Listen: Stories about Black men spending years and even decades behind bars for crimes they didn’t commit are never stories you want to hear. But there are certain stories where the degree of racism, injustice and cruel behavior on the part of law enforcement and the criminal justice system is so inconceivably egregious that even the most desensitized of us who are well-exposed to American racism can’t help but be shocked.
On Wednesday, 45-year-old Termaine Joseph Hicks was exonerated of rape after spending 19 years in a Philadelphia prison. But Hicks wasn’t just falsely imprisoned. His only “crime” was attempting to help a rape victim, and for his efforts, he was shot three times in the back by police officers who then charged him with the rape and told blatant lies that ensured his conviction.
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From the Philadelphia Inquirer:
It was before dawn on Nov. 27, 2001, and Termaine Joseph Hicks was at the wrong place at precisely the wrong time.
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. Hicks heard her screams and rushed to help. But, seconds later, police officers arrived, took him for the rapist and shot him three times. Hicks survived, but was charged with the rape and sentenced to 12½ to 25 years in prison.
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.
Keep in mind that it wasn’t new evidence that exonerated Hicks; evidence that was available nearly 20 years ago was reviewed after he spent 19 years of his life in a prison cell—during which he was denied parole multiple times because he wouldn’t admit to guilt, according to his attorneys.
According to the Inquirer, Philadelphia police officer Martin Vinson reported that he shot Hicks in the chest or stomach as Hicks was pulling a gun from his pocket and lunging toward him. Hicks said the officer shot him in the back as he was reaching into his pocket for his phone to call 911. Forensic evidence of Hicks’ medical records and a new review of his clothing showed that only one man was telling the truth, and it wasn’t the cop. The analysis of Hicks’ clothes showed bullet holes in the back of his shirt but not the front.
Source: Philadelphia Man Shot by Police and Falsely Convicted of Rape Exonerated After 19 Years in Prison
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