A man wrongly convicted of murdering a teenager was freed from prison on Thursday after nearly two decades behind bars following a botched identification.
Sheldon Thomas, who was found guilty of the murder of a 14-year-old boy on Christmas Eve 2004 in New York City, had his guilty verdict overturned and the indictment vacated, CNN reports.
This comes years after a witness wrongly named the now-35-year-old as the killer when detectives gave her a photo of the wrong Sheldon Thomas, according to a statement from Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzales.
Thomas was one of three alleged gang members accused of ending the life of 14-year-old Anderson Bercy and injuring another person, prosecutors said in a statement.
"The evidence indicated that two guns were used and that the shooters were inside a white car. A witness initially identified two men she knew, who did not include defendant Thomas, as being in the car," the statement said, per NBC News.
Thomas "was arrested based on a witness identification of a different person with the same name — a mistake that was first concealed and then explained away during the proceedings."
The freed man's lawyers had tried to get the case thrown out after arguing that their client had been wrongly identified but this was rejected by the judge, who said there was still probable cause to believe the right person had been charged.
But nearly 19 years later, the Brooklyn DA's Conviction Reversal Unit has been able to secure Thomas' exoneration.
District Attorney Eric Gonzales said the case "was compromised from the very start by grave errors and lack of probable cause to arrest Mr Thomas," per CBS News.
Gonzales continued: "He was further deprived of his due process rights when the prosecution proceeded even after the erroneous identification came to light, making his conviction fundamentally unfair."
"I would think of this moment and replay conversations I would have with myself," Thomas - who was just 17 years old when he was charged with murder - said in court on Thursday. "Right now, I'm speechless."
He added: "I forgive them. Just like I've made mistakes in my life and people have forgiven me, and people have shown mercy on me, I will do the same."
"I would also like to extend my condolences to the victim’s family," he went on to say. "I believe that since my incarceration, they have been under the impression that they were given justice for their son and come to find out today, and all this time, they really had the wrong person that was convicted for killing their son. ... And it’s not just my life that was ripped apart by … the miscarriage of justice. It was them, as well."
Prosecutors have confirmed that the case will not be retried.
