After spending decades behind bars for a double murder in New York City in 1996, three men will walk free Friday after having their wrongful convictions vacated.

George Bell, Rohan Bolt and Gary Johnson were convicted in the Dec. 21, 1996 murders of Ira “Mike” Epstein and NYPD Police Officer Charles Davis in the course of robbing Epstein’s check-cashing business. Davis lost his life in his efforts to protect Epstein while working off-duty as security for Epstein’s business.

After an investigation spanning 11 months, in which more than 30 witnesses were interviewed, pertaining to these decades-old convictions, the District Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU) determined that prosecutors at the time of the trial inadvertently failed to disclose records that were favorable to the defense, including documents indicating that a member of the "Speedstick" gang implicated himself and other gang members in the robbery and killings as well as mental health records of an alleged accomplice who implicated the accused and testified against two of the men at their trials.

Additionally, the defense had made several specific requests for information suggesting the involvement of "Speedstick" gang members in the check cashing robbery and shootings, but the documents were not found in the defendants’ files and were only discovered by the CIU years later in the files of the unrelated prosecutions of alleged Speedstick members, according to the district attorney's office. However, the CIU concluded that the prosecutors assigned to men’s cases were unaware of these records at the time of their trial.

“These prosecutors did not intentionally mislead the Court, but we cannot ignore the fundamental unfairness in which key exculpatory evidence never came to light during the trial. The constitutional safeguards in our criminal justice system failed here, and the result has deprived everyone involved of the certainty and finality of justice in this case," CIU Director Bryce Benjet said.

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, who was not district attorney at the time of the initial trial, has assigned Executive Assistant District Attorney Pishoy Yacoub to lead the continued investigation and any further trial proceedings.

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The indictments of the defendants remain pending, but based on the discovery and circumstances of the case, they have been released on recognizance bond while the prosecution's investigation continues.

“As the chief law enforcement officer of Queens County, I cannot stand behind these convictions in light of the Brady violations that my Conviction Integrity Unit identified. However, there is at this time insufficient evidence of actual innocence and therefore we are taking this opportunity to re-evaluate and examine the evidence,” Katz said in a statement.

The DA said her office would be reexamining the evidence to see whether the indictments against the men should be dropped.

“Our office does not overturn convictions lightly, and this is a tragic case that has affected many lives," Katz continued in her statement. "We must acknowledge the pain and uncertainty this error brings to the families of innocent victims of a terrible crime. But a fair and accurate trial depends on both prosecutors and defense attorneys knowing all of the evidence so that the jury can make an informed decision about the guilt or innocence of a defendant. When that system breaks down, regardless of fault, we have to take responsibility.”