The Legal Aid Society and Garrett Ordower, pro bono counsel in this case, announced the exoneration of Steven Ruffin, who was incarcerated for nearly 14 years after he was wrongly convicted in 1996 of manslaughter.

The crime for which Ruffin was convicted was committed by another person. The perpetrator was identified at the time by numerous witnesses, but was never questioned by law enforcement, even though police knew he had the purported murder weapon in his possession. Ruffin has consistently maintained his innocence.

No physical evidence tied Ruffin, a 17-year-old high school student, to the crime. He was convicted based solely on the testimony of a single eyewitness, whose identification was irrevocably tainted, and a false confession – which he immediately recanted – that was procured by New York City Police Department (NYPD) Detective Louis Scarcella, with the aid of Ruffin’s estranged father. Scarcella has been involved in 17 previous cases that have resulted in exonerations.

“I lost 14 years of my life for a crime I didn’t commit, and today will help me to move on from that chapter of my life, cleared of any wrongdoing,” said Mr. Ruffin. “I want to thank my family for their unwavering support and for helping me to build back my life after prison. I also want to thank my legal team – Garrett Ordower and The Legal Aid Society’s Ted Hausman – for believing in my innocence and for never giving up, and District Attorney Gonzalez for helping to exonerate me.”

“While today will never fully compensate Mr. Ruffin for the years he spent confined to a prison cell for a crime he never committed, we hope that it brings him some solace and much needed closure,” added Hausman, Supervising Attorney in the Criminal Appeals Bureau at The Legal Aid Society. “We thank Kings County District Attorney Eric Gonzalez for reviewing Mr. Ruffin’s application and consenting to this deserved vacatur.”