After spending more than two decades in prison, a Brooklyn man's murder conviction was vacated on Wednesday.
The New York Appellate Division vacated the 1999 conviction of Anthony Sims for a Brooklyn murder and ordered a new trial. Sims, who was convicted of second-degree murder that happened at Mr. Hing's Kitchen in Bushwick, had maintained his innocence since the night of the shooting and was released on parole in December 2022.
“Today, my 28-year nightmare is finally over,” Sims said in a statement. “The court’s decision to reverse my wrongful conviction is not just a victory for me, but also a testament to the power of unwavering support. I am eternally grateful to my incredible family, the tireless legal team, and every supporter who stood by me and never lost faith."
On May 18, 1998, Li Run Chen, a 28-year-old employee of Mr. Hing’s, was shot and killed while working behind the takeout counter. Two men were inside the restaurant at the time of the shooting: Anthony Sims and Julius Graves.
At trial, the prosecution’s case relied primarily on Graves’s testimony identifying Sims as the shooter, according to lawyers from Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP and Hiles Hoffman, the two firms that represented Sims.
Another witness testified that she saw two men running from the restaurant and said the taller man appeared to be holding a gun. The jury deliberated for several days and initially reported that it was deadlocked before ultimately convicting Sims of depraved indifference murder.
In recent years, new evidence emerged during a post-conviction hearing. A eyewitness testified that she saw Graves running out of the restaurant with a shotgun immediately after the shooting. She further testified that she reported what she saw to police shortly after Mr. Sims’s arrest, but the information was never disclosed to the defense, according to lawyers.
In addition, a key trial witness later recanted critical portions of her testimony. She testified that detectives separated her from her young child during questioning and pressured her for hours until she provided a description that matched Sims. She explained that she had initially told police she could not identify the person holding the gun.
"While I am overjoyed to finally walk free, my relief is tempered by the profound frustration I feel toward a judicial system that took over two decades of my life," Sims said. "This system needs a lot of work, and my hope is that my case will serve as a stark reminder of the urgent need for reform so that no other innocent person has to endure what I have.”
The Appellate Division concluded that this new evidence, when considered together with the evidence presented at trial, created a probability that the outcome would have been more favorable to Sims had the jury heard it. The court therefore vacated the conviction and remitted the case to Kings County Supreme Court for a new trial.
“This is a victory for justice,” said Ilann M. Maazel, partner at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP. “Anthony Sims is innocent. He was always innocent. He should never have been charged with this crime. Finally, after all these decades, the system worked.”
