4 THE QUEENS COURIER • AUGUST 12, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Court exonerates man who spent more than
30 years in prison for murder he did not commit
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
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 fi led 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
offi ce 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 diffi
cult 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 handcuff
ed, 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. Aft er his
arrest, police found no forensic
or ballistic evidence linking
Roman, whose alibi was corroborated
by his girlfriend, to
the shooting. Th ere was also
no DNA or fi ngerprint 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, testifi ed that he was not involved
with the shooting.
He submitted his case for re-investigation
to the Queens County District
Attorney’s Offi ce 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 fi led 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 confi rmed that Roman was
not one of the assailants and that he had
not 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 diff erent versions of how the
shooting occurred. Most are inconsistent
with each other and the facts of the crime,
according to the motion.
Th ree new witnesses who undermine
the trial testimony of Anderson and
Kenyatta included a retired police offi cer
who received and documented Anderson’s
initial description of the shooters, none
of which fi t Roman. No testimony or
evidence off ered 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 confi
dence 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 fi les, and conducted
a thorough re-examination of the crime
scene,” Katz said. “Th is 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 fi nd miscarriages of
justice, we do everything in our power to
correct them quickly.”
Aft er 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.” Th e 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. Th e 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, fi ghting 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 after a Queens Supreme Court Justice vacated his conviction on a 1989 murder he did not commit.
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