Termaine Hicks was released from SCI Phoenix on Wednesday after a wrongful incarceration of 19 years. Hicks came from Maryland, Possibly with former slaveowner, White Brown. One of those plays, Soldiers in the Army of the Lord, was performed at Graterford in 2012 in honor of Hickss EfM graduation. The timing was uncanny. The gun that was entered into evidence was registered to a Philadelphia police officer. Wow you are a hero.and a very blessed man. A reporter at the Inquirer since 2013, I cover issues of identity, race, social justice, as well as prisons and the legal system. I feel 100 pounds lighter, he told the Inquirer. A Pennsylvania court has vacated the rape conviction of Termaine Joseph Hicks, freeing him from prison after almost 19 years. 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 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. 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. Pennsylvanias statute of limitations for perjury and other relevant criminal charges bars prosecution after five years. She said Hicks had gone to the victim to render aid. The vision is to have these videos in every classroom. He turned S.T.E.P.U.P. McGrody did not return calls Tuesday. During that time, Hicks worked his way through the local trial court, the appellate, and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, until he only had one option remaining: the U.S. Supreme Court. Hicks said the officer shot him in the back as he was reaching into his pocket for his phone to call 911. A police spokesperson said that the district attorney did not provide details on the allegations until after Hicks case was resolved. Someone grabbed her, dragged her into an alley and raped her at gunpoint. On Wednesday afternoon, released from the State Correctional Institution Phoenix to his brothers home just a few miles away in Montgomery County, Hicks said he was both overjoyed and overwhelmed. 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. Officer Martin Vinson, who testified that he fired because Hicks was reaching for a gun and lunging toward him, and his then-partner Sgt. But the surveillance footage was not provided to Hicks or his lawyers until after his trial had concluded. 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. 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. Three shots rang out, striking Hicks in the arm, chest, back, and buttock. She noted that the gun was smeared with blood, while the inside of Hicks coat pocket was clean. The Registry also maintains a more limited database of known exonerations prior to 1989. For 19 years, Termaine Joseph Hicks maintained his innocence. He is going to be returned to something that he should have had on November 27, when police encountered him, but he didnt, Potkin said, the Inquirer reported. Termaine Joseph Hicks exonerated after 19 years in prison - Inquirer 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. Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude. EfM taught me how to open the box, and also how to be diplomatic., He says, EfM was a vessel. When recovered, the firearm was covered in blood belonging to the victim, who was bleeding profusely when the police arrived at the scene. after a wrongful incarceration for 19 years. Termaine Hicks speaks out after 19 years in prison for a crime he didnt commit (Part 1), At least 2 dead after exposure to unknown substance at N.Y. senior facility, Clark Atlanta University students mourn loss of athlete fatally shot near campus, Iranian government to investigate series of poisonings, Pennsylvania man accused of trying to bring explosive on plane, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle asked to leave Frogmore Cottage. She was badly beaten, so he reached for his cell phone to call 911. It was brutal for the guys in the penitentiary. Step up to it!. According to the National Registry of Exonerations, The officers involved in this case had extensive internal affairs files with numerous allegations of lying, planting evidence, excessive force, and substantiated complaints filed by civilians. Police disciplinary records are currently kept confidential in nearly half of states, including Pennsylvania. I signed on to start the next year.. WebHicks Settlement Settled by Tobias Hicks and sons about 1800. 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. 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. Everything slowed down, says Hicks. us about an exoneration that we may have missed, Correct an error or add information about an exoneration All Rights Reserved. Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact Doug Harper at (850) 488 Termaine Hicks, 47, on West Girard Avenue in West Philadelphia on Dec. 2, 2022. 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 Termaine Hicks was released from SCI Phoenix Prison Tuesday, Dec.16, 2020 in Collegeville, Penn. the $9.85 million agreement the city struck in 2018 with Anthony Wright. One of the bullets barely missed my spine, but youre talking to a guy who ran a couple of marathons while he was incarcerated., A post shared by Tyron McClendon (@mrgrinch215). Again, no gray hoodie was found. He said Hicks had pulled a gun on police, but put it back in his pocket after being shot three times. Mr. Hicks was transported to the hospital in all of his clothing which was preserved and included only a coat, a striped polo shirt, and white t-shirt but no hoodie. 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 women feared that if they came forward theyd be sent to another federal facility far from their families, interrupting the education and work programs they had at Coleman, which is the largest federal prison in the U.S. Settlements were approved by the Attorney Generals office on Monday. Hicks lawyers allege that the cover-up went well beyond the three officers. They were happy for me, banging on doors, he said. Termaine Joseph Hicks was freed from prison in Philadelphia on Wednesday after serving 19 of 25 years on a trumped up conviction Hicks, now 45, was jailed in 2001 after Philadelphia cops Marvin Vinson and Sgt. That means its over; youre going to serve your sentence.. We dont ask the men what theyre in for, Slichter says. At the same time, my thoughts and prayers are with the countless others who are not coming home today or ever because of an impulsive, ill-prepared, and apprehensive cop. Vinson, most recently assigned to the Third Police District, has not responded to requests for comment. Heres what that means. In another, Ellis was one of a number of officers accused of beating a suspect and then arresting him for assault and resisting arrest. During his 19 years in prison, Hicks noticed how new inmates entering into the penitentiary were younger and younger. 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. Baden testified that all shots were fired from behind Hicks, so he could not have been lunging at the officer who pulled the trigger. In this case, the new evidence came from Hickss clothing and his own body. The Registry provides detailed information about every known exoneration in the United States since 1989cases in which a person was wrongly convicted of a crime and later cleared of all the charges based on new evidence of innocence. In 2003, he was sentenced to 12.5 to 25 years in prison. Jason E. Miczek / AP Images for The Innocence Project. We welcome new information from any source about exonerations already on our list and about cases not in the Registry that might be exonerations. On a November morning in 2001, Hicks had just walked his little brother, Tyron, to the bus stop in their south Philadelphia neighborhood, when he was called to be a real-life Good Samaritan. Thank you for your understanding in this matter. Prior to our interview, he had just given a talk for the Dutch Consulate at the United Nations in New York City. The Innocence Project is affiliated with Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University. Termaine Hicks was convicted on rape and other charges, largely on the testimony of police officers. According to her filings, the process of constructing a cover-up began immediately. But this settlement closes out a difficult chapter in my life as my family and I now embark on a new one.. 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. 21, 2020. A spokesperson for the District Attorneys Office declined to comment if it would pursue action against the officers. Hicks recruited other prisoners to act in the production. He served 19 years for a wrongful conviction. NBC10s Brian Sheehan has his story. When Hicks nudged her, she did not move. 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