Man convicted in infamous 1990 tourist killing in New York is freed

After 25 years of trying to clear himself in a notorious tourist killing, Johnny Hincapie walked out of a courthouse Tuesday, his conviction overturned and his resolve intact.

Prosecutors could appeal the decision or retry him in the 1990 killing of Utah tourist Brian Watkins, 22, who was stabbed to death in a subway station as he defended his parents during a mugging that helped crystallize an era of crime and fear in the nation’s biggest city.

But, Hincapie said, “I’ll deal with that tomorrow. Right now, I just want to take one step at a time.”

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Tears streamed down his cheeks as he emerged to hugs and cheers from relatives who hadn’t seen him outside a jail or prison in a quarter-century. “I feel wonderful. I feel free!” he said.

Hincapie, now 43, says he was a bystander wrongfully swept up in the case and then coerced into a false confession. Prosecutors say his claims aren’t credible.

State Supreme Court Justice Eduardo Padro said new evidence — including testimony from two witnesses and a codefendant saying Hincapie wasn’t involved in the crime — merited a new trial. Padro stopped short of declaring Hincapie innocent, as he and his lawyers had hoped the judge might, but agreed to release him on $1 bail while awaiting a retrial.

Prosecutors said they were weighing whether to appeal the ruling and were committed to retrying the case, if necessary.

A message left for Watkins’ mother wasn’t immediately returned.

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