Murder charges dismissed after 17-year prosecution

BROOKLYN – MURDER CHARGES AGAINST a man convicted of a 2008 Brooklyn shooting have been dismissed, after work by defense attorneys uncovered that prosecutors had withheld key evidence at his trial. The Legal Aid Society announced the end of the 17-year prosecution on Friday.

Derrick Ulett was convicted of murder in connection with a 2008 shooting and sentenced to life in prison. At his initial trial, the prosecution concealed surveillance footage of the shooting, and told the jury that no such video existed – only for the video to be ultimately discovered within the prosecution’s own files through a FOIL request, according to Legal Aid. After years of litigation, the New York Court of Appeals reversed Ulett’s conviction in 2019 and ordered a new trial. Ulett was released from prison after maintaining his innocence for 11 years.

Further investigation revealed additional flaws in the case, including that the prosecution’s pathologist reportedly relied on autopsy photographs from a different person, that 911 callers had described a different shooter, and that an eyewitness reported being threatened with a material witness order in order to testify.

“With the dismissal of the charges, Mr. Ulett is focused on closing this chapter of his life and moving forward. The Legal Aid Society and its Homicide Defense Task Force remain committed to correcting the injustice he endured and supporting his path ahead,” the society wrote in a press statement.

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