A prisoner who served 37 years behind bars has been freed as it was discovered detectives allegedly offered a witness sex and drugs to wrongly convict him.
Willie Stokes, 61, was jailed in 1984 when key witness Franklin Lee lied in court, convincing a jury the suspect was guilty of murder.
It emerged last month Lee allegedly received a conjugal visit from his girlfriend and drugs, in a deal known as Sex for Lies, at a police station in return for false testimony used to lock up Stokes, reports the Daily Star.
He finally left prison this week and said he was most looking forward to a hug from his mum - as well as a corned beef sandwich.
Stokes' lawyer Michael Diamondstein said: “Today is a tremendous day. We’re all very thankful.
“However, it’s also a sad day, because it reminds us of how lawless, unfair and unjust Philadelphia law enforcement was for so long.”
Shortly after Stokes was sent down, Lee was found guilty of perjury - lying in court- but, as no one informed him, Stokes was left to rot in jail.
A charging document read: “Defendant said Willie Stokes told him he killed Leslie Campbell [in 1980].
“Defendant knew Willie Stokes had not made such a statement.”
Stokes was jailed for life in 1984 for the murder in north Philidelphia.
His mother, Gloria Williams, missed her son’s release as she was so nervous it would not happen after several setbacks over the years.
Sister Renee said: “We just want him home. It’s been a long fight.”
Lee has himself completed his own sentence for rape, murder and perjury and now works on an assembly line.
He admitted he was ‘weak’ in accepting the bribes from the two detectives in the 1980s, who have both since died.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner will make a decision on whether to retry Stokes later this month.
He said: “This remarkable case is marked by prosecutorial and policing practices that were too pervasive during the so-called tough-on-crime 1980s and 1990s, and unfortunately persist in far too many jurisdictions today.
“Prosecutors have an obligation to seek justice, and to redefine prosecutorial success — not by ‘wins’ in the form of convictions, but by accuracy and fairness in resolving criminal investigations and prosecutions.”
Five other men are said to be in jail in similar circumstances to Stokes.
