The Exoneration Initiative screens hundreds of cases and handles them at all phases of the exoneration process. Two cases in active litigation are featured here. They are representative of the types of cases we select for partnering with New York-area law firms who have shown excellence in and dedication to pro bono criminal defense.
The Case of Derrick Deacon
Derrick Deacon was convicted for a 1989 murder in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn and has served nearly 20 years in prison.
Newly discovered evidence established that the victim's actual killer was a member of a notorious gang that controlled the Brooklyn neighborhood where the murder occurred. This evidence surfaced during a federal investigation and prosecution of other gang members, when a witness, who cooperated with federal authorities, revealed that he was present when the robbery that led to the murder was planned and that a gang member had confessed the murder to him mere minutes after it occurred. The true killer, unlike Mr. Deacon, also matched the description provided to the police by an eyewitness to the murder.
Based upon this newly discovered evidence, post-conviction motions seeking a dismissal of the indictment or a new trial were briefed by Glenn A. Garber, P.C. and co-counsel, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP on Mr. Deacon's behalf. An evidentiary hearing was granted by the Court.
The Case of Selwyn Days
After a half a day of police interrogation, Mr. Days falsely confessed to an unsolved double homicide that occurred in Eastchester, New York in 1996. The principle evidence against him was his confession, key elements of which were suggested to him by police investigators.
While Mr. Days languished in jail, alibi evidence was discovered that he was in North Carolina when the murders occurred. Mr. Days’s attorney, John Brian Macreery of Deren, Genett & Macreery, sought the assistance of EXI to fight his case in court.
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and EXI – working pro bono – recently supplemented an ineffective assistance of counsel claim with a constitutional claim of actual innocence and a newly discovered evidence claim. A hearing was granted and will soon be held in furtherance of Mr. Days’s request for dismissal or a new trial.
14 July 2011
EXI is proud to announce that we recently received a $100,000 grant from the Guggenheim Foundation. We have also received a $10,000 donation from the Vital Projects Fund. Most not-for-profits are struggling and many are folding, but our resilience and successes have certainly paid off. We are extremely enthusiastic about our organization's future, and see an opportunity to acquire additional funding needed to process our growing caseload and sustain our mission of exonerating the actually innocent.
14 July 2011
Valance has served more than 23 years in prison for a homicide he did not commit. This injustice has continued despite a judge's finding in 2003 that he was "probably innocent," because Cole failed to meet technical legal requirements that had nothing to do with guilt or innocence. Since then, EXI has found the true killer, Denzil Smith, who EXI's investigation has shown to be the same person that was named as the killer by five eyewitnesses in 2003. Smith has made multiple, detailed confessions to the 1985 Brooklyn homicide for which Cole was convicted, and his photograph was identified by an eyewitness to the shooting. In addition, unlike Cole, Smith matches every eyewitness description of the shooter ever provided, including the description provided by the prosecution's key witness.
EXI filed a motion to exonerate Cole based on this new evidence of innocence on February 2, 2011. Final arguments on the case are expected to take place in September, followed by a ruling this fall.
