Two Manhattan men who spent decades in prison were exonerated Thursday.
They say as teenagers, they were coerced into confessing to a murder they did not commit.
Murder convictions overturned
Charles Collins and Brian Boles were convicted for the murder of 85-year-old James Reid in Harlem in 1994 when they were just 17 years old.
Collins spent 22 years in state prison and Boles was locked up for three decades before both were released on parole.
Officials say, however, the men never received due process, and DNA proves they did not do the crime.
“Our reinvestigation found that the convictions and confessions were contradicted by key exculpatory material,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said.
“We knew also that both young men had been questioned when they were children without an adult present, and that they’d been lied to repeatedly by the police,” said Jane Pucher, an attorney with the Innocence Project.
Thursday, there was applause in the courtroom as the two convictions were overturned.
“We cannot undo the past, but I hope both Mr. Collins and Mr. Boles can find meaning and some comfort,” Bragg said.
The men wiped away tears as they left, but will never be able wipe away the years of their lives they say they lost to the criminal justice system.
“I’m feeling fine. I’m feeling well. I’m glad justice was preserved,” said Boles, now 48.
“I feel great. I feel great,” said Collins, now 49.
Bragg says Reid’s murder remains unsolved and asks anyone with information to call police.
13 vacated cases in past 3 years
CBS News New York learned since the DA’s Post-Conviction Justice Unit started in 2022, there have been 13 vacated cases in Manhattan — all minority men.
Bragg says he’s implemented new investigation practices to prevent wrongful convictions including science-based interviews, video-taped interrogations, an emerging adult unit and complete transparency with all police files.
CBS News New York reached out to the New York City Police Department for a response and has not yet heard back.
