New York State Reaches $2.75 Million Settlement Vindicating Innocence Claim In Wrongful Imprisonment Of Kareem Bellamy

Bellamy Served 14 Years In Prison Before His Wrongful Murder Conviction Was Vacated And All Charges Against Him Dismissed

New York, NY (MMD Newswire) May 20, 2015 — The State of New York today signed a settlement agreement with Thomas Hoffman, the lawyer who has represented Kareem Bellamy for 11 years, vindicating Bellamy’s claim of innocence in the murder of James Abbott, Jr. Bellamy will receive $2.75 million under the agreement, which was approved by Judge Alan C. Marin of the New York Court of Claims.

Abbott was stabbed to death by two men on the morning of Saturday, April 9, 1994, on the corner of a major thoroughfare in Rockaway, Queens. Bellamy was wrongfully convicted of the crime and served 14 years before his conviction was vacated. All charges against him were dropped in 2011 following the collapse of the case against him and a reported confession by one of two known gang members that matched details of the murder. An earlier reported confession by both of the gang members had never been investigated by detectives.

This settlement is vindication for Mr. Bellamy, who has maintained his innocence for 21 years, 14 of them in prison. During those years he wrote hundreds of painstaking letters to lawyers, until a pro bono legal team took his case in 2004. Bellamy subsequently refused to accept any plea deal suggesting his guilt – even two that would have guaranteed his immediate release. As Bellamy told his awestruck lawyers, “The truth is more important than my freedom.”

Indeed, there never was anything connecting Bellamy to the murder of Abbott, a neighborhood acquaintance who had attended the same middle school. Bellamy was arrested one month after the murder solely because of a C-Town cashier’s belated report that she had seen him, a frequent customer, on the same line as Abbott shortly before the murder occurred. Even that tenuous evidence would turn out to be untrue. The sole eyewitness could not describe the perpetrators, did not identify Bellamy during a lineup and, at trial, identified a lineup filler, rather than Bellamy, eight different times. That Bellamy was even charged, much less convicted, owes to the misconduct of a New York City police detective who doctored and destroyed evidence and made numerous false claims, including that on the ride to the precinct Bellamy yelled, “This must be a case of mistaken identity – someone probably accused me of murder.”

After three days of deliberation, a deadlocked jury finally reached a “compromise” verdict, acquitting Bellamy of intentional murder and convicting him of “depraved indifference murder,” which, ironically, carried the same 25-to-life sentence. The tragic outcome was captured in a Court TV episode on the trial, which concludes with Bellamy’s reaction to the verdict. As each of the crying jurors was polled, Bellamy cried out 12 times: “I didn’t do it”; “I didn’t do it”; “I didn’t do it…” His last words on leaving the courtroom, as he was carried out by court officers, were to Mrs. Cleo Abbott, the victim’s mother: “Ma’am, I didn’t kill your son.”

For the next 9 years he continued to fight for his innocence, and in 2004 one of his pleas landed on the desk of Thomas Hoffman, a solo practitioner in Manhattan. Mr. Hoffman threw the letter out, but then picked it out of the trash and decided to give Mr. Bellamy a chance.

The ensuing investigation revealed a breakdown in nearly every part of the judicial system. The struggle to free Bellamy, even after his innocence became obvious, also showed how difficult it can be to undo a wrongful conviction. Queens prosecutors tried to ignore and suppress exculpatory evidence, a standard practice under District Attorney Richard Brown. Unlike Brooklyn and Manhattan, Queen does not have an independent conviction review unit.

Bellamy’s exoneration required an army of devoted hands and minds. Today’s settlement is the result of 11 years of work on behalf of Kareem Bellamy by Thomas Hoffman, many of those years on a pro bono basis, and by the law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP on a pro bono basis. The settlement is both tangible and symbolic – providing compensation for the wrongful imprisonment as well as a recognition that Bellamy’s life – and the restoration of it – matters.

“I want to thank New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Assistant Attorney General Janet Polstein for reaching this settlement and understanding that those wrongfully convicted deserve fair compensation,” said Bellamy’s attorney, Thomas Hoffman.

His associate, Jonathan Hiles, added, “Mr. Bellamy is not just innocent. He is a special person. By persevering in prison and then risking all for the truth, he stood up for other innocents in prison, and he still plans to help them however he can.”

Still pending is a federal civil lawsuit against the City of New York that alleges constitutional violations by case detectives and the Queens District Attorney’s Office.

Kareem Bellamy now works with The Jeffrey Deskovic Foundation to advocate for those wrongfully convicted. He will continue this work and will use this settlement to reconnect with family and help others who have been wrongfully convicted. He is particularly interested in having an independent conviction review unit established in Queens and other counties, and in the establishment of a State commission to investigate prosecutorial misconduct. Bellamy’s hope is that his case can help to bring systemic change.

He concluded his remarks at today’s settlement conference with a message for those innocents still in prison: “Don’t give up hope. Hold onto the truth, because miracles can happen.”

For further information, contact Thomas Hoffman – 212-581-1180 or thoff93452@aol.com – or Jonathan Hiles – 646-823-6116 or jonathanghiles@gmail.com.

LAW OFFICES OF THOMAS HOFFMAN, P. C.
250 WEST 57 STREET, Suite 901
NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10107 (212) 581-1180

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