A murder conviction has been overturned, freeing a city man who has spent more than two decades behind bars.
Jabbar Washington had been convicted of second-degree murder back in March of 1997 for the death Ronald Ellis.
Prosecutors said Washington had taken part in an armed robbery in Brownsville, Brooklyn which claimed the lives of five people.
However, the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office says a witness who identified Washington later recanted her testimony, saying she thought she was identifying him as being in the building, not as a criminal suspect.
The DA's office says the jury was influenced by the initial identification.
Investigators say Washington, now 43 years old, also signed a confession, but later retracted it as well.
The six other men involved in the 1995 robbery will not have their convictions overturned.
This all stems from a larger investigation into the career of former NYPD detective Louis Scarcella, who is accused of fabricating evidence in dozens of cases.
The Brooklyn DA's conviction review unit determined Washington did not have a fair trial. There were problems with the detective's testimony, as well as issues with the way its own prosecutors, the defense, and the judge's handling of Washington's case.
Important evidence was not turned over to the defense, and the jury could have been misled.
"When Det. Scarcella was being cross-examined by defense counsel, he was asked if getting a confession was of particular importance in this case," Mark Hale of the Brooklyn DA's office said in court.
"Scarcella answers, 'If he didn't get ID'ed, it would have,'" Hale continued.
The DA is not asking for a new trial.