NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — A New York City man who served 23 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit was officially cleared Thursday.
A judge vacated the 1997 conviction of 50-year-old Grant Williams, CBS2’s Alice Gainer reported.
Williams served more than two decades for the 1996 shooting death of Shdell Lewis outside the Stapleton NYCHA housing complex on Staten Island.
The judge’s ruling came after the Staten Island District Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit reinvestigated the case and discovered new evidence.
Investigators found and interviewed six new people who witnessed the shooting and said Williams was not the shooter. Investigators also checked out Williams alibi.
At the time of the incident, only one eyewitness initially identified Williams at the shooter.
There was no confession, nor were there fingerprints, DNA, video recordings or cellphone evidence connecting Williams to the crime.
“I used to tell everybody in prison I’m innocent,” Williams said outside the courthouse. “They say, ‘Oh Williams, everybody says that.’ I said, ‘I’m telling you the truth. One day you’re gonna see me on the news and they’re gonna say that I was innocent,’ and today’s that day.”
Williams had been out on parole since 2019.
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