Mr. Moses was convicted of second-degree murder, four counts of assault, and two counts of weapon possession in connection with a shooting that occurred in Brownsville, Brooklyn in August 1995. He testified at trial about the brutality inflicted on him by former detective Louis Scarcella, and how he would come to confess to a crime he did not commit. No physical evidence connected Mr. Moses to this crime – the only evidence presented against him at trial was his confession and two lineup identifications. One of the witnesses who identified Mr. Moses in a lineup, Sharron Ivory, has recanted. Mr. Ivory’s affidavit states that a detective told him which photo to select out of a photo array, and this is how he knew which person to select out of the line-up. Mr. Moses’ co-defendant, who was tried separately and only convicted of weapon possession, has also come forward to state that while he was involved in the shooting, Mr. Moses was not. Two additional individuals have come forward as alibi witnesses. Larry Cole, the man who originally gave Mr. Moses’ name to detectives, told detectives at the time that he heard about Mr. Moses’ involvement from MoDog, a.k.a. Jomo Tinsley. At the time, Mr. Tinsley told detectives he never told Larry Cole anything about Mr. Moses’ involvement because he had no idea who was involved in the shooting. Mr. Tinsley states the same thing today: Larry Cole lied because he has never known anything about who was involved in the shooting.
In advance of Mr. Moses’ September 2013 parole hearing, Mr. Moses’ lawyers submitted a letter to the parole board requesting that the board not hold Mr. Moses’ claim of innocence against him, citing the significant new evidence of his innocence. The parole board granted Mr. Moses’ parole on October 13, 2013 and he was released from prison on December 4, 2013. Mr. Moses is continuing to fight to overturn his conviction.