Earlier than Andre Brown can pursue his declare to innocence, he’ll struggle to remain out of jail. The 48 12 months outdated faces the remaining 17 years from a double tried homicide sentence he was free of after a profitable ineffective help declare two years in the past.
Brown spent 23 years out of a 40-year sentence in jail for a 1999 capturing which injured two males, leaving one sufferer paralyzed. Through the authentic trial, his earlier lawyer failed to say a leg harm Brown was nursing when the capturing he was convicted for occured. The proof would battle with accounts of the perpetrator operating after the victims.
The decide launched him on his personal recognizance, however his preliminary bid for innocence — which might have prevented reimprisonment — was unsuccessful. And the prosecution efficiently questioned why practically twenty years handed earlier than proof of the leg harm surfaced.
Final winter, the courts reinstated the conviction. Brown beforehand ready to give up himself twice, however the Bronx District Lawyer’s Workplace agreed to present his social gathering extra time, first in March, to attend out an emergency clemency petition to Gov. Kathy Hochul after which in April, to think about resentencing primarily based on the ineffective help declare.
“That movement goes to be earlier than the decide on Might 16,” mentioned Oscar Michelen, one among Brown’s attorneys. “The district lawyer has the suitable to oppose that movement, and their papers can be due on Might 9. We’re hoping that they won’t oppose the movement, however somewhat will consent to the movement, or on the very least not take a place both means. We’re ready to listen to again [from] them as to what their place will really be.”
The Bronx District Lawyer’s Workplace confirmed the prosecutors would take the extension to assessment the resentencing request. If granted, the movement would ostensibly stop Brown’s reimprisonment by decreasing his 40-year sentence and making use of his vital time served.
“On April 23, 2025, protection counsel filed a movement asserting that illustration on the authentic sentencing listening to was insufficient,” mentioned a Bronx District Lawyer spokesperson over e-mail. “This new declare doesn’t give attention to precise innocence. As an alternative, it considerations whether or not Andre Brown’s trial lawyer did not current mitigating proof at sentencing. We agreed to adjourn the case to assessment the movement.”
But Brown and his attorneys say his declare to innocence stays the tip recreation as they at the moment work on stopping reimprisonment. Whereas their first try failed, they’ll refile a movement to vacate the conviction if new proof comes up. Moreover, they’ll petition the Bronx D.A.’s Conviction Integrity Unit, which might streamline the method.
“The narrative has by no means modified,” mentioned Brown over the telephone. “The minute I walked into the precinct, I continued to [profess] my innocence and say to everybody that I didn’t commit this crime … we’re excavating the soil, constantly searching for new proof, reaching out to extra specialists.”
Michelen and Brown’s different lawyer, Jeffrey Deskovic, have lengthy maintained they solely characterize purchasers in wrongful convictions in the event that they consider of their innocence declare and don’t merely take circumstances primarily based on administrative error. They mentioned ineffective help was their third argument after they initially argued for Brown’s innocence in addition to pointing to newly-discovered proof. “However that’s not a technicality … we’re saying the omission that he did [by] not presenting Andre’s proof instantly ties into the innocence declare,” mentioned Deskovic.
Their emergency clemency petition to the governor, centered extra on Brown’s reentry after his jail sentence. Past his sterling after launch, he additionally helped at-risk youth as a reputable messenger and established a chess membership and GED program.
The New York Occasions reported one of many capturing victims, O’Neil Virgo, died earlier this 12 months. Virgo’s household reportedly acknowledged that he was satisfied Brown was the shooter and so they opposed his 2022 launch.
“We perceive your ache, however I didn’t commit this crime,” responded Brown. “I used to be not that particular person who triggered your loved ones that hurt and triggered your loved ones that ache.”
Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member who writes about public security for the Amsterdam Information. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps maintain him writing tales like this one; please think about making a tax-deductible reward of any quantity as we speak by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.
