A Philadelphia man who served 24 years in prison for a murder conviction that was dismissed, acquitted and given a $4.1 million settlement will go back to prison for another murder.
Sean Thomas, who was released from a life sentence in 2017 after his 1992 murder conviction was overturned, pleaded guilty last Thursday to a 2023 murder charge. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported..
Thomas, 50, was found guilty last year of shooting and killing his girlfriend's friend, Akeem Edwards, and his 38-year-old father took $1,200 from Thomas for cocaine he had given him to sell, according to local newspapers. It is alleged that he did not pay.
The plea judge seemed almost stunned by the facts of the case, in which a millionaire who has spent nearly half his life in prison risks being deported for a relatively small amount of cash, the Inquirer reported. Reported.
“Are these facts true?” Common Pleas Court Judge Roxanne Covington asked Thomas Thursday.
“Yes, sir,” he answered.
In addition to the murder charge, Thomas also pleaded guilty to conspiracy, illegal possession of a firearm and other charges.
Edwards' family told the Inquirer that they hope the killer will be sent back to prison for life before his scheduled sentencing in February.
“There's not enough time they give him,” Edwards' sister, Tayshia Marshall, told the newspaper.
Thomas was once sentenced to life in prison when he was just 20 years old before his conviction was overturned.
A jury found him guilty of second-degree murder in the 1990 shooting death of a North Philadelphia businessman during a botched robbery, local newspapers reported at the time.
But a judge quashed the conviction in 2017 after problems with the police investigation, including a failure to verify an alleged alibi, and interrogation tactics involving an alleged co-conspirator came to light. of Pennsylvania Innocence Project helps ensure safety Thomas' freedom.
Prosecutors said they were not 100% sure Thomas was completely innocent of the murder, but the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office declined to retry Thomas, the Inquirer reported. .
