Christopher Ellis spent more than 30 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. According to News12, the Brooklyn man is suing Nassau County and several former police detectives, accusing them of coercive tactics, a tainted identification, and suppressed evidence in the case that put him behind bars.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court, centers on the 1990 killing of Hofstra football assistant coach Joseph Healy outside of an Arby’s. Ellis’ lawyers say he was coerced into confessing after an 18-hour-long interrogation that left the then 20-year-old without food, sleep, or a phone call, according to a federal civil rights and malicious prosecution lawsuit.

Court records also indicate that investigators failed to turn over evidence that could have helped his defense. He was sentenced to 31 1/3 years to life. Now at 56-years-old, he’s sharing his own story.

“My son was just born at the time. He was born in November of 1990 and I went to prison in February of ’91,” Ellis said per The Daily News. “So I lost all that time with him, spending time with him, watching him grow…. I lost my mother, my father, both of them passed away while I was in prison. Just lost a lot, you know, I didn’t get to really enjoy life.”

Ellis was convicted, then later received a new trial. A second jury found him not guilty in January 2025, according to reporting and the complaint described by his lawyers.

“After the verdict, it felt like a weight was lifted, like finally somebody was listening,” Ellis told the Daily. “That first jury, they didn’t listen to anything…. After that (second) verdict, it was like, finally, someone listened.”

The county and the former detectives have not been publicly shown to have responded in the cited reports, and the allegations will now be tested in court. The suit seeks damages for emotional harm tied to the decades Ellis spent imprisoned.