Dennis Zungolo, who testified he saw Hicks pulling up his pants when police arrived, were both placed on restricted duty, the spokesperson confirmed. Vinson and Zungolo remain employed by the department. Listen: Stories about Black men spending years and even decades behind bars for crimes they didnt. 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. Why dont they? There were weeks we never once left our cells. 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. And he was unarmed. But this settlement closes out a difficult chapter in my life as my family and I now embark on a new one.. Termaine Hicks was released from SCI Phoenix on Wednesday after a wrongful incarceration of 19 years. Ellis arrived with his then-partner, Duane Watson who is currently facing perjury charges after his testimony in a narcotics arrest was contradicted by surveillance video. WebAfter doing time in prison for a crime he did not commit, Termaine Hicks wrote Step Up, a series of educational videos to teach conflict resolution and critical thinking, to help combat Philadelphias gun violence crisis. 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. Mr. on our list, Other Hicks tried to appeal his conviction, court records show, claiming that his former defense attorney had erred by not insisting that police show the enhanced surveillance footage. She assumed those were police spotlights. Few will have a story as heart-wrenching as Termaine Hickss. Medical records and damage to the clothes Hicks was wearing that night showed he had actually been shot in the back, contrary to what police claimed, the Inquirer reported. He was convicted and served 19 years in State Correctional Institution Phoenix, about an hour northwest of Philadelphia. He served 19 years in prison. If the case had not settled, it would have gone to trial next year. 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. Report an error or add more information about this case. It was before dawn on Nov. 27, 2001, and Termaine Joseph Hicks was at the wrong place at precisely the wrong time. Hicks recruited other prisoners to act in the production. 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. In this case, the new evidence came from Hickss clothing and his own body. 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. 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. The gun that was entered into evidence was registered to a Philadelphia police officer. Mr. Hicks was exonerated after the Philadelphia Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU), led by Patricia Cummings, joined the Innocence Projects motion to vacate his conviction. They lied under oath to cover up for shooting an innocent man three times in the back, Innocence Project lawyer Vanessa Potkin said. 2023 Innocence Project. Witnesses also testified that they had seen a man in a gray hoodie attack the woman, according to court records. 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. 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. On Wednesday, after 19 years incarceration, Hicks, 45, was, at last, exonerated. 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. Lauren Reynolds received $600,000 for her settlement - but she said it wasnt about the money. She noted that the gun was smeared with blood, while the inside of Hicks coat pocket was clean. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Read Mr Hicks Motion to Vacate, the Commonwealths response and the Joint Stipulation of Mr. Hicks and the Commonwealth. Mr. 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. They had stage fright. In 2001, Mr. Hicks came to the aid of a woman screaming in an alley. EfM gave me the skills, and this is my gift back to the world. 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. Reached by phone Tuesday, Ellis, a crime-scene-unit officer, declined to comment or to confirm he was under investigation. 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. 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. According to lawyers, it shows a man in a hoodie dragging the victim into the alley. 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. Wednesday, December 23, 2020, The Front Page Podcast: Pumping the Brakes, NEW: Its not polite to pretend boys can be girls, SCOTUS takes on Bidens student debt agenda. Termaine Hicks walked out of Pennsylvania prison SCI Phoenix last week. The Philadelphia District Attorneys Office recently concluded much of the testimony against Hicks was false.Dec. CIU chief Patricia Cummings said her office would not retry the case, as it was tainted beyond repair. 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. After 19 years in prison, hes been found innocent. after a wrongful incarceration for 19 years. (Selfless Thinking Expresses Potential that Uplifts People). After his dramatic exoneration and release from prison, Hicks spent six months just trying to ease back into society. 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 exonerated after the Philadelphia District Attorneys Office conceded that lead police That video also showed a delivery truck pull into a nearby loading dock, flashing its lights across the alley. Reynolds, a former inmate at Coleman, had hoped to go to trial and help spark prison reform. He said he felt the amount given to his clients was fair. Hicks lawyers alleged that the cover-up went beyond the three officers. The Innocence Project is affiliated with Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University. This is my ministry, he says. All Rights Reserved. They lied under oath to cover up for shooting an innocent man three times in the back, Innocence Project lawyer Vanessa Potkin said. 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. 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. Termaine Hicks was released from SCI Phoenix Prison on Dec. 16, 2020, in Collegeville, Penn. Mr. Hicks, an Innocence Project client, was wrongly convicted of a rape that took place in Philadelphia in 2001. IE 11 is not supported. also offers motivational speaking and training in schools, teaching positive decision-making, how to recognize bullying, and how to communicate with peers who carry guns, sell drugs, or who drink and drive. Now, under the scrutiny of a new investigation, the case against Hicks has fallen apart. Baden testified that all shots were fired from behind Hicks, so he could not have been lunging at the officer who pulled the trigger. A jury believed the polices version of events over Hickss story. When he was sentenced to a maximum of 25 years, he told the judge: An innocent man cant sit in jail for long. But at parole hearings, according to his lawyers, he was penalized for refusing to accept responsibility for the crime. When Hicks nudged her, she did not move. As he reached for his cell phone to call 911, two police officers ran to the scene. Dennis Zungolo. Most of those officers have since retiredas opposed to firing, charges or any semblance of actual accountabilitybut some, like those involved in Hicks case, remain on the force and have even been promoted. Realizing Mr. Hicks did not match the description of the attacker provided by a neighbor to 911 and that he was unarmed, the officers embarked on a cover-up, which included: Based on the officers testimony, Mr. Hicks was convicted of rape, aggravated assault, possessing an instrument of crime, and terroristic threats. 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. They greeted me with such unexpected affection. 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. Visitors walked directly through the general population to the other end of the prison where the chapel was, where the classes are held. In 2001, a police officer shot the 26-year-old Popeyes manager, later telling a court that Hicks What we are doing is just reintroducing simple life decision-making, Hicks explains. The Innocence Project recruited high-profile forensic pathologist Michael Baden to determine the direction from which the bullets were fired at Hicks. Police shot a Philly man, then accused him of rape. 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