Ropes & Gray Secures Full Exoneration for Pro Bono Client Charles Collins After 31 Years of Wrongful Conviction

A Ropes & Gray team has secured the full exoneration of pro bono client Charles Collins, who was wrongfully convicted of murder in 1994 when he was just 18 years old. Beginning in August 2024, Ropes & Gray worked with the Innocence Project and the Post-Conviction Justice Unit of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office in reinvestigating the charges against Mr. Collins and his co-defendant. The investigation established that DNA evidence demonstrated that neither Mr. Collins nor his co-defendant were guilty of the murder and that their convictions resulted from violations of their constitutional rights. In June 2025, Ropes & Gray and the Innocence Project filed motions to vacate their respective clients' convictions and the underlying indictments, and the District Attorney's Office consented to those motions.

On July 10, 2025, Justice Ruth Pickholz granted the motions at a hearing in New York Supreme Court. The Ropes & Gray team was led by litigation and enforcement partner Christopher Conniff, and included associates Ethan Fitzgerald, Insia Zaidi, Bryte Bu, Michelle Mlacker, and paralegal La-Toya Graham.