Working to end capital punishment in Pennsylvania Blog Prosecutorial Misconduct in Philly… Again

Prosecutorial Misconduct in Philly… Again

District Attorney Seth Williams says he’s “upset and disgusted” at the Judge Anita Brody’s ruling in Jimmy Dennis’s case.  He should be. His solution is to “appeal it to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals or just retry the case.” But he needs to go one step further and admit that prosecutors in the case cheated in order to win.

It’s bad when someone is wrongfully convicted of any crime.  But when that conviction carries a death sentence, it is unconscionable, so much so that it should rock us back on our heels enough to rethink capital punishment all together.  Are we willing to take on the responsibility for even one wrongful murder of an innocent man?

Jimmy has already spent 21 years (exactly half of his life) on death row.  And what makes it even more unforgivable is that the prosecution in his case withheld exculpatory evidence in order to win.

Wait a minute. Does that ring a bell?  Where have we heard that before? Ah, yes. Just last year in a ruling made by a different judge in the case of Terrance Williams, another man on death row, Judge Sarmina seemed pretty “upset and disgusted” herself. She stated that “This Court found that the Commonwealth suppressed multiple pieces of evidence” and went on to say that the prosecution was STILL lying about the existence of that evidence in her court room!

The sight of boxes being carried into her chambers for examination was like breathing in fresh air. It brought a smile to my face. DA Williams was upset about that decision too. Maybe he just doesn’t like having prosecutorial misconduct in Philadelphia exposed to the light of day. But this is not the time for sweeping facts under the rug. A man’s life is on the line.

Let’s let Judge Brody herself have the final word. “… after serving over 20 years in prison, Dennis is entitled to receive either a new trial or his freedom.” We couldn’t agree more.

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