After 25 years, a judge found John-Adrian Velazquez guilty of murder

A betting slip believed to belong to the shooter was recently tested for a DNA analysis — Using technology that wasn't available at the time of the trial — and no genetic material match was found Velazquez.

That newly discovered evidence fueled the decision by prosecutors to side with Velazquez and his legal team in removing the case from his record, making it clear they had no intention of retrying him.

New York Supreme Court Justice Abraham Klott fought back tears as he finished During the proceedings, Velazquez, 48, walked out of the courtroom into the arms of his mother, who shouted, “Yes! Yes! Yes!”

Velazquez was released shortly after then-Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) pardoned him just before he resigned in 2021.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's Conviction Integrity Unit is reviewing the case and decided to dismiss it after the same unit refused to do so. Bragg's predecessor and fellow Democrat, Cyrus R. Under Vance. D The Conviction Review Unit has vacated 10 convictions since it was reorganized since Bragg took over in 2022.

Velazquez, who became an advocate for other inmates who he believes is innocent, said he was grateful for the support over the years. Family, friends, prominent attorneys and celebrities including actors Martin Sheen and Alfre Woodard.

“I'm a very lucky man,” Velazquez said outside court Monday. “I was lucky that so many people believed in me.”

Earl Ward, A lawyer for Velazquez said his client's willingness to keep fighting was remarkable. Seeing his name cleared in court “was one of the highlights of my career,” Ward said.

“He always had this indomitable spirit,” the lawyer said. “I think what I noticed most about him was that he always had hope, and I think that hope … kept him going.”

Bragg said in a statement that Velazquez “has lived in the shadow of his convictions for more than 25 years, and I hope that today will bring a new chapter for him.”

Velazquez's lawyers have raised other issues with his trial, including witness inconsistencies and argued that the killings could have been committed by several suspects.

In recent decades, eyewitness accounts have been recognized as potentially fallible and the cause of many wrongful convictions. Now, they are subject to far fewer criminal prosecutions than in the past.