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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Second Degree Murder |
Sentence: |
Life imprisonment |
Years Imprisoned: |
27.33 |
Year Crime: |
1992 |
Year Convicted: |
1993 |
Year Cleared: |
2019 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Pennsylvania |
County or Region of Crime: |
Philadelphia |
City of Crime: |
Philadelphia |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Willie Veasy was wrongly convicted in 1993 of the shooting death of John Lewis on a North Philadelphia street corner in 1992. Veasy's prosecution was based on his written confession -- six months after the murder -- involving Philadelphia PD detectives Martin Devlin and Paul Worrell. Veasy's alibi defense was at the time of the murder he was working at Houlihan's restaurant in Jenkintown -- 20 minutes from the crime scene. Veasy recanted the confession, claiming he falsely confessed because he was sleep deprived, and the officers threatened him, slapped him in the face, and attempted to kick him in the groin. After Veasy's conviction of second-degree murder by a jury, he was sentenced to life in prison. In 2019 the Philadelphia DA's Office disclosed it was reviewing cases tied to Devlin and Worrell -- which included Veasy's -- based on accusation the detectives used coercive tactics to obtain false confessions in murder cases. Veasy was released in 2019 with the DA's office saying that based on their investigation they had reason to believe Veasy was the innocent victim of a false confession. Veasy filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia PD, and officers involved in his case. In May 2021 the city agreed to settle Veasy's case for $5 million, and the settlement was publicly announced in August 2021." |
Conviction Caused By: |
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Innocence Proved By: |
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Defendant Aided By: |
Pennsylvania Innocence Project at Temple University’s Beasley School of Law and pro bono attorneys from Dechert LLP. |
Compensation Awarded: |
"$5,000,000 (City of Philadelphia, May 2021)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
26 |
Age When Released: |
53 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"Philly paid $5 million to a man who said he was jailed for murder because of ‘extraordinary misconduct’ by police, By Chris Palmer, The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 9, 2021" |
Information Location 1: |
https://www.inquirer.com/news/willie-veasy-philadelphia-homicide-wrongful-conviction-settlement-5-million-20210809.html |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org