His family is now filing a law suit against both the city and the state

A Harlem man who spent more than 21 years in jail for murders he did not commit has died, less than a year after being released.

Sharrif Wilson, 38, died on Saturday at Mount Sinai Hospital. His lawyer Adam Perlmutter said his client had been at the hospital since the end of December suffering from breathing problems.

Mr Perlmutter said Wilson suffered from acute respiratory distress syndrome, something made significantly worse by his years in prison.

Sharrif Wilson, who spent more than 21 years in jail for murders he did not commit, died on Saturday less than a year after he was released

He told the New York Daily News: 'He was a young healthy man when he went in and he was a sick unhealthy man when he came out.'

Mr Perlmutter said Wilson's family had begun the process filing civil lawsuits against both the city and the state for his incarceration.

Wilson was jailed along with Antonio Yarbough, 40, for the 1992 murders of Yarbough's mother, 12-year-old sister and another relative, also aged 12 The trio had all been choked with electrical cords and stabbed.

Wilson initially confessed to the crime and testified against Yarbough in exchange for a lighter sentence. However, he later changed his plea and claimed police had coerced his confession.

Wilson and Yarbough were released in February last year. The charges against them were dropped after new evidence surfaced.

Members of Wilson's family said they were heartbroken to have lost him.

Wilson's co-accused, Antonio Yarbough, left, released a statement saying Wilson's death was 'heartbreaking'

His sister Tiffany Wilson, 28, told the paper: 'It felt like my heart was without my chest.'

She said Wilson had worked hard to reintegrate after being release and had become obsessed with modern technology like cellphones and social media.

Yarbough has reportedly said of Wilson: 'I find it heartbreaking that a boy could serve (21) years for a crime he didn't commit and finally come home and have only 11 months to spend with his family.'