Queens Supreme Court exonerates man who spent more
than 30 years in prison for murder he did not commit
BY BILL PARRY
After more than three decades
behind bars, Carlton
Roman walked out of Queens
Supreme Court a free man
Monday, Aug. 9, when murder
and attempted murder charges
against him were dropped.
Queens District Attorney
Melinda Katz and Roman’s
defense team filed a joint motion
to vacate his conviction
for the murder of Lloyd Witter
and the attempted murder of
Jomo Kenyatta in Jamaica in
1989.
Queens Supreme Court
Justice Michelle Johnson vacated
the conviction and all
charges against 59-year-old
Roman based on newly discovered
witnesses and evidence
that contradicted significant
aspects of the trial testimony
was used to convict him.
“I am committed to the fair
administration of justice. In
that pursuit, my office seeks
to ensure that those who are
guilty face appropriate consequences
and those who have
been wrongfully convicted
are exonerated,” Katz said.
“Vacating Mr. Roman’s conviction
emphasizes the fact
that although these cases are
difficult and strenuous to
investigate, my Conviction
Integrity Unit will do everything
it takes to ensure that
the right and just result is
reached.”
According to court records,
on March 16, 1989, Lloyd Witter
and Jomo Kenyatta were
shot multiple times at a home
in Jamaica resulting in Witter’s
death and Kenyatta’s
permanent need for a wheelchair.
Paul Anderson lived
at the house and was found
by the police outside, bound
with telephone wire and handcuffed,
and in close proximity
to Witter’s body.
Anderson and Kenyata
identified Carlton Roman,
a close friend of Witter’s, as
one of the shooters and the
ringleader of the group. After
his arrest, police found no forensic
or ballistic evidence
linking Roman, whose alibi
was corroborated by his girlfriend,
to the shooting. There
was also no DNA or fingerprint
evidence linking Roman
to the shooting.
Roman was tried, convicted
and sentenced for the crime
based solely on the testimony
of those two witnesses. Roman,
at the time a recent graduate
from Queensborough
Community College with no
criminal record, testified that
he was not involved with the
shooting.
He submitted his case for
re-investigation to the Queens
County District Attorney’s
Office in 2013 and 2018, but
the conviction was left unchanged.
Katz’s Conviction Integrity
Unit (CIU) began its investigation
in April 2020 and interviewed
more than 30 witnesses
across the country and on the
Island of Jamaica, and according
to the motion filed in court
Monday, CIU’s investigation
uncovered new evidence that
would have changed the outcome
of the trial, including a
2019 recantation by Paul Anderson
in which he stated Roman
was not one of the shooters
and that he falsely accused
Roman.
Anderson confirmed that
Roman was not one of the assailants
and that he had not
TIMESLEDGER | Q 2 NS.COM | AUG. 13 - AUG. 19, 2021
seen Roman at his house the
entire day of the crime. During
the course of the initial
police investigation and CIU
investigation, Anderson provided
at least six distinctly
different versions of how the
shooting occurred. Most are
inconsistent with each other
and the facts of the crime, according
to the motion.
Three new witnesses who
undermine the trial testimony
of Anderson and Kenyatta included
a retired police officer
who received and documented
Anderson’s initial description
of the shooters, none of which
fit Roman. No testimony or
evidence offered at trial by
either party referenced these
initial descriptions provided
by Anderson.
A new witness, who was
friends with Anderson, Kenyatta
and Roman, described
the narcotics activity of Anderson
and Kenyatta, as well
as Kenyatta’s violent nature
and profession as a drug boss,
which provides a substantial
motive for others to have committed
the crime. Another
new witness described the
friendly relationship between
the deceased victim and Roman
and contradicted the
trial testimony regarding
statements supposedly made
by Roman around the time of
his arrest.
New evidence further undermines
confidence in the
testimony of Kenyatta, who
falsely minimized his criminal
history at trial and used
various aliases to conceal his
criminal activity.
“During the Conviction
Integrity Unit’s investigation,
prosecutors and seasoned homicide
detectives personally
interviewed over 30 witnesses
in different states and countries
painstakingly reviewed
countless files, and conducted
a thorough re-examination of
the crime scene,” Katz said.
“This case, and the dedication
of the CIU and the expeditiousness
with which they
conducted this investigation,
exemplify that we are not so
arrogant to think that the system
doesn’t make mistakes.
When we find miscarriages
of justice, we do everything
in our power to correct them
quickly.”
After his conviction was
vacated by Justice Johnson,
Roman thanked Katz and her
CIU and urged his friends who
remain wrongfully imprisoned
to “never give up.” The
Conviction Integrity Unit has
now vacated nine convictions
in less than two years since its
inception.
As he left the courtroom,
the married father of two had
mixed emotions.
“I feel fantastic right now.
I feel great right now,” Roman
said. “Anybody here can imagine
how it feels to be literally
in hell. The justice system,
everybody knows is broken.
I’m here now but there are a
lot of people in there that need
your help and attention on
their cases right now. As for
my brothers who are in there
right now, man, fighting for
justice I salute you all. Stand
strong!”
Additional reporting by
Dean Moses.
Carlton Roman leaves court a free man after a Queens Supreme Court Justice vacated his conviction
on a 1989 murder he did not commit. Photos by Dean Moses
Carlton Roman leaves court a free man.
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