Advocates call for Brooklyn DA's Office to revisit Brooklyn man's 1998 murder conviction

Sims has been locked up for more than 20 years for the fatal shooting of 27-year-old Li Run Chen, a worker at a Bushwick Chinese restaurant.

News 12 Staff

May 6, 2021, 9:45 PM

Updated 1,307 days ago

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The family of a Brooklyn man who has been in prison for decades for a 1998 murder is calling for the district attorney to join their motion to vacate his conviction.
Family members, attorneys and advocates are calling on the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office to take a deeper look into the conviction of Anthony Sims. 
Sims has been locked up for more than 20 years for the fatal shooting of 27-year-old Li Run Chen, a worker at a Bushwick Chinese restaurant. 
His attorneys claim it was his friend, Julius Graves, who committed the crime and framed him. They alleged that police and prosecutors withheld evidence, including an eyewitness report, to prove it. 
Several wrongfully convicted men also spoke out and said there’s a conflict of interest with Mark Hale as the head of the conviction review unit. 
The Brooklyn DA’s Office responded with a statement saying, "Mark Hale recused himself and was walled off from all reviews of past cases that he had handled."
The DA’s office also said that in his previous motions and appeals, Sims never claimed that Graves is the one who’s guilty of this crime. 
Sources tell News 12 the eyewitness who allegedly said she saw Graves running out of the restaurant with the murder weapon told police she didn’t have her contacts in and wasn’t sure who she saw. 
In response to those claims, the DA’s office says they will respond to this motion in court. That is scheduled for May 12.