New York man cleared of double homicide after 22 years in prison
NEW YORK - Prosecutors have dropped charges against a New York man who spent 22 years in prison for a double killing before new witnesses came forward and his conviction was overturned. Calvin Buari's murder case was dismissed Wednesday.
Buari was freed in May when his conviction was tossed, but he remained under indictment until Wednesday. Bronx prosecutors initially pledged to appeal and retry the case if necessary.
The 47-year-old had been convicted of shooting brothers Elijah and Salhaddin Harris in 1992.
Recently, two newfound witnesses testified they saw another man commit the shooting. A third said Buari was down the block when the gunfire rang out.
Two of the witnesses signed affidavits stating that they had lied at trial; the prosecutors' key witness later confessed to the crime himself, then recanted. He then recently said Buari was not the gunman.
Buari is the subject of a forthcoming nonfiction podcast, Empire on Blood, which tells the tale of two young drug dealers who help propel the crack epidemic in the Bronx during the 1990s.