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GIST: "A Pennsylvania judge on Thursday vacated the murder convictions of three Philadelphia-area men in a 1997 slaying after new tests concluded none of their DNA had been found at the crime scene, according to a court order.
Samuel Grasty, Derrick Chappell and Morton Johnson have always maintained their innocence in the killing and possible sexual assault of 70-year-old Henrietta Nickens. Attorneys compared the case to the infamous wrongful conviction of five young men of color in the rape of a jogger in New York City’s Central Park in 1989.
The three men petitioned a Delaware County court to throw out their convictions last year, arguing a new round of DNA tests pointed to their innocence and strongly suggested an unknown person actually committed the crime.
The tests for the first time showed another person’s genetic material was mixed with Nickens’s on her bed, where a violent struggle occurred. It was also found on a green jacket left in her apartment and a chewed straw in a jacket pocket. The same profile had previously been found in semen on Nickens’s body.
Court of Common Pleas Judge Mary Alice Brennan did not offer an opinion with her order vacating the murder convictions, but in Pennsylvania a conviction can only be overturned if a judge finds that new evidence would be enough to change the verdict of the original trial.
The men were represented by the national Innocence Project, the Pennsylvania Innocence Project and Centurion, a group that works on innocence cases. Attorneys for the groups said Thursday morning they were still trying to reach their clients, who remain imprisoned.
“These guys have been fighting for 25 years now,” said Paul Casteleiro, an attorney for Centurion who represented Grasty. “To be finally vindicated is just an overwhelming thing. We’ve been saying and saying it and saying it.”
Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer, who opposed the motion to vacate the convictions, now has 30 days to decide whether to appeal. If Stollsteimer does not, he could choose to stage new trials for the men or drop legal proceedings. Stollsteimer’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Attorneys said there were no immediate plans to release the three men. Brennan set a bail hearing for the men on May 23, but attorneys for the men said they could be released sooner if Stollsteimer chooses not to stage new trials.
Nickens lived alone and was found dead by her family in her apartment in the Philadelphia suburbs on Oct. 10, 1997. Her apartment was in disarray, and blood was spattered on her bed and a wall. Her underwear had been removed. Her relatives could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Johnson, Chappell and Grasty, who are all Black, were in their teens or early adulthood when they were arrested in Nickens’s slaying.
The men were convicted during trials in 2000 and 2001 largely on the testimony of a teenage friend, Richard McElwee, who said he served as a lookout while the trio broke into Nickens’s apartment, robbed her of $30 and beat her. A medical examiner found Nickens’s injuries aggravated existing heart and lung issues, leading to her death.
The innocence group attorneys argued McElwee was prone to manipulation because he was 15, was mildly intellectually disabled and had an IQ of 69. He was facing the possibility of a lengthy prison sentence."
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
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YET ANOTHER FINAL WORD:
David Hammond, one of Broadwater's attorneys who sought his exoneration, told the Syracuse Post-Standard, "Sprinkle some junk science onto a faulty identification, and it's the perfect recipe for a wrongful conviction.
https://deadline.com/2021/11/alice-sebold-lucky-rape-conviction-overturned-anthony-broadwater-12348801
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MORE VALUABLE WORDS: "As a former public defender, Texas' refusal to delay Ivan Cantu's execution to evaluate new evidence is deeply worrying for the state of our legal system. There should be no room for doubt in a death penalty case. The facts surrounding Cantu's execution should haunt all of us."
Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett; X March 1, 2024.
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