His brothers Tone Hicks and Tyron McClendon greeted him upon release. After shooting Hicks, Vinson approached and patted him down in search of his weapon. But unlike in Wrights case, which was settled on the eve of a civil trial, the agreement in Hollmans case came before he had even filed suit. 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. I was already a devoted Christian, reading my Bible daily. Photo: Jason E. Miczek/AP Images for The Innocence Project. Hicks had been exonerated. There were moments, but I did not give up, he said. The other guys on the [cell] block were shouting. For the most accurate data, please search on the Detailed View page. Court records for this case are available from Pennsylvania Eastern District Court. 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. 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. Im a playwright, Hicks says. We were all mourning. At the time of his arrest, Hicks was an assistant manager at a South Philadelphia Popeyes, raising a 5-year-old son. During his 19 years in prison, Hicks noticed how new inmates entering into the penitentiary were younger and younger. During his wrongful imprisonment, Termaine focused on his mental and spiritual health and used creative writing as an emotional outlet. An officerwho along with his complicit partner is still currently on the forcefirst shot Hicks three times while he was pulling out a cell phone to call for help for the rape victim. I signed on to start the next year.. Philadelphia police shot a man and accused him of rape. You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. During the trial a year later, the medical examiner would say he could not determine the direction from which the bullets that struck Hicks were fired. Hicks lawyers argue that was the light that caused the attacker to flee before Hicks, and then police, arrived. As the case slowly made its way through the courts, she said she couldnt sleep through the night. Three shots rang out, striking Hicks in the arm, chest, back, and buttock. Dr. Mark Bozzuti-Jones, Two-Year Spiritual Direction Training Course, Spring Music Season at Trinity Church Wall Street, Parables, Spirituals, and Our Own Stories with the Rev. The city has settled civil-rights complaints naming Vinson and Ellis as defendants. This article was published more than2 years ago. A reporter at the Inquirer since 2013, I cover issues of identity, race, social justice, as well as prisons and the legal system. When recovered, the firearm was covered in blood belonging to the victim, who was bleeding profusely when the police arrived at the scene. Mr. Few will have a story as heart-wrenching as Termaine Hickss. 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. He was exonerated after the Philadelphia District Attorneys Office conceded that lead police According to lawyers, it shows a man in a hoodie dragging the victim into the alley. A spokesperson for the District Attorneys Office declined to comment on whether it would pursue action against the officers. Hicks lawyers allege that the cover-up went well beyond the three officers. Hicks exoneration hinged in part on forensic analysis that cast doubt on his testimony. Dennis Zungolo testified against him They claim they found him raping a woman in an alley near a hospital and Termaine Hicks walked out of Pennsylvania prison SCI Phoenix last week. WebHicks Settlement Settled by Tobias Hicks and sons about 1800. According to the Inquirer, since 2018, 17 defendants have been exonerated in cases involving many of the same officers who led the investigations into Hollmans and Wrights cases. She assumed those were police spotlights. Going back to the morning of the crime, the victim was not able to identify her assailant. I feel 100 pounds lighter, he told the Inquirer. On Wednesday, Termaine Hicks received the the best Ive heard in all my life. After 19 years in prison for a crime he didnt commit, Mr. Hicks was going home. We empower youth to use their voice to prevent bullying and violence, says Hicks about his presentations at schools. Now, under the scrutiny of a new investigation, the case against Hicks has fallen apart. They had stage fright. The Philadelphia District Attorneys 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. Seeing so many inmates broken by the prison system, Hicks determined he would find his strength in God. Hearing a scream pierce the darkness, he ran toward Dunkin Donuts and Saint Agnes Hospital. WebOn 03/15/2022 HICKS filed a Civil Right - Other Civil Right court case against CITY OF PHILADELPHIA in U.S. District Courts. That video also showed a delivery truck pull into a nearby loading dock, flashing its lights across the alley. Then he pulled out the S.T.E.P.U.P. Visitors walked directly through the general population to the other end of the prison where the chapel was, where the classes are held. Six of the eight accused officers admitted to having sexual contact with inmates, according to a July document filed by the United States in response to the complaint. Hicks recruited other prisoners to act in the production. Hicks was released from a state prison outside Philadelphia on Wednesday. Twice a month, his attorney, Vanessa Potkin, would call from the Innocence Project. Termaine Hicks case marks the 16th exoneration since 2018 attributed to the Philadelphia District Attorneys Office Conviction Integrity Unit. Pennsylvanias statute of limitations for perjury and other relevant criminal charges bars prosecution after five years. Mr. Hicks was exonerated after the Philadelphia Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU), led by Patricia Cummings, joined the Innocence Projects motion to vacate his conviction. 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. Termaine Joseph Hicks exonerated after 19 years in prison - Inquirer And I believe its impossible to say that did not contribute to the conviction.. Many will have a tale of transformation to share. On Wednesday, after 19 years incarceration, Hicks, 45, was, at last, exonerated. During his wrongful imprisonment, Mr. Hicks said he focused on his mental and spiritual health and used creative writing as an emotional outlet. Now, Potkin said, hes focused on returning to society, building on his relationship with his son, now 24, and meeting a 2-year-old grandson for the first time. It was founded in 2012 in conjunction with the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law. 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. Four reasons a credit-card balance transfer may be a bad idea, Dont let paying for a funeral add to your grief, Beware of these pitfalls when planning your own funeral, Sheryl Lee Ralph on her historic Super Bowl act: Its just really neat, Man who died after police used Taser had warned of heart issue, video shows, Memphis officer texted a photo of bloodied Tyre Nichols, records show, Harris, in funeral address, says Tyre Nichols should have been safe. 2023 Innocence Project. Thank you for visiting us. 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. The Philadelphia District Attorneys Office recently concluded much of the testimony against Hicks was false.Dec. A judge ordered him released last year at age 49, citing evidence that police and prosecutors built their case on fabricated statements from people they coerced as witnesses and later withheld evidence pointing to the likely true perpetrators of the crime. Theres plenty of us who would give him help. The victim had told police the attack stopped when bright lights shined on her assailant, spooking him. However, police did not disclose the surveillance footage until after the trial. A spokesperson for the Philadelphia Police Department had not provided a comment as of Wednesday afternoon. He purchased land and other AA's settled near him. Please enable scripts and reload this page. (Selfless Thinking Expresses Potential that Uplifts People). 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. My motto was, Im not going to ask you to do something I would not do. NBC10s Brian Sheehan has his story. On December 16, 2020, Termaine Hicks received what he calls the best news Ive heard in all my life. Hicks learned that, after 19 years in prison for crimes he did not commit, he was finally going home. The United States has settled a lawsuit with 15 women who said correctional officers at a federal prison in Florida repeatedly sexually abused them. Yet, forensic examiners found no blood inside of Mr. Hicks jacket pocket. In addition to the Innocence Project, Mr. Hicks is represented by local counsel Susan Lin of Kairys, Rudovsky, Messing, Feinberg & Lin LLP. The presumption of innocence., Demographic changes: How the racial makeup of where you live has changed since 1990, Newsletter: Subscribe to About US to read the latest on race and identity, George Floyds America: Examining systemic racism through the lens of his life, Resources: Understanding racism and inequality in America. Surveillance tape from that night could reconcile her account with Hicks. 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.. Only after did they realize their mistake Mr. Hicks was not the right person. Wow you are a hero.and a very blessed man. Latino leaders could collaborate with Black communities. The vision is to have these videos in every classroom. He turned S.T.E.P.U.P. Vinson, most recently assigned to the Third Police District, has not responded to requests for comment. Zungolo, of South Detectives Division, declined an interview and referred questions to John McGrody, vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5. Officer Martin Vinson and Sgt. He often speaks for the Innocence Project. Those cases have led to more than a dozen exonerations in recent years and have cost the city more than $35 million since 2018. She would always say, Ive got some good news and some not-so-good news. The good news was that he still had a chance, and the not-so-good news was another continuance60 days, 90 days, 180 days. Reynolds said she was raped by a correctional officer at Coleman for six months while serving time there. Several of the same investigators who worked to convict Wright were also involved in Hollmans case. Police claimed that Mr. Hicks had a gun on him as part of their effort to cover up the circumstances of the shooting, but the weapon that was attributed to Mr. Hicks was registered to an active Philadelphia police officer. The officer had not reported the gun missing. The man they had just shot did not match the description of the attacker provided by a witness, who saw the assailant dragging the victim into an alley. But the prosecutors who reworked the case now say at least some of the testimony against Hicks was not true. The agreement announced Wednesday is the latest in a string of seven-figure settlements stemming from claims of misconduct by city police in the late 1980s As he was sentenced, Hicks told the judge: an innocent man cant sit in jail for long. Hicks A jury believed the polices version of events over Hickss story. the $9.85 million agreement the city struck in 2018 with Anthony Wright. The tape showed a man in a gray hoodie dragging the victim into the alley. The reversal comes amid a recent flurry of exonerations as the citys district attorney, Larry Krasner, has aggressively pushed to revisit at least 16 questionable convictions. 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. In his first TV interview since his exoneration, Termaine Hicks speaks out to Lester Holt about his case. Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude. It was hard to maintain sanity.. He learned a lot about working with people, interpreting the Bible, and communicating faith. 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