On the motion of Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson, a Brooklyn judge reversed the murder conviction of Andre Hatchett on March 10, 2016 after wrongly serving 25 years.
Hatchett spent half of his life in prison for a murder he did not commit largely due to inadequate defense, a single unreliable witness, and exculpatory evidence that was not disclosed to the defense. He was the 19th person to be exonerated under Brooklyn D.A. Ken Thompson's Conviction Integrity Unit. On the motion of Brooklyn District Attorney Ken ...
Nevertheless, he was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 25 years to life based almost solely on the testimony of Williams.
The court declared a mistrial at the end of the first trial due to defense counsel’s ineffective representation of Hatchett.
A little over a week after the crime, police arrested Gerard “Jerry” Williams for an unrelated burglary. Williams, who admitted to having at least 20 criminal convictions, told his arresting officer that he had information about the Carter murder.
At the time of the crime, Hatchett, who has special needs and was then 24, was recovering from severe gunshot wounds to his throat and leg. His right leg was in a cast, requiring crutches, on the night of the crime. A little over a week after the crime, police arrested Gerard “Jerry” Williams for an unrelated burglary.
Hatchett was not arrested and was permitted to leave the precinct despite Williams’ identification, suggesting that the DA’s office had serious doubts about Williams’ credibility. Although the state’s case rested entirely on the testimony of Williams that Hatchett was the attacker, the Conviction Integrity Unit discovered in ...