Sheldon Thomas Exonerated After 18 Years Wrongfully Spent in Prison

A 35-year-old man who had been wrongfully convicted of murder and spent 18 years in prison was released Thursday after prosecutors vacated his conviction.

Sheldon Thomas was arrested in 2004 in connection with a fatal shooting in East Flatbush that killed 14-year-old Anderson Bercy and wounded another person. He was charged with second-degree murder, attempted murder and other crimes.

However, an investigation by Brooklyn’s Conviction Review Unit found that Thomas’ initial arrest was based on a witness identification error. The witness had identified two men she knew, who did not include Thomas, as being in the car.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a Thursday news release that he had decided to vacate Thomas’ conviction.

“This case is a tragic example of a witness identification gone wrong,” Gonzalez said. “It is critical that we ensure that justice is done in every case, and that is why we have established a Conviction Review Unit to review claims of innocence and to ensure that justice is served.”

Thomas is the first person to be exonerated by the Conviction Review Unit since it was established in 2014. He is now free and reunited with his family.