3 men released after a nearly 30-year-old conviction is overturned in Philadelphia

From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know!

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s office announced Tuesday that three men have been exonerated of a murder in North Philadelphia nearly 30 years ago.

Mark Brittingham, Jermel Shuler and Rasheed Smith were convicted in 1998 of the November 1997 killing of 73-year-old Essie Thomas.

Krasner said the flaw in the case came from an incorrect determination of the time of death by the Medical Examiner’s Office. He said that brings the entire case, including an identification by an eyewitness, into question.

“That medical examiner identified a time of death that was way off, and that was a very important fact because it connected to when a witness claimed she saw three men on the porch. There are some real problems with that witness whose lies were documented by police officers who were actually present,” he said.

No one specifically claimed to have witnessed the incident. One woman claimed to see the three men leaving Thomas’ house on Saturday night, Nov. 8, 1997, the last day Thomas was known to be alive.

The DA’s Conviction Integrity Unit retained its own board-certified forensic pathology expert who, based on the same information available to the medical examiner at trial, also challenged the medical examiner’s range for the time of death.

Krasner added that his office believes the unidentified witness received benefits in exchange for their testimony.

“It is apparent that those untruths were told for the purpose of her having better housing, better accommodations, which were being provided,” he said.

He said the judge threw the case out and that his office doesn’t have enough evidence to retry a nearly 30-year-old case.

Judge Jennifer Schultz cited disciplinary actions against the medical examiner that were discovered after the trial as part of the reason for throwing out the case.

“Do we know with certainty whether they might have committed other crimes, other times and other places? Not the issue. The issue is whether or not what we have here is a conviction that still has integrity. If we had it, we would not be here,” the DA explained.

Krasner criticized the only witness to the case and the doctor who performed the autopsy, saying the witness lied and that the doctor covered her lies with his forensics — specifically, the time of death.

Krasner said the medical examiner is no longer with the city but is working in Delaware County.  He also had some words for that municipality, and said it might want to look at the accuracy of its cases.

He would not specifically mention the name of the coroner.

In a statement, the DA’s office claimed it has supported 59 exonerations of wrongfully convicted people.