[Mar 7, 2023] Rally to call for the overturning of Wayne Gardine’s conviction by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg
Contact:
Janay Cauthen: janay@familiesforfreedom.org
Sallimatou Diaby: sallimatou@familiesforfreedom.org
Immigration justice advocates and community members hold a rally to call for the overturning of Wayne Gardine’s conviction by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
New York, NY – On Tuesday, March 7, 2023, advocates and community members will hold a rally to speak out against the wrongful conviction and imprisonment of Wayne Gardine. Families for Freedom’s “Exonerate Wayne” rally will raise awareness about a man who was wrongfully convicted in 1994 and was incarcerated for three decades. Due to his immigration status, Gardine is currently in ICE custody with threats of deportation to a country he has no ties to, Jamaica.
Wayne Gardine immigrated to the United States when he was a teenager and in 1994, he was wrongfully convicted with murder. His conviction primarily relied on bogus witness testimonies and his alibi wasn’t adequately investigated. Wayne was charged by the New York Police Department’s 30th precinct which has jurisdiction over parts of the Harlem neighborhood in upper Manhattan. An investigation by the Mollen Commission found that there was rampant corruption within the precinct. The precinct is known as the “Dirty 30th” due to the vast amount of police misconduct. It is worth noting that Wayne Gardine was charged during the same period this report was released.
Families for Freedom’s main demand is that District Attorney Alvin Bragg overturn Wayne’s conviction in a timely manner. Because Wayne is an immigrant, he was placed into ICE custody following his release from prison in April 2022. ICE has been pushing for Wayne’s deportation to Jamaica where he has no family members and will potentially experience violence from locals. Because Wayne hasn’t provided his travel documents to ICE, he has received several failure to comply notices. Wayne has maintained his innocence for almost thirty years, and wants to stay in the United States to achieve justice.
Families for Freedom will speak out at One Hogan Place, in front of the district attorney’s main headquarters, to raise awareness about Wayne Gardine’s case and demonstrate that he has a community that supports him in the United States. We will be demanding that Wayne Gardine’s conviction is overturned and he is released from ICE custody.
What: Rally calling for the exoneration of Wayne Gardine
When: Tuesday, March 7, 2023 at 11:00 am
Where: One Hogan Place
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Families for Freedom is a New York City-based organization founded during the early 2000s that advocates for detainees across the country. Within the past two decades, FFF has been able to build numerous alliances with organizations across the United States in order to expand the amount of support it can offer to immigrants, educate marginalized communities, and fight against repressive immigration laws. FFF communicates directly with detainees and people facing deportation in many ways, including assisting them with filing appeals, finding legal support, campaigning against their removals, and making their cases more visible to the public. At Families for Freedom, we understand that deportation has terrible effects on the individual; we aim to reform the process of detention, ensure that immigrants’ rights are protected, and advocate for those that are underprivileged due to their citizenship status through interactive outreach and field work activities. As Families for Freedom personally believes, no one should go through the pain of being separated from their loved ones and communities.
