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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAfter 50 years in prison -- 37 in solitary confinement -- Philly man's conviction is vacated
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https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia-37-years-solitary-arthur-johnson-wrongful-conviction-20210811.html
In 2017, Arthur Cetewayo Johnson won the right to leave solitary confinement after a remarkable 37 years on restricted release status in the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections an indefinite punishment for escape attempts dating back to the 1970s.
Now, the same legal team that advocated to move Johnson into the general population has won an even bigger victory: his release from prison after half a century of incarceration.
On Wednesday, the Philadelphia District Attorneys Office and Common Pleas Court Judge Scott DiClaudio agreed the prosecutions case against Johnson for the 1970 murder of Jerome Wakefield in North Philadelphia was fraught with false and highly suspect statements. The DA wrote in a filing that those flaws seriously undermine the integrity of Johnsons conviction.
DiClaudio said the DAs filing made clear that a 15-year-old witness was coerced during a 30-hour interrogation in which he gave multiple conflicting statements before finally implicating Johnson. The circumstances of that interrogation, some of it was withheld from your lawyer at the time of trial, he told Johnson.
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After 50 years in prison -- 37 in solitary confinement -- Philly man's conviction is vacated (Original Post)
Nevilledog
Aug 2021
OP
My god, can't we DO BETTER THAN THIS??? It took half a century to figure things out???!!??
secondwind
Aug 2021
#1
secondwind
(16,903 posts)1. My god, can't we DO BETTER THAN THIS??? It took half a century to figure things out???!!??
REALLY??? I hope he sues everyone to kingdom come.... because NOTHNG can repay him for what he has gone through.
BComplex
(8,064 posts)2. The prosecutor responsible for that should be confined for 37 years to solitary confinement.
It's the only way justice will ever be served.
a kennedy
(29,706 posts)3. This is a fantastic idea........👏🏻 👏🏻 👏🏻