DETROIT – A man who served 16 years in prison for a murder he said he did not commit will soon be released.
Two people were murdered on February 9, 2001 at the intersection of Kirkwood and Lumley Streets in Detroit. A burgundy car stopped next to their vehicle and fired shots into their car.
Mubarez Ahmed was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of felony firearms in 2002 for the murders. He was sentenced to serve 40-60 years in prison.
The Michigan Innocence Project has been working on Ahmed's case for nine years to help prove his innocence.
"What we found is one piece of the puzzle after another. The Michigan Innocence Clinic does not take a case until we're all firmly convinced that the client is innocent," said David Moran, the Director of the Michigan Innocence Clinic.
The case was based on one witness who has since recanted her statement.
Today, Judge Vonda Evans granted Ahmed a $250,000 10 percent cash surety bond, and he will be given a GPS tether.
Evans addressed Ahmed's federal narcotics conviction from many years ago. He served his time long before his murder conviction.
"You probably thought you'd get hit quicker for drugs than a murder. Your sins will catch up with you and fortunately in this situation, they may free you. The people that were chasing you end up giving the evidence to your defense attorneys to free you," said Evans.
Evans is referring to the fact that Ahmed served time for a federal narcotics charge before his murder conviction.
The Drug Enforcement Agency, DEA, played a role in this case. The DEA was conducting surveillance on Ahmed, and their surveillance showed Ahmed did not have any kind of relationship with the murder victims and was not driving the type of car involved in the murder either.
"Selling drugs is a long way from pulling up to a car and opening fire and killing two people in a car. There's a big difference between selling narcotics and being a murderer," said Moran.
Ahmed has been granted a new trial. He will be back in court on November 6 for a hearing. The hope is his charges will be dismissed given the fact that his lawyers have evidence proving his innocence.
"I hope that the prosecution will dismiss the case by then [November 6] but it's up to them. Having conceded that he was wrongfully convicted, I would hope they'll do the right thing next which is to dismiss the charges," said Moran.
Ahmed will be released on bond and tether within the next few days.
You can view the motion for relief from judgment and the brief in support of motion for relief from judgment below: