NEW YORK (CMC):

NEW YORK Governor EliotSpitzer has pardoned a 54-year-old Jamaican man convicted of robbery 16 years ago, saying the pardon would spare the man from being deported to his native land.

The man, Frederick Lake, entered the United States (U.S.) legally in 1987, but was facing deportation under a federal statute that calls for the removal of a lawful alien who is convicted of an aggravated felony.

Miscarriage of justice

Although convicted of robbery in 1991 and released from prison in 1997, Lake has long maintained his innocence, and a judicial inquiry suggested that he might have been the victim of a miscarriage of justice.

Spitzer said Saturday that he issued the pardon, at least in part, so that Lake, who suffers from heart disease and diabetes, could remain with his wife and two young sons in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, where he has lived since his release from prison 10 years ago.

"Mr. Lake has fully served the sentence imposed upon him for his robbery conviction," he said in a statement.

"He had a perfect disciplinary record while in prison, he has had no other arrests or convictions during his lifetime, and he has been living safely and without incident in the community for the last 10 years," he added.

"No purpose would be served by separating Mr. Lake from his many family members who are U.S. citizens," the governor continued.

Perp id

Lake was arrested and charged with robbing a payroll company in Inwood, on Long Island, a New York City suburb, in 1989.

At his trial in 1991, three people testified that Lake had committed the crime, even though the suspect was initially described as short and stocky and wearing an earring. Lake was nearly six feet tall and did not have a pierced ear.

He also produced airline tickets and passenger manifests that showed he had flown to Jamaica several days before the robbery and returned months later.