Man wrongfully convicted for rape, murder sues city
A man who served nearly 30 years in prison for a rape and murder he didn’t commit was exonerated by new DNA evidence — and is now suing the city.
Clifford Jones, of the Bronx, was accused of raping a woman in an Upper West Side apartment, and then fatally stabbing Ramon Hernaiz in the stairwell while fleeing the woman’s building.
The crimes occurred on June 2, 1980. He served his full sentence and was released from jail in June of 2010.
He’s suing for malicious prosecution, deprivation of liberty and other claims.
Jones was convicted based primarily on a lineup ID by the victim — a heroin addict — whose story of the incident changed over time, the Manhattan federal suit charges.
The suit also claims that detectives had suggested Jones as the perp to the victim before the lineup began.
Detectives hampered the investigation by claiming there wasn’t enough hair on a blue cap left by the perp to test for DNA, according to the court papers.
But in 2016, hairs from the hat were finally tested and were a negative match for Jones, 63, whose conviction was vacated on Oct 25, 2016.
“Jones’ conviction was not an accident but rather the result of defendant’s serious misconduct,” the complaint states.
“I went to jail when I was 26 and came home 56, “ Jones told The Post. “Three decades is so much. It’s like so many scars, bruises, bumps, and wounds ….I’ve been dumped, beat on, abused mentally, physically and verbally.”
In jail, Jones was beaten by an inmate with a pipe. He also missed several families members’ deaths while locked up and had to attend his brother’s funeral in handcuffs and shackles.
Jones described the shock he felt when he discovered he was exonerated after having served 29 years in prison.
“I looked up at myself in the mirror threw cold water in my face. ‘They are letting me go,’” he said to himself.
Jones was forced to register as a sex offender after he was released from jail forcing him to endure “ongoing social stigmas,” the suit states.
“I was on a sex offender list. No one wants to deal with anyone like that.”
Since Jones has been out of prison he has gotten a bachelor’s degree from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and is applying to graduate programs in criminal justice studies.
Jones now takes care of his 86-year-old mother and has a girlfriend, who is a police officer at Harlem Hospital.