Black man jailed for a murder he did not commit to be released after 24 years
He had an alibi from the start but his attorneys failed to convince the jury
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A Philadelphia man convicted of murder nearly a quarter century ago may soon see freedom after courts have found that the evidence used against him in 1993 does not support his conviction.
Shaurn Thomas, 43, was exonerated of a conviction stemming from a 1990 slaying of a Puerto Rican businessman named Domingo Martinez. Mr Martinez was shot while taking $25,000 to a check-cashing store that he owned.
Mr Thomas had an alibi from the start but his attorney wasn’t able to sway a jury. The case was picked up by the Philadelphia Innocence Project about a decade ago, and Mr Thomas’ exoneration represents the first time that a major action has been undertaken by an overhauled Conviction Review Unit in the Philadelphia district attorneys’ office.
“It’s going to be a good day,” Stephonia Long, Mr Thomas' fiancee, told Philly.com. “Everyone is very happy.”
Mr Thomas’ defence team and the Conviction Review Unit were able to locate the long-missing folder for Mr Martinez’s murder last month, and discovered that there was information regarding alternate suspects that weren’t presented to the original prosecutors or defense attorneys representing the case.
“It’s a great feeling,” James Figorski, a former Philadelphia police lieutenant who worked on Mr Thomas’ defence, said of the hard work paying off.
The United States has experienced record levels of exonerations in recent years. There were 166 exonerations in 25 states in 2016, according to the National Registry of Exonerations compiled by the University of Michigan. That included 54 homicide exonerations, 24 exonerated on sex crimes, 15 exonerated for violent crimes, and 73 exonerated for non-violent crimes.
There were roughly 70 cases of official misconduct related to those exonerations, and 74 of those defendants were convicted after filing guilty pleas. A record 94 of the exonerations in 2016 were for cases where no crime actually even occurred.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments