooklyn." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Wilson was 15 and Yarbough 18 when they both falsely confessed police pressure implicating each other in the crime. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"DNA testing in 2013 identified Yarbough's mother's assailant was the same person who killed a person in 1999 -- years after Yarbough and Wilson had been imprisoned. Yarbough and Wilson's convictions were overturned based on the new evidence and they were released from custody on February 6, 2014." |
Defendant Aided By: |
Innocence Project NY and Kings County Conviction Integrity Unit |
Compensation Awarded: |
"$16.6 million total. $3.6 million (State of New York, Nov. 2014) and $13 million (City of New York, 3-10-2017)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
18 |
Age When Released: |
39 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"As 2 Go Free, Brooklyn Conviction Challenges Keep Pouring In, By Vivian Yee (staff), The New York Times, February 6, 2014" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/07/nyregion/at-new-brooklyn-district-attorneys-door-a-tidal-wave-of-wrongful-conviction-cases.html?_r=0 |
Information Source 2: |
"Free Tony Yarbough, Law Office of Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma" |
Information Location 2: |
http://zmolaw.com/attorney-profiles/free-tony-yarbough/ |
Information Source 3: |
"Man wrongfully convicted of mother and sister’s murder seeks peace on Mother’s Day, By Denis Hamill, New York Daily News, May 11, 2014" |
Information Location 3: |
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/man-wrongfully-convicted-mom-sister-murder-seeks-peace-article-1.1788533 |
Information Source 4: |
"Brooklyn man who wrongfully spent 21 years in prison for triple homicide receives $3.6 million from state, By Oren Yaniv, New York Daily News, Nov. 22, 2014" |
Information Location 4: |
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/state-quickly-pays-3-6m-innocent-man-jailed-21-years-article-1.2019851 |
Information Source 5: |
"NYC to pay $26M settlement in wrongful conviction cases of two men locked up for 1992 triple homicide, By Andrew Keshner (Staff writer), The New York Daily News, March 10, 2017" |
Information Location 5: |
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/nyc-pay-26m-settlement-wrongful-conviction-cases-2-men-article-1.2994902 |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org