We dont ask the men what theyre in for, Slichter says. Philadelphia police shot a man and accused him of rape. As he was reaching for his cellphone to dial 911, the police suddenly arrived, shot him in the back and charged him unjustly. However, the court filings detail the role of Officer Robert Ellis, who testified at trial that he had recovered a .38-caliber Taurus from Hicks right jacket pocket. When Black Marxist Angela Davis found out her ancestors owned slaves. In prison, I had to coax some of those guys up there. One of those plays, Soldiers in the Army of the Lord, was performed at Graterford in 2012 in honor of Hickss EfM graduation. Press "Enter" or click on the arrow to show results. There were moments, but I did not give up, he said. At the time of his arrest, Hicks was an assistant manager at a South Philadelphia Popeyes, raising a 5-year-old son. The training also emphasizes the importance of physical fitness and a healthy lifestyle. The 45-year-old was exonerated on Wednesday, the Philadelphia Inquirer first reported, after a new analysis suggested the conviction was based on false testimony and questionable evidence possibly in an attempt to justify a botched police shooting. Ive been saying the same thing since day one. WebThe Innocence Project and Philadelphia DAs Conviction Integrity Unit found evidence police lied to cover up the shooting of Termaine Joseph Hicks, a bystander who rushed to help In 2016, the city paid $15,000 to settle a civil-rights lawsuit naming Vinson as one of two officers who dragged a taxi driver falsely accused of stealing a cell phone out of his cab, assaulted him, and told him if he did not like it, he could go back to his country., The Police Advisory Commissions executive director, Anthony Erace, said he was not familiar with Hicks case but would seek a review. NBC10s Brian Sheehan has his story. The way that cops approach Black and brown men and women stems from years of systemic racism. Hicks said the officer shot him in the back as he was reaching into his pocket for his phone to call 911. Vinson and Zungolo still work for the Philadelphia police, the Inquirer reported. But, he added: Its unfortunate and sad that it took how long it took for me to clear my name. A reporter at the Inquirer since 2013, I cover issues of identity, race, social justice, as well as prisons and the legal system. She assumed the lights were police flashlights, but the enhanced footage suggested the light had instead been the delivery trucks headlights. We empower youth to use their voice to prevent bullying and violence, says Hicks about his presentations at schools. Hearing a scream pierce the darkness, he ran toward Dunkin Donuts and Saint Agnes Hospital. Pennsylvania is one of 15 states that does not compensate exonerees. 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. We must have had 150 people in the audience, both inmates and guests, remembers Slichter. Then, Hicks lawyers say, Vinson used his police radio to contact dispatch. He says EfM provided him with a firm foundation so that, like John the Baptist, he would not be a reed shaken by every wind. The Philadelphia District Attorneys Conviction Integrity Unit agreed with Hicks and his lawyers, civil-rights attorney Susan Lin, and the Innocence Project, that the case was built on lies possibly to cover up the unjustified shooting that were contradicted by newly analyzed and compelling forensic evidence. Hicks came from Maryland, Possibly with former slaveowner, White Brown. Hicks says Vinson muttered something like, damn, and then began to cry. They lied under oath to cover up for shooting an innocent man three times in the back, Innocence Project lawyer Vanessa Potkin said. When Hicks nudged her, she did not move. Dennis Zungolo have been placed on restricted duty and the identity of the third officer has not been released. He has always maintained that he arrived at the scene when he attempted to help the victim, she said. The latest Tweets from Termaine Hicks (@TermaineHicks). Hicks served 19 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Police arriving at the scene completely misread the situation, erroneously assuming Mr. Hicks was the assailant, and shot him three times in the back. Today Hicks serves alongside Slichter on the board for the Dennis H. Warner Memorial Foundation, which provides EfM scholarships for inmates and assists family members of the incarcerated. Witnesses also testified that they had seen a man in a gray hoodie attack the woman, according to court records. That decision comes after an investigation by the Innocence Project and the District Attorneys Conviction Integrity Unit raised serious questions about whether police had fabricated evidence, planted a gun, and arrested Hicks under false pretenses all to conceal a police shooting of an innocent bystander who had rushed to aid a rape victim. The Philadelphia District Attorneys Offices Conviction Integrity Unit sided with Hicks and his lawyers, and Common Pleas Court Judge Tracy Brandeis-Roman vacated his conviction on Wednesday. Slichter describes her first visit to the prison. Framed for rape in 2001 at the age of 26, Hicks was falsely incarcerated for nearly two decades. Website by MADEO. Nightly Films Termaine Hicks speaks out after 19 years in prison for a crime he didnt commit (Part 1) In his first TV interview since his exoneration, Termaine Hicks According to the Inquirer, since 2018, 17 defendants have been exonerated in cases involving many of the same officers who led the investigations into Hollmans and Wrights cases. The new analysis outlined a case in which ample physical evidence available 19 years ago ought to have been enough to clear Hicks, who was known in court records as Jermaine Weeks. Police Officer Martin Vinson said he shot Hicks in the chest or stomach as Hicks was pulling a gun from his pocket and lunging toward him. 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. Termaine Joseph Hicks exonerated after 19 years in prison - Inquirer on our list, Other Dennis Zungolo, who was with him at the scene, did not return phone and email messages Wednesday. Falsely claiming under oath that Mr. Hicks wore a gray hoodie like that a neighbor described the assailant as wearing. 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. Although most of the evidence analyzed in the recent review of the case was available at the time of Hickss original trial, the jury never saw an enhanced security tape that corroborated parts of Hickss story. In 2015, Mr. Hicks came up for parole, but because he continued to assert his innocence he was denied, and not considered again. Court records for this case are available from Pennsylvania Eastern District Court. 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. In fact, it would be eight years before they could look at it. Dennis Zungolo testified against him They claim they found him raping a woman in an alley near a hospital and Everything slowed down, says Hicks. 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 She also extended an apology to the victim, whose name was withheld. 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. All three shots struck Hicks from behind, yet Vinson said he was forced to fire because Hicks was lunging at him. It was dark, and she suffered a head trauma during the assault. I dont know how you feel about having a white woman. One of the inmates replied, Miss Ginny, everybody needs a mama! For the first couple of years, she was known as Mama Ginny. 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 03/15/2022 HICKS filed a Civil Right - Other Civil Right court case against CITY OF PHILADELPHIA in U.S. District Courts. As one of the men said, referencing the work of famed public interest lawyer and equal justice activist Bryan Stevenson, Would you want to be known for the worst thing you ever did, for the rest of your life?. Potkin said further evidence suggests police planted the gun they said they retrieved from his jacket pocket. Three shots rang out, striking Hicks in the arm, chest, back, and buttock. He wrote and directed 12 plays in prison. Termaine Hicks, 47, on West Girard Avenue in West Philadelphia on Dec. 2, 2022. But on December 16, 2020, all the news was good. One witness was threatened with arrest and the other was promised help on his own pending criminal case in exchange for falsely implicating Hollman. 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. The Innocence Project is affiliated with Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University. According to the Inquirer, Hollmans attorneys said he was targeted by police only because he was a Black man driving a white SUV that matched the description of the one seen fleeing the scene of a shooting that killed Penn student Tae-Jung Ho in August 1991. Jason E. Miczek / AP Images for The Innocence Project. December can be a busy month for exonerations, as prosecutors and defense attorneys try to wrap up cases before the end of the year. Attempting to reach the Supreme Court as a pro se litigant, would have been an exercise in futility so I withdrew my appellate rights. Dennis Zungolo, who testified he saw Hicks pulling up his pants when police arrived, were both placed on restricted duty, the spokesperson confirmed. The gun police said they found on Hicks was registered to another Philadelphia police officer, who had not reported it stolen or missing, according to court records. There were weeks we never once left our cells. Most of those officers have since retiredas opposed to firing, charges or any semblance of actual accountabilitybut some, like those involved in Hicks case, remain on the force and have even been promoted. He often speaks for the Innocence Project. the $9.85 million agreement the city struck in 2018 with Anthony Wright. Latino leaders could collaborate with Black communities. TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA A federal grand jury has returned a twenty-one count indictment against Andrew Demetric Gillum, 42, and Sharon Janet Lettman-Hicks, 53, both of Tallahassee, Florida. The indictment was announced by Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida. False testimony was used, said Patricia Cummings, chief of the Conviction Integrity Unit, the Inquirer reported. Had these records been publicly available, Mr. Hicks may not have had to endure so many years of injustice or been wrongly convicted at all, she said. Judges denied Hickss requests for a new trial until this year. Termaine Hicks case marks the 16th exoneration since 2018 attributed to the Philadelphia District Attorneys Office Conviction Integrity Unit. Bryan Busch, who represented 11 women, and Phil Reizenstein, who represents one woman, said they did not want to comment on the settlement amounts until funds were released. 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. That cops approach Black and brown men and women stems from years systemic... Unfortunate and sad that it took for me to clear my name not been released were weeks we never left... Prison for a new trial until this year oath that Mr. Hicks wore a gray hoodie attack the,. West Philadelphia on Dec. 2, 2022 have been placed on restricted duty and the of! Hicks says Vinson muttered something like, damn, and she suffered head... 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