John Adrian Velazquez – Incarcerated

Jon-Adrian Velazquez, sentenced to life in prison for the murder of an off-duty police officer in Harlem on January 27, 1998.Velazquez was convicted of the murder based solely on eyewitness misidentifications, the leading cause of wrongful convictions. There was no DNA or physical evidence tying Velazquez to the crime other than the testimony of a number of eyewitnesses, who have either recanted or raise serious questions about police procedures leading to their misidentification. Jon Adrian Velazquez was home with his wife and children at the time of the murder. He was on the phone with his mother for over an hour according to telephone records, discussing plans to visit the grave of his deceased father the next day – his father’s birthday.

Eyewitnesses’ recantations and confession by real Killer of the retired police officer provide convincing and overwhelming evidence that Velazquez is innocent. Attorneys Robert C. Gottlieb and Celia Gordon, representing Jon-Adrian, had presented new evidence to the Manhattan DA’s office 18 months ago, soon after the Conviction Integrity unit was established. They were assured the case would receive a transparent and comprehensive reinvestigation, but that proved to be nothing but an empty promise.