Activists call on Katz to drop charges against Churaman

Prakash Churaman, right, made his 90th court appearance Monday for a murder charge he says he’s innocent of. Eagle photo by Jacob Kaye

By Jacob Kaye

For the 90th time in his young adult life, Prakash Churaman appeared in Queens Criminal Court Monday to proclaim his innocence in a murder he was accused of taking part in when he was 15 years old.

In what was likely one of his last appearances before the start of his second trial concerning the 2014 murder of 21-year-old Taquane Clark, Churaman appeared before Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder, who ruled on a series of motions, laying the groundwork for the upcoming trial.

Though Churaman was convicted of second degree murder in 2018, the conviction was overturned by the Appellate Division, Second Department in 2020.

Churaman has been living with his mother in Queens on house arrest in the year since his conviction was overturned and as he awaits his second trial.

“My case is a prime example of the enormous amounts of flaws this justice system has displayed to society,” Churaman told the Eagle ahead of his appearance.

On Dec. 5, 2014, three men broke into a home in Jamaica to steal marijuana. The robbery went wrong, and Clark, who lived in the home and whose younger brother was friends with Churaman, was fatally shot by one of the intruders.

Churaman was arrested for the crime after then-74-year-old Olive Legister told police that she heard Churaman’s voice when she was being held at gunpoint during the robbery.

Churaman has maintained his innocence ever since the arrest except for one moment – while under interrogation after his arrest, Churaman admitted to being involved with the robbery to NYPD Detective Barry Brown. Churaman, who confessed to the crime without the presence of a lawyer, later would say he was coerced.

The confession was at the center of the overturned conviction. Appellate justices ruled that Holder should have allowed an expert witness to testify about coerced confessions during the trial.

After the overturned conviction, the DA’s office offered Churaman a plea, which he turned down. Though he has been unable to provide the court with an alibi, there is no physical evidence tying Churaman to the scene beyond the earwitness testimony provided by Legister.

On Monday, Holder denied the prosecution’s motion to preclude a forensic psychiatrist from testifying on the potential mental state a young person is in when under police interrogation. Holder also denied a motion from the defense, which is being led by attorney Jose Nieves, to include an earwitness reliability expert.

Prior to the appearance, a group of around 30 criminal justice advocates and friends and family of Churaman, gathered in front of the Queens Criminal Courthouse to demand District Attorney Melinda Katz drop all charges against the 22-year-old.

A group of activists called on District Attorney Melinda Katz to drop all charges against Prakash Churaman, who says he was coerced into confessing to a 2014 murder when he was a 15-year-old. Eagle photo by Jacob Kaye

“It's been a fight and a battle to go through with all of this,” said Nandani Churaman, the defendant’s mother. “It's very hard for me, it's been very hard. For over six years already, I've been doing it. It's hard, it's hard.”

His mother said that was glad to see so many people come out to support her son. The coalition has grown in recent years as Churaman continued to grow up inside the criminal justice system.

Last week, a group of protesters crashed a Diwali celebration hosted by Katz. The group chanted and held signs, demanding her office drop the charges against Churaman.

On Monday, a group of lawmakers including Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani and Councilmember-elect Shekar Krishnan, wrote to the DA’s office also asking the charges be dropped.

“The time is now for your office to ensure that it does not come to that point: there is no need for another trial,” the lawmakers wrote. “Churaman will never get back the last six years of his life. Given the context of the confession, the lack of forensic evidence, and the unjust prosecution of yet another young man of color, we call on you to drop all charges against Prakash Churaman immediately.”

City Councilmember Adrienne Adams wrote her own letter to the DA making a similar request.

“The disturbing history regarding police coercion of youth of color is widely acknowledged in our city and in cities across the country,” Adams wrote. “Unfortunately, the case of Prakash Churaman is all too characteristic of the systemic incarceration of Black and brown children by a structure that is designed to harm instead of protect.”

Arrested before the passage of Raise the Age in 2017, a state law that raises the age of criminal responsibility to 18 years old, Churaman is one of a handful of people in the state still being tried as an adult for a crime they were accused of committing as a child.

Karen Hurtado, who first read about Churaman online and came out to show her support for him on Monday, said that his case is indicative of structural injustices she has seen time and time again.

“It's not an isolated situation,” Hurtado said. “I think that [by showing up] it can really send a domino effect for people to be like, ‘You know what, we can do this, we can show support.’ This isn’t just a pastime, or an activity, this is very, very meaningful for people.”

Fahed Ahmed, the executive director of Desis Rising Up and Moving, a nonprofit based in Jackson Heights, offered Churaman his organization’s support when he was still incarcerated, before he won his appeal.

“We've seen there's been a pretty well documented history of false confessions by police officers, as well as prosecutorial misconduct – definitely in Queens, but also, it’s something we're seeing across the city,” Ahmed said. “And Prakash’s case very much falls within that, if we look at the evidence that's available to us.”

Ahmed added that he believes Churaman’s case is indicative of bigger structural issues within the criminal justice system, as well.

“The fact that once he won his appeal and was offered a plea deal is a further indication that [the DA’s office] doesn’t see him as a threat or any risk, but they don't want to own up to their mistakes, they don’t want to own up to their shortcomings,” Ahmed said. “That's why we're here to support Prakash – because nobody should have their life, and especially their youth, snatched away from them as a result of police misconduct, or prosecutorial misconduct. No family should be broken apart.”

Protesters rallied in support of Prakash Churaman on Monday, Nov. 15, 2021. Eagle photo by Jacob Kaye

Tensions rose briefly Monday when the group of supporters marched across the street and began chanting in front of one of the District Attorney’s office buildings in the neighborhood. Holding a sign that requested both Churaman and Chanel Lewis, who also says that he was coerced into confessing to a murder by the same NYPD detective, protesters began tapping on the lobby door while demanding the DA drop the charges.

Several police officers were called to the scene and the protesters made their way back to the courthouse without incident.

Speaking from the steps of the courthouse, Churaman noted how anxious he was to have this chapter of his life permanently closed. He’ll appear back in court on Jan. 19.

“The anticipation, the tension – everything has been building up,” he said. “The system has been dragging me along for over six years now. All I have to say is, enough is enough.”

The DA’s office said it also hopes to see the case come to a close sometime in the near future.

“Criminal cases must be tried inside of our courtrooms, where the parties are afforded due process, and not tried on the steps of the courthouse,” a DA spokesperson said in a statement to the Eagle. “We look forward to a just resolution of People v Prakash Churaman in a court of law, where a jury will hear and deliberate upon the evidence that will be presented.”

“The sooner the matter is adjudicated, the earlier some form of closure can be found by both the defendant and the family of the victim in this case,” the spokesperson added. “The Queens District Attorney's Office has stated and maintained our readiness to proceed.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story said that Justice Holder denied the defense’s motion to use and eyewitness reliability expert at trial. This is incorrect. Holder denied the defense’s motion to use an earwitness reliability expert.