Pa. Man Freed from Prison 37 Years After Murder Conviction, Witness Took Police Bribes of Drugs and Sex
Willie Stokes walked out of prison and told his attorney his first wish was to “get a corned beef hoagie”
A Philadelphia man walked out of prison Monday after he was sentenced in 1984 to life for a murder, which he insisted he never committed.
Willie Stokes was convicted of murder in 1984, but days later, the key witness in the case admitted his testimony was false and was eventually prosecuted for perjury, according to the Washington Post.
In November, during an evidentiary hearing, witness Franklin Lee testified that his initial statement given to police and his testimony at the preliminary hearing implicating Stokes in the 1980 murder of Leslie Campbell in North Philadelphia had been false, according to a statement from Philadelphia’s District Attorney’s Office.
During a preliminary hearing in 1984, Lee claimed Stokes, a neighborhood friend, confessed to killing Campbell during a dice game, the Associated Press reported.
Lee was in jail facing murder and rape charges in 1984 when two homicide detectives offered him “sex, drugs, and a deal,” in exchange for his false statement, he said during the November hearing, the Post reports.
Lee apologized to Stokes, who listened to the hearing via teleconference and started to cry, according to multiple reports.
“And I’d like to for the record, if I can, apologize to Mr. Stokes and the family for the problem I caused, sincerely,” Lee said, the Post reported.
Detectives Lawrence Gerrard and Ernest Gilbert, who are now deceased, have faced allegations of using similar “coercive methods” to obtain false testimonies from witnesses in other cases, according to court documents obtained by the Post.
At least five other men are still in prison on convictions tainted by similar claims, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported in a five-part series about the city’s homicide investigations.
On Dec. 22, Magistrate Judge Carol Sandra Moore Wells filed a report and stated, “there is a reasonable probability that Stokes would have been acquitted without Lee’s testimony and that the trial verdict is therefore unreliable.”
Stokes’ attorney Michael Diamondstein held a press conference after he was released Monday.
“He took his first free breaths this afternoon after almost 40 years, and he is very happy and humbled,” Diamondstein said, and added that Stokes’ first wish was to “get a corned beef hoagie,” the Post reported.
“Today is a tremendous day. We’re all very thankful,” Diamondstein said. “However, it’s also a sad day, because it reminds us of how lawless, unfair and unjust Philadelphia law enforcement was for so long.”
A hearing is scheduled for Jan. 26 when the DA’s office will formally announce whether they will retry Stokes.
