After more than 30 years as a convicted felon, 55-year-old Brian Kendall is now cleared of his 1988 murder charge.

The Brooklyn District Attorney's Office admitted that the system failed Kendall when he was sent to prison at just 17 years old.

Now 37 years later, he was able to face a judge and express his gratitude for the new outcome.

Kendall joined the court through a virtual call from Guyana, where he was deported after getting paroled in 2004.

“It's obviously a bittersweet moment for Brian,” said David Crow, of the Legal Aid Society, representing Kendall. “All these years, all that incarceration, so many years in exile from the country where his family now lives."

Before parole, he spent 16 years in prison.

Two witnesses - a then 13-year-old and a person with drug issues, who was promised leniency on an unrelated case - told police Kendall was the man who killed a worker in a Flatbush game room in 1988.

He was convicted, despite Kendall and several others, including a relative of the deceased, maintaining that he was part of a group chasing down the shooter that evening.

"The defense did not have the full picture of who either of these witnesses were at the time,” said Crow. “And basically gave his client the advice that he was at high risk of being convicted of murder and did what so happens in so many cases—which is the defendant will take a plea to a lesser sentence to void a life sentence under New York’s murder statute. "

Kendall spent his time in prison learning to become an electrician.

While grateful to the Brooklyn's DA's Office for deciding to reinvestigate, his hope is for other young Black men to be saved through his story.

“Brian will be the 41st person that they have consented to release,” said Crow. “Forty of those are people of color: 39 men, one woman. So when you look at that pattern, it's just overwhelming.”

The DA released the following statement:

“Our system failed Brian Kendall when he was encouraged to plead guilty to a horrific crime without a full understanding of the evidence against him. Our investigation found that eyewitnesses corroborated his long-held account of events, critical evidence was not disclosed, and because we conclude he is likely innocent, we cannot stand by this conviction. This case highlights our deep commitment to correct the mistakes of the past, and I am grateful to the Legal Aid Society for their strong advocacy during this process.”

Kendall says he just wants to return to America where his family remains. He says his mother and father died before seeing their son's name cleared.