Overview
- Harry Ruiz’s 1994 conviction was vacated and the indictment dismissed Monday after District Attorney Alvin Bragg moved to clear the case; Ruiz served 25 years in prison and was paroled in 2019.
- The DA’s Post-Conviction Justice Unit reported new evidence of a murder-for-hire plot that named a hired gun called “Shorty” and included an affidavit stating Shorty was not Ruiz.
- Investigators cited a federal proffer by “J.M.” describing $4,000 paid before the killing and $4,000 after it, with “K.B.” corroborating the account and no links found between Ruiz and J.M.
- The review found prosecutors provided more than $17,000 in housing and living aid to the 13-year-old eyewitness and her mother with no record it was disclosed to the defense, and trial records showed the teen first pointed to a spectator before identifying Ruiz.
- Justice Robert Mandelbaum rebuked former trial prosecutor Helen Sturm for refusing to cooperate, which she called inappropriate, and the DA unit launched in 2022 after an NYPD detective flagged the file has now helped vacate 14 convictions, including eight homicides.