They lied under oath to cover up for shooting an innocent man three times in the back, Innocence Project lawyer Vanessa Potkin said. I survived, he says, and I understood the gravity of the situation right away. Officer Martin Vinson claimed to have witnessed Hicks raping the victim. She also extended an apology to the victim, whose name was withheld. Hicks calls the Innocence Project team relentless, God-sent, true advocates. Still, it would take nearly another decade to set Hicks free. The Registry also maintains a more limited database of known exonerations prior to 1989. Upon entering prison, Hicks was forced to separate from his son, who was only 5 years old at the time of his sentencing. In 2001, a police officer shot the 26-year-old Popeyes manager, later telling a court that Hicks reached for a gun after the officer found him raping a woman in a Philadelphia alleyway. Yale honors Black girl who was reported to police as she sprayed lanternfli Tyre Nichols videos join patchwork of violent police footage. False testimony was used, said Patricia Cummings, chief of the Conviction Integrity Unit, the Inquirer reported. 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. The other guys on the [cell] block were shouting. My motto was, Im not going to ask you to do something I would not do. The Philadelphia District Attorneys Office recently concluded much of the testimony against Hicks was false.Dec. Tell 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?. The woman had California residents do not sell my data request. When you look more broadly at the other officers involved in this case, there is a larger pattern of official misconduct, Potkin said. Photo: Peter Tobia. Hicks was convicted of rape and weapons offenses, with 20 officers testifying against him. Is Wakanda Forever too woke for Marvels own good? 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. They instead retired or resigned, and some still receive benefits from their federal employment. I found what was already there. He created an organization called S.T.E.P.U.P., an acronym for Selfless Thinking Expresses Potential that Uplifts People, and began writing educational scripts that were later turned into films. (Philadelphia, PA December 17, 2020) Termaine Hicks walked out of Pennsylvania prison SCI Phoenix yesterday. He also reached out to the Innocence Project. The 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 a rape victim. As a result of receiving this information, we have opened an Internal Affairs investigation into the allegations of police misconduct, the spokesperson said in an email. He was exonerated after the Philadelphia District Attorneys Office conceded that lead police officers lied under oath to cover up shooting Mr. Hickswho was innocent of any crimein the back three times. During the trial a year later, the medical examiner would say he could not determine the direction from which the bullets that struck Hicks were fired. Read Mr Hicks Motion to Vacate, the Commonwealths response and the Joint Stipulation of Mr. Hicks and the Commonwealth. Slichter said to them, I dont know how you feel about having a woman for a mentor. The officers falsely testified at trial that Mr. Hicks had lunged at them while armed with a gun that he pulled from his pocket. Police arriving at the scene completely misread the situation, erroneously assuming Mr. Hicks was the assailant, and shot him three times in the back. WebLiked by Brandon Hicks Attention School of Law alumni: On Wednesday, March 1, Liberty Law will be holding a memorial service for Curtis Walton, who was tragically murdered READ MORE: Police shot a Philly man, then accused him of rape. A spokesperson for the District Attorneys Office declined to comment on whether it would pursue action against the officers. After the 5th Circuits ruling, does DACA have a future? He served 19 years in prison. I could have just disappeared, but I want to be on the front lines. 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. Witnesses also testified that they had seen a man in a gray hoodie attack the woman, according to court records. Please avoid sharing any personal information in the comments below and join us in making this a hate-speech free and safe space for everyone. Now theyve reached a settlement, Pinellas lawyer arrested after stealing more than $840,000 from clients, deputies say, Christopher Sabella elected as Hillsborough Countys next chief judge, Steven Lorenzo sentenced to death for 2 Tampa murders, How about spending more on preventing crime? I signed on to start the next year.. Many will have a tale of transformation to share. It was hard to maintain sanity.. But in recent years, evidence has piled up to suggest that the case presented by police and prosecutors was riddled with errors, the Inquirer reported. The women feared that if they came forward theyd be sent to another federal facility far from their families, interrupting the education and work programs they had at Coleman, which is the largest federal prison in the U.S. Settlements were approved by the Attorney Generals office on Monday. 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. This dragging on, its like youre still living it, Reynolds said. The Philadelphia police did not immediately return a request for comment on the case, but Anthony Erace, the executive director of the Police Advisory Commission, told the Inquirer he would seek a review of the investigation. Hicks says, In the judicial system, theres something called finality that is very hard to overcome.. Termaine Hicks walked out of Pennsylvania prison SCI Phoenix last week. And the gun the officers alleged to have found in his pocket was actually the off-duty weapon of another Philadelphia police officer. Jason E. Miczek / AP Images for The Innocence Project. A jury believed the polices version of events over Hickss story. 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 But on December 16, 2020, all the news was good. Determined to make my dreams come true I would remain optimistic and hopeful that the powers that be take a hard look at the numerous officers who were named in that indictment, DeMiles said. 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. Three of the women received $1.26 million between them, said their lawyer, James DeMiles. They have told me that the trauma of a retrial would be unbearable, she said. McGrody did not return calls Tuesday. In the early morning hours of November 27, 2001, Mr. Hicks heard the screams of a woman being raped in an alley in South Philadelphia and went to her aid. 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. The man they had just shot did not match the description of the attacker provided by a witness, who saw the assailant dragging the victim into an alley. I was writing Christian plays, engaged in independent study, and searching Scripture. After shooting Hicks, Vinson approached and patted him down in search of his weapon. As the Psalmist wrote, God knows our frame and remembers we are made from dust. With that understanding, I am able to move forward. She would always say, Ive got some good news and some not-so-good news. The good news was that he still had a chance, and the not-so-good news was another continuance60 days, 90 days, 180 days. Hicks served 19 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. So, I could see the sun, or take a shower, or have a phone callbut only one. Going back to the morning of the crime, the victim was not able to identify her assailant. Only Jesus can do this.you are blessed. The men told me how much they loved Dennis.. During his time in prison he joined the Education for Ministry (EfM) program, wrote plays, and later formed S.T.E.P.U.P. Then a 26-year-old father of one, Mr. Hicks had been walking home when he heard a woman screaming. Hicks was released from a state prison outside Philadelphia on Wednesday. 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. But the surveillance footage was not provided to Hicks or his lawyers until after his trial had concluded. Web7.9K views, 321 likes, 112 loves, 25 comments, 220 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Innocence Project: Termaine Hicks wrote 12 plays and countless poems during his 19 years of wrongful Termaine Hicks - Just Another Day | Termaine Hicks wrote 12 plays and countless poems during his 19 years of wrongful incarceration. Listen: Stories about Black men spending years and even decades behind bars for crimes they didnt. All Rights Reserved. Someone grabbed her, dragged her into an alley and raped her at gunpoint. One of those plays, Soldiers in the Army of the Lord, was performed at Graterford in 2012 in honor of Hickss EfM graduation. Surveillance tape from that night could reconcile her account with Hicks. After 19 years in prison, hes been found innocent. Hicks didnt want his grandson to see him in prison. Falsely claiming under oath that Mr. Hicks wore a gray hoodie like that a neighbor described the assailant as wearing. A reporter at the Inquirer since 2013, I cover issues of identity, race, social justice, as well as prisons and the legal system. If he needs access to an editor, publisher, or manager. He was exonerated after 19 years. Termaine Hicks, 47, on West Girard Avenue in West Philadelphia on Dec. 2, 2022. California residents do not sell my data request. William Campbell, S.J. Ive been saying the same thing since day one. I cant imagine the hurt in your heart and the million reasons you would have to hate someone but instead you are just happy and thankful. Terms of Use / Privacy Policy / Manage Newsletters, By Associated Press - Hicks case is yet another example of systemic police abuse that is pervasive in the criminal legal system and persists because of institutional protections and a lack of accountability, said Vanessa Potkin, director of post-conviction litigation at the Innocence Project, who represented Mr. Hicks. In 2001, a police officer shot the 26-year-old Popeyes manager, later telling a court that Hicks The chief medical examiner recanted his prior testimony. Watsons role in the case was not clear, and he was not called to testify. During that time, Hicks worked his way through the local trial court, the appellate, and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, until he only had one option remaining: the U.S. Supreme Court. Police disciplinary records are currently kept confidential in. 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. But unlike in Wrights case, which was settled on the eve of a civil trial, the agreement in Hollmans case came before he had even filed suit. Hicks lawyers allege that the cover-up went well beyond the three officers. The Inquirer reported that Hickss lawyer, Vanessa Potkin, said the gun was covered with blood, but the coat pocket, where Vinson claimed Hicks had been keeping the gun, was clean. after a wrongful incarceration for 19 years. Prior to our interview, he had just given a talk for the Dutch Consulate at the United Nations in New York City. Lettman-Hicks filed to run for the District 8 seat on June 1, just days before a federal grand jury indicted on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud. The footage then shows a delivery van arriving, the flash of its headlights flooding the alley. I chose life, because my Father God allowed me to live and continue to grow., Candler School of Theology, Emory University, New CDSP Continuing Ed Courses Include Liberation Theology, New Testament Greek, Emory Universitys Candler School of Theology to Launch Hybrid MDiv in Fall 2023, Trinity Church Wall Street Announces Final Round of 2022 Grants, Bringing the Total to $57 Million, Bexley Seabury Hires Hailey McKeefry Delmas as Director of Deacons Formation Collaborative, Seabury Resources for Aging Introduces Common Threads: An Intergenerational Worship Series, Birds of the Air with the Rev. (Selfless Thinking Expresses Potential that Uplifts People). During his arrest he was shot three times in the back and the arresting officers lied about the circumstances. It was before dawn on Nov. 27, 2001, and Termaine Joseph Hicks was at the wrong place at precisely the wrong time. Yet, forensic examiners found no blood inside of Mr. Hicks jacket pocket. He was sentenced to 12 and to 25 years in prison. God saw fit to keep me alive. There are no words to express what was taken from me, Hollman said in a statement after the settlement was announced. Pennsylvanias statute of limitations for perjury and other relevant criminal charges bars prosecution after five years. Framed for rape in 2001 at the age of 26, Hicks was falsely incarcerated for nearly two decades. He was exonerated after 19 years. Hicks was not eligible for parole because he maintained his innocence and would not express remorse for a crime he did not commit. You went with an armed guard, but its still pretty darn intimidating, this long walk to an ugly little room., There were 12 men in the room, and they all stood when I walked in. 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 Then I was invited to EfM by an usher in the church. Happy Holidays Termaine! In prison, I had to coax some of those guys up there. What we are doing is just reintroducing simple life decision-making, Hicks explains. Hicks has a powerful testimony against corruption in policing and the judicial system, but his heart is formed by mercy as much as the call to justice. After realizing theyd shot an unarmed man who did not match the description of the attacker, the officers conspired to cover it up. Mr. Hicks was exonerated after the Philadelphia Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU), led by Patricia Cummings, joined the Innocence Projects motion to vacate his conviction. 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