The Legal Aid Society won a writ of habeas corpus today in Kings County Supreme Court enabling James Davis to be released from detention at Rikers Island to supervised release while the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office considers whether to retry Mr. Davis for a 2004 murder conviction, reports the New York Daily News.

Last month, the New York State Appellate Division, Second Department overturned Mr. Davis’ conviction. The court found Davis’ original trial attorney was ineffective for failing to interview numerous witnesses who would have strongly supported Mr. Davis’s claims of innocence.

“James Davis never committed this crime, and despite overwhelming evidence supporting his innocence, he has been incarcerated for 17 years – virtually his entire adult life,” said Elizabeth Felber, Director of the Wrongful Conviction Unit at The Legal Aid Society.

Learn more about our work to exonerate Mr. Davis here.