PHILADELPHIA – A man who spent 33 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit before being exonerated, has won remand of his case against the City of Philadelphia and police officials, who the plaintiff alleged falsified evidence and perjured themselves at trial.
Nearly 3,500 people have been exonerated of crimes in the U.S. since 1989, and $4 billion has been paid in compensation. But it s rare for anyone to be held accountable for wrongdoing that leads to flawed convictions. A Philadelphia case could change that. District Attorney Larry Krasner hopes to prove that three retired detectives perjured themselves at the retrial of a now-exonerated man originally convicted of rape and murder. Former Detectives Martin Devlin, Manuel Santiago and Frank Jastrzembski want a judge to dismiss the case. Experts in the exoneration community can cite just a handful of efforts to charge police or prosecutors in their cases.
Experts say it s rare for anyone to be held accountable for coerced confessions, hidden evidence, false testimony and other dubious work that contributes to flawed convictions.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) Of the nearly 3,500 people exonerated of serious crimes in the U.S. since 1989, more than half had their cases marred by alleged misconduc