Yet, forensic examiners found no blood inside of Mr. Hicks jacket pocket. 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. 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. She assumed the lights were police flashlights, but the enhanced footage suggested the light had instead been the delivery trucks headlights. She tried to get gas. In 2001, Mr. Hicks came to the aid of a woman screaming in an alley. 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. 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. But as settlement conferences dragged on, the effects of her trauma worsened. (Selfless Thinking Expresses Potential that Uplifts People). The world now knows what Hicks did and did not do. 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 Returning & Becoming: Kanuga Christian Formation, Episcopal Parish Network 38th Annual Conference, African American Readings of St. Paul with Dr. Lisa Bowens, Life Together Fellow, Church of Our Saviour, Milton, MA, Graduate Resident Youth or Childrens Minister. Mr. Hicks, an Innocence Project client, was wrongly convicted of a rape that took place in Philadelphia in 2001. Baden testified that all shots were fired from behind Hicks, so he could not have been lunging at the officer who pulled the trigger. He said he was meeting with McGrody, who could answer any further questions. Many will have a tale of transformation to share. 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. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. IE 11 is not supported. 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. Reached by phone Tuesday, Ellis, a crime-scene-unit officer, declined to comment or to confirm he was under investigation. The Innocence Project is affiliated with Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University. 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. Report an error or add more information about this case. December can be a busy month for exonerations, as prosecutors and defense attorneys try to wrap up cases before the end of the year. The spokesperson declined to confirm the identity of the third officer under investigation. Determined to make my dreams come true He has always maintained that he arrived at the scene when he attempted to help the victim, she said. At that moment, police, responding to the calls of several neighbors, arrived on the scene. Hicks came from Maryland, Possibly with former slaveowner, White Brown. 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. 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. Both a forensic analysis of Hicks medical records and a review of his clothing with bullet holes in the back, but none in the front supported Hicks account, according to the citys chief medical examiner. 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. To find an EfM group near you or learn more about EfM groups in prisons, read more here. His brother Tone In a first, House Democrats elected a Black leader. McGrody did not return phone calls on Tuesday. My motto was, Im not going to ask you to do something I would not do. 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. All NRE reports represent a moment in time. But there was no gray hoodie among Hickss clothes that were turned over to police after he was treated for gunshot wounds in the hospital. S.T.E.P.U.P. He was convicted and served 19 years in State Correctional Institution Phoenix, about an hour northwest of Philadelphia. Joint Stipulation of Mr. Hicks and the Commonwealth. In another, Ellis was one of a number of officers accused of beating a suspect and then arresting him for assault and resisting arrest. You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. 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 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. Inmates were sick, some were dying. It was brutal for the guys in the penitentiary. 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. Hicks calls the Innocence Project team relentless, God-sent, true advocates. Still, it would take nearly another decade to set Hicks free. Reynolds, a former inmate at Coleman, had hoped to go to trial and help spark prison reform. He purchased land and other AA's settled near him. 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 served 19 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. 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. Hicks was not eligible for parole because he maintained his innocence and would not express remorse for a crime he did not commit. Framed for rape in 2001 at the age of 26, Hicks was falsely incarcerated for nearly two decades. Most of the more than 120,000 people who have participated in the four-year theological education program will agree. The Best News Ive Heard in All My Li After realizing theyd shot an unarmed man who did not match the description of the attacker, the officers conspired to cover it up. A police spokesperson said that the district attorney did not provide details on the allegations until after Hicks Hicks served 19 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. After they covered it up, he was wrongly convicted of attacking her. The National Registry of Exonerations is a project of the Newkirk Center for Science & Society at University of California Irvine, the University of Michigan Law School and Michigan State University College of Law. He was exonerated in 2020. 21, 2020. This decision comes after an investigation by the Innocence Project and the District Attorneys Conviction Integrity Unit who raised concerns about whether the officers fabricated evidence, planted a gun, and arrested Hicks under false pretenses, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. 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. 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. 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. Hicks says Vinson muttered something like, damn, and then began to cry. The other guys on the [cell] block were shouting. 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. on our list, Other 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. 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?. 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 Three shots rang out, striking Hicks in the arm, chest, back, and buttock. On Wednesday, after 19 years incarceration, Hicks, 45, was, at last, exonerated. Everything slowed down, says Hicks. Hicks lawyers allege that the cover-up went well beyond the three officers. During his time in prison he joined the Education for Ministry (EfM) program, wrote plays, and later formed S.T.E.P.U.P. Termaine Hicks was released from SCI Phoenix Prison on Dec. 16, 2020, in Collegeville, Penn. 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. 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 Hicks survived, but was charged with the rape and sentenced to 12 to 25 years in prison. Even the most seasoned attorney does not likely get the opportunity to go before them, says Hicks, who was by this time arguing his own case pro se. Hicks was in South Philadelphia on the early morning of November 27, 2001, when he heard a woman screaming. But that defendant was acquitted at a re-trial when the defense presented evidence that Officer Ellis planted ballistics and falsely attributed guns to the accused that he did not in fact possess.. He was exonerated after 19 years. 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. However, police did not disclose the surveillance footage until after the trial. Along the way I found a hidden talent, he says. Most of these kids had made a single mistake, he says, often as the result of bullying, and their entire lives were disrupted. Copyright 2023 The Washington Times, LLC. Now, under the scrutiny of a new investigation, the case against Hicks has fallen apart. 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..