NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz agreed Monday to drop all of the charges against a man who had been in prison for 32 years after officials discovered new information that pointed to his innocence.
Carlton Roman was sentenced to 43 and 1/3 years for the murder of Lloyd Witter and the attempted murder of Jomo Kenyatta inside a Jamaica, Queens home in 1989.
Paul Anderson, who lived at the home and was found by police tied up with telephone wire and handcuffed next to Witter's body, identified Roman as one of the shooters and the group ringleader. Kenyatta also told authorities Roman was the gunman.
However, police did not find forensic or ballistic evidence linking Roman to the shooting and his girlfriend matched his alibi.
Roman, then a recent college graduate and honors student who had no prior criminal record at the time of his arrest. He testified during the trial that he was not involved.
He submitted his case for re-investigation to the Queens County District Attorney's Office in 2013 and 2018, but his conviction was left unchanged.
An investigation by Katz' Conviction Integrity Unit in 2020 found new evidence that highlighted Roman's innocence — including Anderson recanting his identification in 2019 and new witnesses that undermined Kenyatta and Anderson's testimony.
“I am committed to the fair administration of justice. In that pursuit, my office seeks to ensure that those who are guilty face appropriate consequences and those who have been wrongfully convicted are exonerated," Katz said. "Vacating Mr. Roman’s conviction emphasizes the fact that although these cases are difficult and strenuous to investigate, my Conviction Integrity Unit will do everything it takes to ensure that the right and just result is reached.”
Katz, the Queens DA since 2020, said the CIU has vacated eight convictions in less than two years since it was created.
Despite his freedom, Roman stressed the need to review the cases of other convicted men who are innocent, WABC 7 reports.
"I'm here, but there's a lot of people in there who need your help, who need your attention," he said. "I'm not the only innocent person in there."