Terms of Use / Privacy Policy / Manage Newsletters, By Associated Press - Settlements for some of the women, some whom are currently still incarcerated there, were higher than the government had initially allocated to pay. In 2003, he was sentenced to 12.5 to 25 years in prison. She said Hicks had gone to the victim to render aid. If the case had not settled, it would have gone to trial next year. EfM taught me how to open the box, and also how to be diplomatic., He says, EfM was a vessel. During his wrongful imprisonment, Mr. Hicks said he focused on his mental and spiritual health and used creative writing as an emotional outlet. The agreement announced Wednesday is the latest in a string of seven-figure settlements stemming from claims of misconduct by city police in the late 1980s This is my ministry, he says. Dennis Zungolo, who was with him at the scene, did not return phone and email messages Wednesday. Hicks was then charged with the rape and later exonerated after the Conviction Integrity Unit found that the case was built on liespossibly to cover up the unjustified shooting and that forensic evidence easily cleared Hicks who should never have been arrested let alone convicted of the rape. Going back to the morning of the crime, the victim was not able to identify her assailant. Like the traveler in the parable of the Good Samaritan, the victim had been left beaten, bloody, and half naked. Termaine Joseph Hicks exonerated after 19 years in prison - Inquirer Listen: Stories about Black men spending years and even decades behind bars for crimes they didnt. Mr. Hicks was transported to the hospital in all of his clothing which was preserved and included only a coat, a striped polo shirt, and white t-shirt but no hoodie. Im just sad because honestly those officers got away with a crime, Rojas said. Hicks lawyers argue that was the light that caused the attacker to flee before Hicks, and then police, arrived. However, the recent assessments by both the chief medical examiner for the City of Philadelphia and an independent medical examiner concluded that Mr. Hicks was shot from behind meaning he wasnt coming toward the officers when he was shot. Vinson told the court he saw Hicks attacking the woman and saw him reach for a gun. Hicks recruited other prisoners to act in the production. Ignatius, Discernment, and You with the Rev. Hickss case began in the early-morning hours of Nov. 27, 2001, according to a memorandum summarizing the case, as a woman walked to an early shift at Dunkin Donuts. McGrody did not return calls Tuesday. She said she wanted to hold the Bureau of Prisons accountable for the abuse she and others experienced. Tell At the time of his arrest, Hicks was an assistant manager at a South Philadelphia Popeyes, raising a 5-year-old son. In this case, the new evidence came from Hickss clothing and his own body. Website by MADEO. I do feel that, one case at a time, this system is being improved.. Wow you are a hero.and a very blessed man. Prayer, revival and Jesus Revolution: Is our rotting culture on the verge of something big? information about the Registry, Assault, Other Violent Felony, Gun Possession or Sale, Perjury or False Accusation, Official Misconduct, Inadequate Legal Defense. Its not the closure I wanted but its still closure., The 15 women suing said officers had sexually assaulted and abused them for years. They lied under oath to cover up for shooting an innocent man three times in the back, Innocence Project lawyer Vanessa Potkin said. Wanting to reach young people before fateful decisions are made, he began to produce videos on gun violence and bullying. Then they began to let us out againbut only for 15 minutes a day. He saw two men running away from a figure on the ground near a dumpster. I could have been paralyzed; there are still fragments of that bullet near my spine. According to the National Registry of Exonerations, The officers involved in this case had extensive internal affairs files with numerous allegations of lying, planting evidence, excessive force, and substantiated complaints filed by civilians. We may earn a commission from links on this page. He wrote 12 plays and musicals while in prison and, now that hes free, he hopes to eventually produce and direct plays. Why dont they? A spokesperson for the Philadelphia Police Department had not provided a comment as of Wednesday afternoon. The basics of personal finance, like How to save for a house. Figure out your next step toward financial freedom. At one point, Mr. Hicks was considered for parole, but was ultimately denied because he refused to admit guilt, and continued to maintain his innocence. Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from the Innocence Project: Police Perjury Led To Wrongful Conviction. He said its a sentiment other correctional officers share. The reversal comes amid a recent flurry of exonerations as the citys district attorney, Larry Krasner, has aggressively pushed to revisit at least 16 questionable convictions. WebOn February 27, 2003, Hicks was sentenced to between 12 and 25 years in prison. They shot him three times in the back. Obviously, the worst part of these false convictions is that Black people are having enormous chunks of their lives stolen from them all because America is racist and its justice system reflects that, but the convictions are also a burden on taxpayers who end up footing the bill for settlements because they live in cities where law enforcement cares more about forcing guilty verdicts than they do about actually solving crimes. Photo: Jason E. Miczek/AP Images for The Innocence Project. When you look more broadly at the other officers involved in this case, there is a larger pattern of official misconduct, Potkin said. When recovered, the firearm was covered in blood belonging to the victim, who was bleeding profusely when the police arrived at the scene. The Innocence Project is affiliated with Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University. And I believe its impossible to say that did not contribute to the conviction.. His brother Tone Hicks was not eligible for parole because he maintained his innocence and would not express remorse for a crime he did not commit. There was irrefutable evidence that Chester was innocent, is innocent and has always been innocent and would never have been wrongfully convicted aside from extraordinary police misconduct, Green said. She assumed those were police spotlights. His brother and friend greeted him upon release. In fact, the gun was registered as the off-duty weapon of another uniformed Philadelphia police officer. His attorneys celebrated the exoneration Wednesday, noting that Hicks, who was the father of a 5-year-old boy when he was incarcerated, would be able to meet his 2-year-old grandson for the first time. Falsely claiming under oath that Mr. Hicks wore a gray hoodie like that a neighbor described the assailant as wearing. Pennsylvanias statute of limitations for perjury and other relevant criminal charges bars prosecution after five years. We were all mourning. Yet, forensic examiners found no blood inside of Mr. Hicks jacket pocket. Jason E. Miczek / AP Images for The Innocence Project. As he reached for his cell phone to call 911, two police officers ran to the scene. Termaine Hicks (Photo: Jason E. Miczek for AP/Innocence Project), Support The National Registry of Exonerations , The Contribution of Forensic and Expert Evidence to DNA Exoneration Cases, Race and Wrongful Convictions in the United States, 2022, Government Misconduct and Convicting the Innocent, Witness Recantations: Preliminary Findings, May 2013, Exonerations in the United States: 1989 - 2012, Tell us about an Exoneration that we missed, Other Philadelphia, Pennsylvania exonerations. Baden testified that all shots were fired from behind Hicks, so he could not have been lunging at the officer who pulled the trigger. Group showed footage of fatal Breonna Taylor raid at restaurant event, dine BLM co-founders cousin dies after police repeatedly use Taser, video shows, Bidens marijuana policy may change attitudes toward immigrants. The city has settled civil-rights complaints naming Vinson and Ellis as defendants. Joint Stipulation of Mr. Hicks and the Commonwealth. Making it easier for Black people to vote had unexpected consequences, Latinos who use Spanish-language social media get more misinformation, How public colleges have already backed away from affirmative action. He often speaks for the Innocence Project. One of the bullets barely missed my spine, but youre talking to a guy who ran a couple of marathons while he was incarcerated., A post shared by Tyron McClendon (@mrgrinch215). The police froze the crime scene and catalogued whatever was there. Pennsylvania is one of 15 states that does not compensate exonerees. The Innocence Project is affiliated with Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University. The victim had told police the attack stopped when bright lights shined on her assailant, spooking him. My heart was filled with sorrow reading your story but as I saw your smile in the video, my tears of sorrow became tears of joy. In fact, it would be eight years before they could look at it. We must have had 150 people in the audience, both inmates and guests, remembers Slichter. First, they had to show new evidence in order to ask for a new trial. His brothers Tone Hicks and Tyron McClendon greeted him upon release. Deep-seated police misconduct and institutional protections are too often the source of wrongful convictions and injustice in the system. Twenty-seven judges had looked at my case by then, explains Hicks. He purchased land and other AA's settled near him. During his time in prison he joined the Education for Ministry (EfM) program, wrote plays, and later formed S.T.E.P.U.P. It was a chance for me to try to find out how God operates with us. I am quite cognizant of the pain and the trauma of the victim, and then more pain in realizing that the wrong person was convicted, Brandeis-Roman said. Termaine Joseph Hicks, 45, was freed from prison in Philadelphia on Wednesday He was jailed in 2001 after cops Marvin Vinson and Dennis Zungolo testified against him In fact, he'd run to the woman's aid when he heard her screaming and the real rapist ran away A neighbor who witnessed the woman being dragged by the assailant from the sidewalk to the alley and called police in real-time, reported that the attacker was wearing a gray hoodie covering his head. He was exonerated Report an error or add more information about this case. What we are doing is just reintroducing simple life decision-making, Hicks explains. Police disciplinary records are currently kept confidential in nearly half of states, including Pennsylvania. Hicks was convicted of rape and weapons offenses, with 20 officers testifying against him. Exculpatory post-conviction evidence was shared with the Philadelphia Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU), which, under District Attorney Larry Krasner and Patricia Cummings, moved to vacate Mr. Hicks conviction yesterday based on the officers false trial testimony. For the most accurate data, please search on the Detailed View page. The conviction was vacated, and the charge dismissed. Lauren Reynolds received $600,000 for her settlement - but she said it wasnt about the money. He was convicted and served 19 years in State Correctional Institution Phoenix, about an hour northwest of Philadelphia. Termaine Hicks walked out of Pennsylvania prison SCI Phoenix last week. As the Psalmist wrote, God knows our frame and remembers we are made from dust. With that understanding, I am able to move forward. The cover up of shooting an innocent man required the false testimony of three officers and the acquiescence of a dozen more. Hicks said he showed up at the scene moments after the true assailant ran away from those headlights and just a few moments before police arrived. Officer Martin Vinson, who testified that he fired because Hicks was reaching for a gun and lunging toward him, and his then-partner Sgt. One was a 2015 lawsuit alleging that Vinson and another officer had dragged a taxi driver falsely accused of stealing a cell phone out of his cab and assaulted him. Abram Depp Settlement The farm of Abram and Lucy Depp was the first of this settlement of African Americans. His payout is just $50,000 short of the record for settlements of its kind in the city a distinction held by the $9.85 million agreement the city struck in 2018 with Anthony Wright, a man who served nearly 25 years of a sentence for a 1991 rape and murder that DNA evidence proved decades later he did not commit. Many will have a tale of transformation to share. 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