Kris Maharaj, wrongly imprisoned in Florida for 38 years, dies after judge’s ruling of his innocence | Global News
An 85-year-old British citizen who was put on death row despite later being declared innocent by a judge has passed away while still incarcerated in Florida, according to his lawyer.
Kris Maharaj, who was convicted of the murder of two business associates in 1986, died in the hospital after “38 years fighting injustice,” said Clive Stafford Smith.
A second tweet mentioned Mr. Maharaj’s wife, Marita, who “braves the New World without Kris, making me breakfast this morning as a distraction…”
The human rights lawyer and founder of the campaign group Reprieve also confirmed that Mr. Maharaj’s body would be repatriated to England, as per his and his wife’s wishes.
“Kris Maharaj will come home,” he said, adding a funeral would take place in the town of Bridport in “due course”.
Mr. Maharaj, originally from Trinidad but moved to England in 1960, was found guilty of the murder of father and son Derrick and Duane Moo Young in a Miami hotel room.
His death sentence was overturned in 2002 and commuted to life imprisonment with the assistance of Reprieve.
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Mr. Maharaj always maintained his innocence and in 2019 a judge ruled in his favor.
However, five years later, the original verdict was still not overturned, leading to Mr. Maharaj spending his final days behind bars.
Prior to his incarceration, Mr. Maharaj was a wealthy individual, owning race horses and Rolls-Royces in the UK. He and his wife had traveled to Florida to purchase a retirement property when he was arrested while dining in a restaurant and subsequently convicted of the double murder.
“When they found me guilty, I passed out, I fainted. I just couldn’t believe you could be found guilty [of] something you didn’t do – murder,” he recalled during an interview with Sky News four years ago.
Kris’s wife, Marita, never got to see her husband released
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“It is very difficult to wake up every morning and think, ‘What on God’s earth am I doing here? These people know I am innocent.'”
Mr. Maharaj stated he was nowhere near Room 1215 of the Dupont Plaza Hotel on the night of the killings. He mentioned having alibi witnesses placing him miles away, but they were never called to testify.
Originally sentenced to death and spending 17 years on death row, Mr. Maharaj’s sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment with the help of a campaign involving numerous British politicians.
