MANHATTAN, NY – Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. recently announced updates in two wrongful conviction cases. Wayne Gardine, 49, and Jabar Walker, 49, have had their convictions vacated for separate murder charges from the 1990s.
Gardine was convicted in 1996 for the murder of 22-year-old Robert Mickens. His conviction was vacated following the discovery of new evidence and an agreement by the District Attorney’s Office not to re-prosecute, citing the case’s inability to be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
Gardine, who had been paroled in 2022 after nearly three decades in prison, is currently in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Walker’s conviction for the 1998 double-murder of William Santana, 32, and Ismael De La Cruz, 30, was also overturned.
This decision, made jointly with the Innocence Project, was based on newly discovered evidence and ineffective counsel. Walker, who served 25 years of two consecutive 25-year-to-life sentences, was released from prison on Monday.