Father of Raiders defensive end Malcolm Koonce has conviction vacated in 1983 Mount Vernon armed robbery case
MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. — The father of Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Malcolm Koonce had his guilty verdict from the 1980s vacated Friday.
Jeffrey Koonce, 67, was in prison from 1983 to 1992 after he was wrongfully convicted for armed robbery in Mount Vernon, based largely on a single shaky witness ID from a photo array where his was the only photo enlarged, a tactic now viewed as improper.
"The idea that you would just collect whatever African-American men to put in front of a witness, a traumatized witness will only lead to a miscarriage of justice," said Karen Newirth, Koonce's attorney.
The case was handled by Mount Vernon cops who were later convicted on unrelated corruption charges.
Friday brought sweet justice as Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah agreed to vacate the 1983 conviction and dismiss the indictment.
"They also imprisoned my kids"
Jeffrey Koonce left court an innocent man.
"A burden has been lifted off my shoulder, as far as my character goes," he said.
He maintained his composure in court as firmly as he maintained his innocence for more than 40 years.
"Take me and put me in prison, but they also imprisoned my kids," he said.
Imprisoned in the sense they went eight years without him.
Judge James McCarty told Koonce, "Your children will define you." All six are successful, including Malcolm Koonce and Dejuan Koonce, who just retired from distinguished service with New York State Police.
"I wanted to be a lawyer first. I just wanted to be a lawyer to get my dad out of jail. But then I became a cop because I realized instead of being a part of the problem, you can be a part of the solution," Dejuan Koonce said.
Jeffrey Koonce said it was frustrating being an innocent man behind bars, but a man he met in prison told him, "You're going to be out one day. Don't let bitterness ruin your life."
"So when I left out of there, I had no bitterness," Jeffrey Koonce said.
