BACKGROUND: The flawed evidence of Assistant Medical Examiner Bennett Preston: The Philadelphia Inquirer: (Link below): "At trial in 1998, Bennett Preston, an assistant medical examiner, told jurors Essie Mae Thomas had likely died on the evening of Nov. 8, 1997 — a time frame prosecutors used to bolster the testimony of a sole witness who provided a direct link between the men and the killing...... Preston testified that her injuries and condition indicated she was likely killed on Nov. 8 — a timeline prosecutors said matched the account of a witness who placed the three men at the house that day. But according to reviews by two forensic scientists, Preston failed to account for several things that contradicted his conclusion, including evidence that rigorous mortis may still have been developing - not disappearing - when Thomas' body was examined. The experts concluded it was extremely unlikely Thomas died on Nov. 8. Defense attorneys argued in court filings that without Preston’s testimony, the case against the men largely unraveled. There was little physical evidence tying them to the killing, the lawyers said, and no DNA evidence linked them to the crime scene. Preston’s testimony about the timing of her death, they said, was used to prop up prosecutors’ otherwise unstable sole eyewitness, Wadia Brown, who admitted she was high on crack cocaine on the night she said she saw the three men on Thomas’ porch around that time. Efforts to reach Preston were unsuccessful Tuesday. Over the years, questions emerged about Preston’s work in multiple criminal cases, prompting renewed scrutiny from defense attorneys and prosecutors. In recent years, the conviction integrity unit began reexamining cases in which his testimony played a significant role, said unit supervisor Matthew Stiegler. Many of the specifics underlying the questions about Preston’s findings remain unclear. Court filings in the case were heavily redacted. Stiegler said Tuesday “what broke the case open” was the discovery that disciplinary action had previously been taken against Preston, but did not provide further details. Schultz concluded that the evidence uncovered by prosecutors and defense attorneys was crucial to the outcome of the trial and warranted a new one — a prosecution the district attorney’s office said it would no longer pursue."
philadelphia-men-exonerated-murder-essie-thomas-20260526.html
-----------------------------------------
INNOCENCE PROJECT RELEASE: QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Today’s ruling confirms what should have been clear from the outset: These convictions lacked reliable evidence and rested on deeply flawed forensic testimony,” said attorneys for the men. “For nearly three decades, Mr. Shuler, Mr. Brittingham, and Mr. Smith maintained their innocence while serving time for a crime they did not commit. The absence of physical evidence, along with new evidence discovered during the joint investigation, makes clear that this wrongful conviction should never have occurred. We are grateful to District Attorney Krasner’s Conviction Integrity Unit for its thorough, independent review to uncover the truth.”
-----------------------------------
PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "In 2023, Mr. Shuler, Mr. Brittingham, and Mr. Smith retained Illinois-based forensic pathologist Dr. James Filkins, who concluded that the victim did not die on Saturday and likely died early Monday morning — a day later than the eyewitness account. Dr. Filkins’ findings were supported in 2025, when Dr. James Gill, chief medical examiner for the State of Connecticut and past president of the National Association of Medical Examiners, who was retained by the CIU, concluded that the victim probably died late Sunday night. He opined it was “extremely unlikely” that the victim died Saturday night, further undermining the prosecution’s timeline."
-------------------------------------
STORY: "Three Men Are Exonerated in Philadelphia After 28 Years of Wrongful Conviction," published by The Innocence Project (Innocence Project Staff) on May 26, 2026.
SUB-HEADING: "Newly discovered forensic evidence undermines the prosecution’s entire case."
GIST: "Today, a Philadelphia judge vacated the convictions of Jermal Shuler, Marc Brittingham, and Rasheed Smith in a 1997 North Philadelphia murder after new forensic evidence discredited expert testimony about the victim’s time of death, undermining the prosecution’s core theory at trial.
Mr. Shuler, Mr. Brittingham, and Mr. Smith spent over 28 years in prison for a murder they did not commit.
The three men were wrongfully convicted based on a single eyewitness who claimed to see them at the crime scene on Saturday night the weekend that the victim was killed.
The eyewitness’ testimony was corroborated at trial by the medical examiner’s initial time of death determination.
However, in post-conviction investigations by defense counsel and the Philadelphia District Attorney Office’s Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU), expert pathologists separately concluded that the medical examiner’s original time of death was unreasonable, and the victim likely died nearly 24 hours after the eyewitness testified that she saw the men.
The judge vacated the convictions against the three men after a joint request from Mr. Shuler’s attorneys at the Innocence Project and the Exoneration Project; Mr. Brittingham’s attorneys at the Pennsylvania Innocence Project and the Exoneration Project; Mr. Smith’s attorney at DLA Piper; and the CIU.
“Today’s ruling confirms what should have been clear from the outset: These convictions lacked reliable evidence and rested on deeply flawed forensic testimony,” said attorneys for the men. “For nearly three decades, Mr. Shuler, Mr. Brittingham, and Mr. Smith maintained their innocence while serving time for a crime they did not commit. The absence of physical evidence, along with new evidence discovered during the joint investigation, makes clear that this wrongful conviction should never have occurred. We are grateful to District Attorney Krasner’s Conviction Integrity Unit for its thorough, independent review to uncover the truth.”
A Case Built on an Unreliable Witness Identification
On Monday, Nov. 10, 1997, an elderly widow was reportedly found by her nephew, beaten and stabbed in her North Philadelphia home. She had last been seen alive the previous Friday afternoon.
Police focused on Mr. Shuler, Mr. Brittingham, and Mr. Smith after a single witness claimed to have seen the three men leaving the victim’s home Saturday evening. No physical evidence connected the three men to the crime, and that witness faced significant credibility challenges at trial. To link the witness’s testimony to the murder, the Commonwealth relied on the medical examiner, who testified that the victim’s autopsy results were consistent with her having been killed on Saturday night. The autopsy report, however, never specified a time or date of death.
Faulty Forensics
This case clearly illustrates the impact of flawed forensic testimony on wrongful conviction, which was a factor in 52% of Innocence Project exonerations.
In 2023, Mr. Shuler, Mr. Brittingham, and Mr. Smith retained Illinois-based forensic pathologist Dr. James Filkins, who concluded that the victim did not die on Saturday and likely died early Monday morning — a day later than the eyewitness account.
Dr. Filkins’ findings were supported in 2025, when Dr. James Gill, chief medical examiner for the State of Connecticut and past president of the National Association of Medical Examiners, who was retained by the CIU, concluded that the victim probably died late Sunday night. He opined it was “extremely unlikely” that the victim died Saturday night, further undermining the prosecution’s timeline.
Mr. Shuler is represented by Innocence Project attorney Angie Louie and Exoneration Project attorney Tara Thompson. Mr. Brittingham is represented by Pennsylvania Innocence Project attorney Nilam A. Sanghvi and Exoneration Project attorney Amelia Maxfield. Mr. Smith is represented by attorney Brian M. Robinson of DLA Piper."
The entire story can be read at:
https://innocenceproject.org/news/philadelphia-men-exonerated-jermal-shuler-brittingham-smith/
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. 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. 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; 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;
