A reporter at the Inquirer since 2013, I cover issues of identity, race, social justice, as well as prisons and the legal system. Slichter invited the Rt. 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. A police spokesperson said that the district attorney did not provide details on the allegations until after Hicks case was resolved. Vaccines dont work, masks dont work: Everything government told us about COVID-19 was wrong. 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 was exonerated Lauren Reynolds received $600,000 for her settlement - but she said it wasnt about the money. Joseph Tremaine Hicks, his lawyer said, is going to be returned to something that he should have had when police encountered him the presumption of innocence.. He was convicted and served 19 years in State Correctional Institution Phoenix, about an hour northwest of Philadelphia. After realizing theyd shot an unarmed man who did not match the description of the attacker, the officers conspired to cover it up. But on December 16, 2020, all the news was good. 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. It was 2012 by the time Hicks withdrew his appellate rights, which meant he would have another 13 years to serve. The cover up of shooting an innocent man required the false testimony of three officers and the acquiescence of a dozen more. We dont ask the men what theyre in for, Slichter says. It was founded in 2012 in conjunction with the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law. 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. WebOn February 27, 2003, Hicks was sentenced to between 12 and 25 years in prison. Video footage showing the actual assailant dragging the woman into seclusion was never shown to jurors and soon disappeared from evidence. Three of the women received $1.26 million between them, said their lawyer, James DeMiles. Dennis Zungolo. Hicks fought for years to get the forensic evidence in his case reviewed. Visitors walked directly through the general population to the other end of the prison where the chapel was, where the classes are held. McGrody did not return phone calls on Tuesday. Going back to the morning of the crime, the victim was not able to identify her assailant. 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. I could have been paralyzed; there are still fragments of that bullet near my spine. She noted that the gun was smeared with blood, while the inside of Hicks coat pocket was clean. Police arriving at the scene completely misread the situation, erroneously assuming Mr. Hicks was the assailant, and shot him three times in the back. Jason E. Miczek / AP Images for The Innocence Project. 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. Hicks was released from a state prison outside Philadelphia on Wednesday. Everything slowed down, says Hicks. Slichter said to them, I dont know how you feel about having a woman for a mentor. For far too long the police have willfully lied with impunity; we need accountability, said Vanessa Potkin, director of post-conviction litigation at the Innocence Project, who represented Mr. Hicks. The victim had told police the attack stopped when bright lights shined on her assailant, spooking him. The police froze the crime scene and catalogued whatever was there. 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. He wrote 12 plays and musicals while in prison and, now that hes free, he hopes to eventually produce and direct plays. Im a playwright, Hicks says. McGrody did not return calls Tuesday. But as settlement conferences dragged on, the effects of her trauma worsened. Latino leaders could collaborate with Black communities. Thank you for your understanding in this matter. Is Wakanda Forever too woke for Marvels own good? Both sides said it did not follow that the gun was smeared in blood, while the interior of the pocket it supposedly came from was pristine. 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 During his wrongful imprisonment, Mr. Hicks said he focused on his mental and spiritual health and used creative writing as an emotional outlet. READ MORE: Police shot a Philly man, then accused him of rape. 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. They instead retired or resigned, and some still receive benefits from their federal employment. This dragging on, its like youre still living it, Reynolds said. Only Jesus can do this.you are blessed. 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. After the 5th Circuits ruling, does DACA have a future? They had stage fright. Termaine Hicks walked out of Pennsylvania prison SCI Phoenix last week. He thought about those younger and younger inmates, and knew he needed to get his message to young people before their first encounters with the judicial system. During his arrest he was shot three times in the back and the arresting officers lied about the circumstances. When you have a circumstance where at a minimum misconduct is discovered, and at a maximum potential criminal behavior is possible, its got to be examined.. When you look more broadly at the other officers involved in this case, there is a larger pattern of official misconduct, Potkin said. After shooting Hicks, Vinson approached and patted him down in search of his weapon. The Innocence Project is affiliated with Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University. 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.. Theres plenty of us who would give him help. Along the way I found a hidden talent, he says. Ive been saying the same thing since day one. One of those plays, Soldiers in the Army of the Lord, was performed at Graterford in 2012 in honor of Hickss EfM graduation. Settlements for some of the women, some whom are currently still incarcerated there, were higher than the government had initially allocated to pay. It was in such a group at the State Correctional InstitutionGraterford, a maximum-security prison in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, that EfM group leader Ginny Slichter met Termaine Hicks for the first time. 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. NBC10s Brian Sheehan has his story. 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. He said Hicks had pulled a gun on police, but put it back in his pocket after being shot three times. 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 That matched other witness statements that the attacker wore a gray hoodie, while Hicks coat had no hood. There were weeks we never once left our cells. What she remembered was that after bright lights appeared, the assault stopped. Reached by phone Tuesday, Ellis, a crime-scene-unit officer, declined to comment or to confirm he was under investigation. A Maryland Dumping Site Was Actually A Black Cemetery. December can be a busy month for exonerations, as prosecutors and defense attorneys try to wrap up cases before the end of the year. 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. Deep-seated police misconduct and institutional protections are too often the source of wrongful convictions and injustice in the system. The men told me how much they loved Dennis.. Potkin also drew parallels to a criminal case, USA v. Mortimer, in which Ellis reported recovering two illegal guns from a suspect during a 1996 traffic stop. 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. In this case, the new evidence came from Hickss clothing and his own body. 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. All Rights Reserved. We were all mourning. 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. 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? Yet, forensic examiners found no blood inside of Mr. Hicks jacket pocket. WebOn 03/15/2022 HICKS filed a Civil Right - Other Civil Right court case against CITY OF PHILADELPHIA in U.S. District Courts. Cummings said Philadelphia prosecutors would not attempt to retry the tainted case. Pennsylvania is one of 15 states that does not compensate exonerees. Hicks lawyers argue that was the light that caused the attacker to flee before Hicks, and then police, arrived. The city has settled civil-rights complaints naming Vinson and Ellis as defendants. 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. Hicks said the officer shot him in the back as he was reaching into his pocket for his phone to call 911. During his time in prison he joined the Education for Ministry (EfM) program, wrote plays, and later formed S.T.E.P.U.P. To find an EfM group near you or learn more about EfM groups in prisons, read more here. Most of the more than 120,000 people who have participated in the four-year theological education program will agree. As he reached for his cell phone to call 911, two police officers ran to the scene. 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. At the time of his arrest, Hicks was an assistant manager at a South Philadelphia Popeyes, raising a 5-year-old son. Slichter describes her first visit to the prison. The Innocence Project, which is affiliated with the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, took on Mr. Hicks case in 2011. We may earn a commission from links on this page. WebHicks Settlement Settled by Tobias Hicks and sons about 1800. He said come sit, check it out. Hicks went to one session as a guest and was intrigued by the concept. Vinson and Zungolo remain employed by the department. 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