The Legal Aid Society filed an appeal in a wrongful conviction case today to vacate the conviction of James Davis based on claims of actual innocence, ineffective assistance of counsel and newly revealed Brady evidence, which emerged late last summer during an evidentiary hearing in the trial court, as reported by the New York Daily News.

This appeal comes in response to the denial, by the Kings County Supreme Court, of a 440.10 motion to vacate the conviction that the defense filed in September of 2018. James Davis has been in prison for almost 17 years as a result of 2004 conviction for murder.

“James Davis has spent nearly 17 years in a cage for a crime he didn’t commit, convicted without any physical evidence linking him to the crime and despite multiple witnesses corroborating his innocence,” said Elizabeth Felber, Director of the Wrongful Conviction Unit at The Legal Aid Society. “We were disappointed that the hearing court ignored this exculpatory evidence but we remain confident that the Second Department will see this case for simply what it is: a wrongful conviction.”

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In 2006, Davis was found guilty of murder in the shooting death of Blake Harper at a crowded party at a Brooklyn Masonic Temple. There was no physical or forensic evidence connecting Davis, then 21 years old, to the crime. The case against him rested solely on stranger eyewitness identification testimony which has deteriorated over time. The Legal Aid Society has created a short video chronicling James’ incredible and heartbreaking story.

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James’ story is featured on the Wrongful Conviction podcast with Jason Flom.

Take Action

Sign the petition urging Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez to join The Legal Aid Society in asking the Court to overturn James’s conviction.