Brooklyn man has conviction vacated in 28-year-old homicide
BROOKLYN, N.Y. - A man convicted of manslaughter who served more than a decade in prison had his conviction vacated Thursday.
Prosecutors now believe someone else was responsible. The former NYPD detective at the center of the case, Louis Scarcella, is accused of coercing confessions in dozens of cases.
Steven Ruffin waited almost 30 years for the conviction to be vacated. He was just 18 when he was convicted of the 1996 shooting death of a 16-year-old in Crown Heights.
Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge Matthew D'Emic overturned that conviction Thursday.
"I lost 14 years of my life for a crime I didn't commit. And today will help me to move on from that chapter of my life," Ruffin said.
The vacated conviction is the culmination of more than 10 years of effort to clear Ruffin's name. He was paroled in 2010, but always maintained his innocence.
"This case is pretty clear cut," Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said.
The Brooklyn DA's Conviction Review Unit concluded that Ruffin did not commit the crime.
Defense attorneys believe that detectives botched the initial investigation, and Ruffin never received a fair trial.
"It's a blessing that we're able, although so many years later, to finally give him back his good name," Gonzalez said.
"If you know you're innocent, don't give up on your case. Keep on fighting because justice will prevail for you one day," Ruffin said.
Ruffin now resides in the Atlanta area, and is closing the chapter on a dark part of his life, while opening a new one.
"I have two job opportunities for promotions at my current job. So my life is just trending upwards right now. This is like the icing on the cake," Ruffin said.
Ruffin said his false conviction never defined who he was, or the man he would become.