The NY Times reports on Shaurn Thomas, a Philadelphia teenager convicted in 1994 of participating in the murder of the owner of a check-cashing store. Prosecutors said Mr. Thomas was in a car with accomplices but that he did not fire the gun. Mr. Thomas, who was 16 at the time, and his mother swore they were at a processing center for juvenile offenders on the day of the murder. One of Mr. Thomas’ co-defendants was offered a plea deal and testified against him at trial – the co-defendant was released from prison in 1999. Mr. Thomas was also offered a deal — to serve five to 10 years — but he maintained his innocence and turned down the offer.
The Pennsylvania Innocence Project eventually took up the case. They tracked down the co-defendant, who told them that he was not involved or present at the murder and that he lied at Mr. Thomas’s trial, Then, recently, an investigative file that had long been sought by defense lawyers was “found” in a box in a hallway at police headquarters. The file included witness statements that contradicted accounts that Mr. Thomas was involved.
Mr. Thomas has now been released, while prosecutors consider whether to retry the case.
The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News reported in November that the Conviction Review Unit in Philadelphia had not found a single case worthy of overturning, while similar units in Dallas and New York City had exonerated dozens of inmates. The Philadelphia unit announced a restructuring and hiring of new staff members in February.