Bronx man free after serving 23 years for attempted murder
Andre Brown was resentenced Monday to time served, which allows him to go home to his family and put the case behind him.
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A Bronx man is free after spending more than two decades fighting a conviction tied to a 1999 shooting.
Andre Brown was convicted of attempted murder in a Bronx case where two teen boys were shot, leaving one paralyzed. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison in 2000 but always maintained his innocence.
His conviction was overturned in 2022 due to ineffective counsel, and Brown was released after serving 23 years. In 2024, his conviction was reinstated, putting him at risk of returning to prison to serve the remaining 17 years.
On Monday, a Bronx judge resentenced Brown to time served, allowing him to return home without additional prison time or supervision.
“What happened today was an astronomical feat. It’s an act of God, and that’s how I feel about it,” Brown said. “Just the joy I feel within my spirit right now as I’m with my family and I wasn’t reincarcerated.”
Brown said hearing the case in court felt like he was reliving the trauma.
“It was almost as if I was reliving this nightmare as the judge continued to just lay out the entire crime before everybody in the audience. You know, it was just crushing my spirit,” he said.
His legal team says they will keep fighting to clear his name.
“We are going to continue to look for legal avenues that are available to him to finally and fully exonerate him and vindicate him,” said attorney Oscar Michelen. “He still remains convicted of the crime, and everybody on his team and all of his supporters, 100% believe in Andre’s innocence. We will continue to investigate the case.”
Brown said he is ready for what comes next.
“It has been a journey that we were tried and tested and battle scarred but we are looking to win the war now and we ’re moving on to the next chapter,” he said.
