Two men wrongfully convicted of murder as teenagers in NYC are exonerated decades later.

Two individuals wrongfully incarcerated for nearly three decades received justice on Thursday when a Manhattan court officially vacated their convictions. Brian Boles and Charles Collins, both teenagers at the time of their wrongful convictions, were just 17 years old when they were coerced into providing false confessions regarding the 1994 murder of their 85-year-old neighbor, James Reid.

Boles and Collins were wrongfully imprisoned for a cumulative total of 52 years for a crime they did not commit. Reid was found strangled to death in his Harlem apartment on February 8, 1994. The two young men, who had been arrested for an unrelated robbery, had no credible connection to the murder outside of their dubious confessions, which emerged during police interrogations.

At a brief court session, New York State Supreme Court Justice Ruth Pickholz granted joint motions submitted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office, the Innocence Project, and the law firm Ropes & Gray to vacate the convictions of Boles and Collins. The decision followed a thorough reinvestigation that revealed DNA evidence retrieved from Reid’s fingernails did not match either of the men, casting significant doubt on their guilt.

The legal representatives for Boles and Collins, along with Bragg, asserted that the men were victims of a flawed criminal justice system, which they alleged “railroaded” the two. An attorney from the Innocence Project stated that from the outset, both men maintained their innocence, and a review of the case exposed a plethora of factual inconsistencies surrounding their confessions.

The wrongful convictions stemmed from police coercion during the interrogations. While neither Boles, now 48, nor Collins, 49, were initially implicated in Reid’s murder, leading officers suggested that they had been identified by a neighbor, a claim that later proved to be unsubstantiated. Shortly thereafter, Boles provided a taped confession, which was subsequently used to extract a similar confession from Collins.

Boles, who was convicted of second-degree murder and robbery, served nearly three decades behind bars before being released on parole last year. Collins accepted a plea deal and was released in 2017 after serving 22 years.

In addition to the exonerative DNA evidence, the reinvestigation uncovered documentation that demonstrated witnesses saw Reid alive hours after the alleged time of his murder. This new evidence, alongside a lab report discrediting previous testimony regarding footwear impressions at the crime scene, illustrated glaring flaws in the original investigation and the subsequent trials.

At a press conference, DA Bragg characterized the wrongful convictions as devastating not only to Boles and Collins but also to public safety, emphasizing that justice is compromised when innocent individuals are wrongfully convicted. He noted that the actions taken in this case highlight the necessity for ongoing reforms in the criminal justice system.

To prevent similar injustices in the future, Bragg outlined several measures including enhanced training for prosecutors on scientifically-based interview methodologies and expanded forensic testing procedures. His post-conviction justice unit, initiated in 2022, has already worked to vacate multiple wrongful convictions, ensuring accountability and integrity within the criminal justice system.

As this case exemplifies, wrongful convictions not only affect those who are imprisoned but also undermine public trust in the legal system, emphasizing the need for continuous vigilance and reform.