Judge tosses murder conviction for man who served 25 years, rebuking a 'troubling' prosecution

NEW YORK (AP) — A Manhattan judge has tossed the murder conviction of a man who spent 25 years in prison after a review of his case revealed new evidence that may have been withheld by prosecutors, including thousands of dollars in payments made to the mother of their key eyewitness.

The man, Harry Ruiz, has maintained his innocence since his 1994 conviction for the fatal shooting of Emmanuel Felix, an alleged drug dealer in Harlem. Ruiz, now 58, was released on parole in 2019.

“I feel like I can finally breathe again,” he said on Monday, leaving the courthouse flanked by family and his attorneys.

At the hearing, Judge Robert Mandelbaum took the unusual step of rebuking the former assistant district attorney in charge of Ruiz's trial for her “troubling” refusal to participate in the reinvestigation. “To this court, that speaks volumes,” he said.

Reached by phone, the attorney, Helen Sturm, called the judge’s comments “inappropriate,” adding that she was not required “to go over a case from 30 years ago.”

The case first gained renewed interest after a New York City detective, Carlos Vasquez, stumbled on his file while investigating another killing and quickly became convinced of Ruiz’s innocence.

When the Manhattan district attorney’s post-conviction review unit opened an inquiry two years ago, they found that prosecutors had provided payments and housing worth $17,000 to the mother of a 13-year-old girl, the only witness to identify Ruiz as the shooter.

The review found no evidence those payments were disclosed to the defense, as legally required. When investigators reached out to Sturm, the trial attorney, to discuss the matter, she declined to be interviewed.

“What do you want me to say? That I feel badly that he was convicted?” she said by phone. “You don’t get a long sentence like this without evidence.”

She added that she did not remember the exact details of the case, but felt confident that the prosecution had followed relevant disclosure laws.

According to the post-conviction review, the teenager’s testimony shifted dramatically throughout the trial. At one point, when asked to identify Ruiz, she picked out sitting in the courtroom audience.

Despite three family members vouching for his alibi, Ruiz was convicted by a jury of second-degree murder. At the age of 25, he was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison by Judge Harold Rothwax — nicknamed Prince of Darkness for his notoriously harsh sentences.

As part of the review, investigators also learned that a federal informant had admitted in 2002 to having paid someone to kill Felix — and that Ruiz was not involved. A second person came forward the same year to corroborate that account, according to the review.

Prosecutors under then-Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau were aware of the statements, but declined to reopen the case or disclose the developments to Ruiz’s appeal team, according to court filings.

In a statement, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said that dozens of interviews and an in-depth document review had produced new evidence that “significantly undermines the case presented at trial.”

Ruiz’s attorney, Ron Kuby, said the case stood apart from many other wrongful convictions that resulted from minor or unintentional errors.

“This wasn’t the result of some terrible mistake,” he said. “This conviction was obtained through repeated and calculated misconduct by a former district attorney’s office in suppressing evidence.”

As he wiped away tears, Ruiz said he hoped the outcome would inspire additional reviews of other cases.

“There are a lot of people in there who are the same as me, who deserve justice,” he said. “I hope this never happens to anybody ever again.”