Now, said Innocence Project attorney Vanessa Potkin, He is going to be returned to something that he should have had on Nov. 27, when police encountered him, but he didnt: the presumption of innocence.. His brother and friend greeted him upon release. Im just sad because honestly those officers got away with a crime, Rojas said. A jury believed the polices version of events over Hickss story. All NRE reports represent a moment in time. Mr. Hicks, an Innocence Project client, was wrongly convicted of a rape that took place in Philadelphia in 2001. Earlier this month, The Root reported that another Black man, 45-year-old Termaine Hicks was exonerated of rape after spending 19 years in a Philadelphia prison. 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. Now, Potkin said, hes focused on returning to society, building on his relationship with his son, now 24, and meeting a 2-year-old grandson for the first time. Thank you for visiting us. 2023 Innocence Project. 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. The latest Tweets from Termaine Hicks (@TermaineHicks). As he reached for his cell phone to call 911, two police officers ran to the scene. To find an EfM group near you or learn more about EfM groups in prisons, read more here. We need a whole new system.. Hearing a scream pierce the darkness, he ran toward Dunkin Donuts and Saint Agnes Hospital. If he needs access to an editor, publisher, or manager. Wanting to reach young people before fateful decisions are made, he began to produce videos on gun violence and bullying. The cover up of shooting an innocent man required the false testimony of three officers and the acquiescence of a dozen more. 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. Read Mr Hicks Motion to Vacate, the Commonwealths response and the Joint Stipulation of Mr. Hicks and the Commonwealth. 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. I was writing Christian plays, engaged in independent study, and searching Scripture. The training also emphasizes the importance of physical fitness and a healthy lifestyle. That means its over; youre going to serve your sentence.. The city has settled civil-rights complaints naming Vinson and Ellis as defendants. 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. For the most accurate data, please search on the Detailed View page. Mr. Termaine Hicks was released from SCI Phoenix on Dec. 16 after 19 years in prison. 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. 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. Prayer, revival and Jesus Revolution: Is our rotting culture on the verge of something big? 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. When recovered, the firearm was covered in blood belonging to the victim, who was bleeding profusely when the police arrived at the scene. 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. During his wrongful imprisonment, Termaine focused on his mental and spiritual health and used creative writing as an emotional outlet. Hicks fought for years to get the forensic evidence in his case reviewed. Vinson testified that he fired because Hicks reached for a gun and lunged at him and his then-partner Zungolo testified he saw Hicks pulling up his pants when police arrived. We must have had 150 people in the audience, both inmates and guests, remembers Slichter. They have told me that the trauma of a retrial would be unbearable, she said. Hicks recruited other prisoners to act in the production. There were moments, but I did not give up, he said. Hicks didnt want his grandson to see him in prison. A woman had been pistol-whipped, dragged into an alleyway behind what was then St. Agnes Hospital in South Philadelphia, and raped until the rapist was startled and fled the scene. His attorney Amelia Green said the evidence supporting Hollmans innocence which garnered media attention first in the form of a 2017 report in The Inquirer and, in April, an episode of the Netflix series The Innocence Files put pressure on city officials to resolve the case swiftly, though neither they nor police admit any wrongdoing as part of the settlement deal. He wrote and directed 12 plays in prison. Hicks says Vinson muttered something like, damn, and then began to cry. The lawsuit contended that Bureau of Prisons officers at Federal Correctional Complex Coleman in Sumter County sexually abused female inmates for years and threatened the women if they didnt comply. A spokesperson for the District Attorneys Office declined to comment on whether it would pursue action against the officers. What we are doing is just reintroducing simple life decision-making, Hicks explains. December can be a busy month for exonerations, as prosecutors and defense attorneys try to wrap up cases before the end of the year. 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. 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. In 2003, the Innocence Project had just 15 attorneys and could not take his case. He was exonerated Termaine Hicks, 47, on West Girard Avenue in West Philadelphia on Dec. 2, 2022. Dennis Zungolo have been placed on restricted duty and the identity of the third officer has not been released. 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 Hicks case is yet another example of the pervasive problem of police perjury in the criminal legal system. Dr. Mark Bozzuti-Jones, Churchwide Global Mission Conference: Journey Into Healing, Finding Home in God with Yale Professor Miroslav Volf 3-Part Online Series. But Hicks has always told a different story: He ran into the alley to help the woman when he heard her scream. If seated, a Cherokee delegate could make a big difference in Congress, How the racial makeup of where you live has changed since 1990, Subscribe to About US to read the latest on race and identity, Examining systemic racism through the lens of his life, Understanding racism and inequality in America. 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 Wednesday, the Inquirer reported. The U.S. Supreme Court hears fewer than 1% of criminal cases that it is asked to review. Pennsylvanias statute of limitations for perjury and other relevant criminal charges bars prosecution after five years. Its unfortunate and sad that it took how long it took for me to clear my name.. Termaine Hicks was released from SCI Phoenix Prison Tuesday, Dec.16, 2020 in Collegeville, Penn. Deep-seated police misconduct and institutional protections are too often the source of wrongful convictions and injustice in the system. 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. Only after did they realize their mistake Mr. Hicks was not the right person. Dennis Zungolo, who testified he saw Hicks pulling up his pants when police arrived, were both placed on restricted duty, the spokesperson confirmed. There was no evidence linking Hollman to the shooting and the two witnesses who identified him later recanted and said they were coerced by police to give their false testimonies. Six of the eight accused officers admitted to having sexual contact with inmates, according to a July document filed by the United States in response to the complaint. It was dark, and she suffered a head trauma during the assault. Report an error or add more information about this case. 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. 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. Hicks was released from a state prison outside Philadelphia on Wednesday. Dennis Zungolo. The gun that was entered into evidence was registered to a Philadelphia police officer. Vinson has not responded to requests for comment and Zungolo referred questions to John McGrody, vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5. He had his hand in his pocket because he was going to attempt to call the police when they arrived and shot him in the back. I liked how it was staggered, year one through four, he says. Though EfM groups commonly gather in parish buildings, some convene in prisons. information about the Registry, Assault, Other Violent Felony, Gun Possession or Sale, Perjury or False Accusation, Official Misconduct, Inadequate Legal Defense. [Sewanee School of Theology] It is well known in The Episcopal Church and beyond: Education for Ministry (EfM) changes lives. Most of the more than 120,000 people who have participated in the four-year theological education program will agree. 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. 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). Police shot a Philly man, then accused him of rape. On a November morning in 2001, Hicks had just walked his little brother, Tyron, to the bus stop in their south Philadelphia neighborhood, when he was called to be a real-life Good Samaritan. 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. The woman had In 2001, Mr. Hicks came to the aid of a woman screaming in an alley. Watsons role in the case was not clear, and he was not called to testify. Inmates were sick, some were dying. 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. Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from the Innocence Project: Police shot Mr. Hicks as he was helping a victim. He said come sit, check it out. Hicks went to one session as a guest and was intrigued by the concept. Happy Holidays Termaine! He has always maintained that he arrived at the scene when he attempted to help the victim, she said. Hicks heard her screams and rushed to help. 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. Cummings said Philadelphia prosecutors would not attempt to retry the tainted case. In fact, it would be eight years before they could look at it. He was exonerated after 19 years. 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 19 years. 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. For 19 years, Termaine Joseph Hicks maintained his innocence. They shot him three times in the back. Hicks lawyers alleged that the cover-up went beyond the three officers. 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. Reynolds said she was raped by a correctional officer at Coleman for six months while serving time there. One of those plays, Soldiers in the Army of the Lord, was performed at Graterford in 2012 in honor of Hickss EfM graduation. after a wrongful incarceration for 19 years. As he was reaching for his cellphone to dial 911, the police suddenly arrived, shot him in the back and charged him unjustly. Police disciplinary records are currently kept confidential in nearly half of states, including Pennsylvania. Termaine Hicks was released from SCI Phoenix Prison Tuesday, Dec.16, 2020 in Collegeville, Penn. But no officers were prosecuted. A spokesperson for the Philadelphia Police Department had not provided a comment as of Wednesday afternoon. Hicks is the 16th person exonerated by the Conviction Integrity Unit since District Attorney Larry Krasner took office in 2018, and the first to be cleared of a rape. Philadelphia police officer Marvin Vinson arrived on the scene with his partner, Sgt. You can learn more about how we consider cases here. Copyright 2023 The Washington Times, LLC. 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. A Maryland Dumping Site Was Actually A Black Cemetery. Philadelphia officials said Wednesday that the city will be paying out $9.8 million in one of the largest wrongful-conviction settlements in the citys history to a Black man who spent 28 years in prison for a murder the district attorneys Conviction Integrity Unit now says it was near impossible that he committed. In fact, the gun was registered as the off-duty weapon of another uniformed Philadelphia police officer. Slichter invited the Rt. 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. During his 19 years in prison, Hicks noticed how new inmates entering into the penitentiary were younger and younger. She said Hicks had gone to the victim to render aid. My motto was, Im not going to ask you to do something I would not do. Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from the Innocence Project: Police Perjury Led To Wrongful Conviction. She said Hicks had gone to the victim to render aid. Website by MADEO. It was hard to maintain sanity.. Termaine Joseph Hicks was freed from prison in Philadelphia on Wednesday after serving 19 of 25 years on a trumped up conviction Hicks, now 45, was jailed in 2001 after Philadelphia cops Marvin Vinson and Sgt. S.T.E.P.U.P. WebTermaine Hicks was exonerated in December 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. The chief medical examiner recanted his prior testimony. The Philadelphia District Attorneys Office recently concluded much of the testimony against Hicks was false.Dec. (Philadelphia, PA December 17, 2020) Termaine Hicks walked out of Pennsylvania prison SCI Phoenix yesterday. 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