Shamel Capers innocently spent a third of his life in prison. Now he is free again because exculpatory evidence was uncovered. As the “New York Times” reports, Capers was accused of murdering a 14-year-old at the age of 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. According to his own statement, immediately after entering prison, Capers began to prove his innocence from prison.
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.
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).
