ONGOING CASES
The heart of our work is fighting to free innocent people who are serving decades-long prison sentences. Most of our clients have been incarcerated for 20 years or longer. Roughly half are serving life sentences. A smaller number have completed their sentences and are still hoping to clear their names. Below is a sample of ongoing cases where we are still fighting for exoneration.
ANTHONY SIMS
In 1999, Anthony Sims was wrongfully convicted of a murder in a Brooklyn Chinese restaurant. The evidence always pointed towards the guilt of the prosecution’s star witness, Julius Graves, who took the shotgun used in the murder home, wiped off his fingerprints, and conspired to hide the gun from police. The firm began representing Sims in 2020 and was joined by co-counsel Emery Celli in 2021. Our reinvestigation revealed that a witness saw Graves run out of the Chinese restaurant with the shotgun and that NYPD detectives had coerced a witness to lie at trial. This new evidence was presented at a court hearing, but the judge declined to overturn Sims’ conviction. Sims was granted leave to file an appeal, which is pending. In the meantime, Sims has earned parole and won a fellowship to work at the Ford Foundation, where he is employed. He also leads workshops for the Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP), mentors at-risk youth, and advocates for social justice. You can read more at freeanthonysims.com.
KARIEM BROXTON
In 1999, Kariem Broxton, a husband and father, was convicted and sentenced to 100 years in prison for a fatal nightclub shooting committed by two other men. Both shooters pleaded guilty and have asserted Broxton’s innocence, but police and Queens prosecutors mistakenly decided Broxton was the third shooter despite ballistic evidence showing only two guns were used in the crime. Numerous eyewitnesses have sworn Broxton was not involved in the shooting, and the main eyewitnesses against him have recanted their identifications and attributed them to police pressure. Our investigation has uncovered further evidence of Broxton’s innocence and constitutional violations, and we are working to bring him home as soon as possible.
Broxton’s wrongful conviction has had a devastating impact on his family, who have fought tirelessly to prove his innocence. Despite these challenges, they remain steadfast in their commitment to seeing justice served.
HAJI JONES
Haji Jones served 25 years in prison for the murder of an old friend in Far Rockaway. As the victim lay dying, he told witnesses a “drug dealer”–not Jones–had shot him. Despite Jones’ innocence, police coerced two eyewitnesses to identify him. Jones was convicted in a corrupt trial and sentenced to 25 years-to-life in prison. In 2014, Tom Hoffman and Gibson Dunn agreed to represent Jones, with assistance from The Legal Aid Society. At a court hearing, both eyewitnesses recanted their identifications. Nevertheless, the hearing judge denied Jones’ motion, and an appeals court declined to hear his case. Jones earned parole in 2019, and has been gainfully employed since his release. He is a visual artist who enjoys fishing and spending time with his daughter and grandchildren. The firm is continuing to urge the Queens DA’s Office to give Jones’ case a second look and overturn his conviction.