PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Pennsylvania judge has sentenced three men to prison for decades for the 1997 murder of a 70-year-old woman, even though his DNA did not match that found at the scene. overturned a person’s conviction. Prosecutors will decide whether to appeal.
A Delaware County judge on Thursday ordered a new trial for Derrick Chappell, who was 15 at the time of his arrest, and his cousins Morton Johnson and Sam Grasty.
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“This case should never have been prosecuted. They should never have been prosecuted. The evidence always showed they were innocent,” said Paul Grasty’s attorney and legal director of the nonprofit organization Centurion. Casteiro said Friday. He said prosecutors had “just been rough around the bush” with the defendant.
A Pennsylvania judge has overturned the convictions of three men in prison for the 1997 murder of a 70-year-old woman. (Fox News)
Three people were charged and found guilty in connection with the death of Chester resident Henrietta Nickens. In her last known phone call, Ms. Nickens told her daughter she was going to watch the 11 p.m. news. She was then stripped of her underwear and severely beaten, her house ransacked and bloodstains were found on her walls and bedding.
Casteiro said the three defendants, all young men from the neighborhood, were convicted despite the fact that DNA tests at the time did not match semen found on the victim’s body or on his jacket at the crime scene. said.
He called the prosecution’s various theories about the case “ridiculous.” To explain the lack of a DNA match, he argued that the victims probably had consensual sex before the murder, or that the three defendants brought used condoms to the scene. said. However, he continued, Ms Nickens had a chronic illness and did not have a male partner.
“They just reported this absurd story and got the jury to accept it,” Casteiro said.
Common Pleas Court Judge Mary Alice Brennan vacated the conviction during a hearing Thursday and set a bail hearing for May 23 to determine whether county prosecutors will seek a new trial.
District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer plans to review the incident next week before making a decision, a spokesperson said Friday.
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Calls to attorneys for Johnson and Chappell were not immediately returned Friday. The Pennsylvania Innocence Project also worked on the case.
The man is currently in his 40s. All three have filed pro-suit petitions in federal court over the years alleging they were wrongfully convicted, but the petitions were denied.
