The Science Was Wrong.
He’s Still in Prison.
Demand James Hilton Get a Fair Trial
On July 14, 2000, William Rodriguez was fatally shot in New Haven. James Hilton was at the scene. No gun was ever recovered. Hilton voluntarily went to the police station with his brother-in-law, a law enforcement sergeant, and gave a statement. He told them someone else fired the shot. He has never wavered from that account in twenty-five years.
They charged him with murder. He was sentenced to sixty years.
The Forensic Evidence Was Wrong.
The State’s entire case hinged on one expert: Associate Medical Examiner Arkady Katsnelson, who told the jury the victim died from a “contact gunshot wound” — the muzzle pressed directly against the victim’s skin. The prosecutor used this to argue Hilton’s account was physically impossible.
Dr. Cyril Wecht — a forensic pathologist with over sixty years of experience, more than 20,000 autopsies, and former president of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences — has testified unequivocally that it was not a contact wound. No muzzle imprint. No soot deposits. Stellate tearing patterns. The shot was fired from at least twenty-four inches away. That means another person could have fired it. That means Hilton’s account is consistent with the physical evidence.
The jury never heard this. Hilton’s trial attorney never hired a forensic expert.
The Key Witness Lied.
The State’s primary eyewitness, Sherice Mills, testified she saw Hilton shoot the victim. At trial, she denied knowing Roshawn Reed — the man Hilton has always identified as the actual shooter. Post-conviction investigation proved Mills was related to Reed by marriage, lived with him, and was arrested with him on federal narcotics charges. Another witness, Priscilla Simmons, would have testified she saw Reed — not Hilton — fire the shot. The jury never heard from her.
The Prosecutor Was Found Improper.
The Appellate Court found the prosecutor committed multiple acts of misconduct: improperly compelling Hilton to vouch for the medical examiner’s credibility, making “clearly improper” and “inappropriate” closing arguments, telling the jury that to acquit they’d have to find “everyone else lied,” and calling Hilton “a liar” repeatedly. The court called these remarks “not in any way consistent with the expectation of professionalism of his office.” And the medical examiner? Dr. Katsnelson resigned after it was revealed he accepted money from a victim’s family. The Connecticut Supreme Court, in a separate case, affirmed that failing to challenge his testimony constituted ineffective counsel.
25 Years.
Wrong forensic science. A compromised eyewitness with concealed ties to an alternative suspect. Prosecutorial misconduct the court itself called improper. A medical examiner who resigned in disgrace. And a trial attorney who never hired an expert to challenge any of it.
James Hilton is not asking to go free. He is asking for what the Constitution guarantees: a fair trial. One where the jury hears the real forensic evidence. One where the science is right. His case is currently before the Supreme Court of the State of Connecticut.
In the News
Murder Conviction Contested Amid Forensics Fight
New Haven Independent — Laura Glesby — March 20, 2026