Man faces return to prison 2 years after attempted murder conviction was vacated

By Jennifer Bisram

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    BRONX, New York (WCBS) — A Bronx man was freed after spending over two decades in prison for a crime he says he didn’t commit, but now he may have to return to prison for the same crime.

“I’m the third victim of this crime” Andre Brown, a 48-year-old father of two, was convicted of attempted murder for a shooting in the Bronx back in 1999. It left one teen paralyzed, and another remains in a long-term care facility.

Brown was sentenced to 40 years in prison, but he maintained his innocence, even filing appeals numerous times.

“I did not do the crime,” Brown said. “I’m the third victim of this crime that no one ever speaks about.”

Brown said being in prison was “just terrible.”

“Once you’re behind 40-foot walls, you could scream, you can cry, and no one will hear you. You are left for dead. Society doesn’t know you no more,” he said. “What I learned being in prison, that it can happen to anyone.”

He served 23 years before a judge vacated his conviction in December 2022, citing ineffective counsel.

“Neither the judge nor the jury were aware that there was a medical impossibility for Andre to commit this crime,” attorney Oscar Michelen said.

Brown was released on his own recognizance while the district attorney’s office appealed the decisio

“Leaving my family outside would mean a death sentence to me” Brown spent two years reintegrating back into society, spending time with his family and working with at-risk youth.

“One of the greatest feelings was able to breathe air whenever I wanted to because there is no window in your cell,” he said.

But in December 2024, the appellate division reinstated his case, meaning if Gov. Kathy Hochul doesn’t grant him clemency, he has to go back to prison.

“I could never fathom going back to prison,” Brown said. “Leaving my family outside would mean a death sentence to me, 17 more years.”

“It’s unique because someone who’s already served 23 years of a 40-year sentence and is now facing a return to prison to complete those 17 years, and usually you don’t see that once someone’s conviction’s been vacated,” Michelen said.

Earlier this week, the Bronx District Attorney’s Office agreed to a one-month stay out of prison for Brown so the clemency review can take place.

CBS News New York has been told, “Andre Brown’s case has been adjourned on consent to give the governor’s office time to review his clemency petition. We await the governor’s decision.”

A spokesperson for the governor’s office said the office does not comment on pending clemency applications. Brown’s fate is now in Hochul’s hands.

His next court hearing is slated for April 17.

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