Andre Brown had his conviction overturned after serving greater than half of the sentence behind bars. However after three years of freedom, he could also be heading again to jail, except prime officers intervene.
Brown spent 23 years locked up after being sentenced to 40 years for 2 counts of tried homicide in 1999, however he at all times maintained his innocence. A Bronx decide overturned the conviction in 2022, citing ineffective help of counsel.
That allowed Brown, who skilled as a paralegal, to start a brand new life along with his spouse and two kids in Connecticut, the place he gave again to the neighborhood.
Think about being freed after practically 20 years in jail, solely to search out out you might be going again behind bars due to a authorized technicality. That’s the cruel actuality that confronted former inmate Andre Brown. However late Wednesday, there was one other sudden twist within the case. NBC New York’s Sarah Wallace experiences.
“I was able to come out, fortunately, from that hell. And when I came out, immediately I was able to work with justice-impact youth, from the ages of 16 to 24,” Brown mentioned.
However Brown’s world got here crashing in on Christmas Eve 2024, when the Appellate Division reinstated the conviction on a authorized technicality — which means he must serve the rest of the 40 years.
Brown was supposed to show himself in to Bronx Felony Court docket on March 14, however bought a brief reprieve by the district legal professional’s workplace when he filed a clemency petition with New York. Gov. Kathy Hochul. The victims’ households have opposed that petition, which continues to be being reviewed.
“There are three victims in this case, I am the third victim no one ever speaks about, as I did not commit this crime,” Brown advised the I-Crew. “But putting that aside at this time, I am no risk to society.”
There may be appreciable urgency to get a solution quickly from the governor’s workplace: A brand new deadline for Brown to show himself in is on Friday.
Whereas the adjournment Bronx District Lawyer Darcel Clark agreed to runs out on Friday, Brown’s attorneys on Wednesday filed a movement asking for extra time to argue their case to the governor — and for the DA to re-sentence the previous inmate.
”What we requested Darcel Clark to conform to is to re-sentence Andre to the 23 years he’s already served,” mentioned Oscar Michelen. “In today’s society, we know that locking people up and warehousing them for the rest of their lives does nothing to make society safere. And Andre would not have gotten a 40-year sentence today for an attempted murder charge.”
The trouble has gotten assist from wrongfully convicted exonerees and the NAACP New York State Convention.
Brown’s face hid a jumble of feelings because the 48-year-old seemed on the courthouse on Wednesday the place he’s speculated to give up in two days to serve 17 extra years in jail, tearing aside his household.
“It’s really scary understanding that the metal cuffs may go back on, going back behind the bars, and ultimately leaving my family,” he mentioned. “I’m terrified. I’m actually terrified of going back behind those walls.”
The DA’s workplace mentioned they might not touch upon the matter. The case is slated to be heard in courtroom on Friday.
