Biff_Poindexter
Diamond Member
Police shot a Philly man, then accused him of rape. He was exonerated after 19 years.
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.”
www.inquirer.com
"On Wednesday, after 19 years’ incarceration, Hicks, 45, was, at last, exonerated. The Philadelphia District Attorney’s 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."
So basically, a woman was dragged into an alley and raped; a van pulled up and this caused the attacker to flee; Hicks came out and saw the victim and ran to try to help -- at this time, the police pulled up; thought Hicks was the rapist and shot him multiple times...they later claimed he pulled a gun on them and lunged at them...he was subsequently convicted of rape among other charges....case closed right??
Well it took 19 years to find out that all of this was a lie....and the evidence was available to prove this at the time but withheld...Evidence like how the cops planted a gun on Hicks, a gun that was later found to have belonged to a police officer, never reported stolen....evidence like the cops claiming to have shot Hicks who was facing towards them when in reality he was shot in the back...evidence like video footage that corroborated Hick's innocence but was withheld from his lawyers until after the trial...that video footage shows the attacker running away from the scene wearing a gray hoodie matching witness accounts -- while Hicks wore a coat with no hoody...
When we say good cops matter, we are talking about the cops who don't frame innocent people and obstruct justice just to cover for their mistakes -- the officers and prosecutors responsible never received any punishment and are still on the job....one of those officers later was found liable in a 2016 civil lawsuit where he 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.”