Nassau County man acquitted of murder after 30 years now suing the county
“I lost more than 30 years of my life for something I did not do,” said Christopher Ellis.
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A Nassau County man is suing the county for emotional damages after he says he was coerced into confessing to the killing of assistant Hofstra football coach Joseph Healy in 1990.
Christopher Ellis served 30 years in prison for the murder, but was later acquitted at a retrial in January last year.
The lawsuit names Nassau County among several members of the Nassau County Police Department.
It claims his conviction came about from unconstitutional investigative practices, including coercion, tainted eyewitness identification and failure to disclose exculpatory evidence.
In the complaint, Ellis says he was interrogated for about 14 hours and was deprived of food, sleep, and contact to his counsel and the outside world. It also alleges detectives threatened him with life in jail away from his newborn child and family.
“I lost more than 30 years of my life for something I did not do,” said Ellis. “You can’t give that time back. I missed decades with my family, milestones, and opportunities I will never get again. I’m bringing this case to seek accountability and to help ensure this does not happen to anyone else.”
20-year-old Ellis was arrested in 1991 in connection to an attempted robbery.
The complaint claims after his confession to that incident, officers continued to keep him and question him about the unsolved Sept. 29, 1990 murder of Joseph Healy outside an Arby's in Hempstead.
"I continued to tell them that I had nothing to do with it. They just were not listening to anything that I was saying," says Ellis. "I felt discouraged and let down by the justice system."
"His confession was coerced," says Eric Abrams, an attorney representing Christopher Ellis. "This is just the next step in a very long journey of trying to find some accountability, some justice for what happened to Mr. Ellis."
News 12 reached out to Nassau Police and County Executive Bruce Blakeman's office. Nassau Police say they are not able to comment on pending litigation.
