Man whose conviction was overturned sues city of Albany

A man who had his 1998 conviction for shooting at two Albany police officers overturned in Albany is now suing the city.

A suit filed in federal court by Corey Young seeks an $80 million judgment and damages. The lawsuit names as defendants the city, former city Detective Anthony Ryan and the estate of former city Detective Kenneth Wilcox, who has since died.

A jury in 1998 sentenced Young to more than 57 years in prison. An appellate court in 2002 reduced Young’s sentence to 32 1/2 years.

Young served more than 28 years in jail following his conviction on seven counts, including two counts of first-degree attempted murder and aggravated assault of a police officer.

Attorney Josh Kelner, who represents Young, said blood evidence collected at the crime scene did not match Young.

“There was actually blood evidence at the scene of the crime that excluded him, even back then,” Kelner told Spectrum News 1 last year. “And he still was convicted based on false witness statements that the two detectives had obtained, either through inducing people or improperly coercing them.”

Three witnesses who previously testified that Young confessed to them later recanted their statements, according to Young’s attorneys. They argued that Young’s case is one of several Albany convictions in recent years that have been vacated, some involving the same detectives.

A review by Albany County District Attorney Lee Kindlon’s office found that key evidence undercut the original verdict. Young was released in April 2026.

Spectrum News 1 has reached out to the city of Albany for comment.