You don't have to be a resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to have seen national news coverage of the six corrupt Police Officers from the 39th district who were convicted and sent to prison for the beating and robberies and the frame ups of hundreds of innocent black citizens. Even sister Betty Patterson, a fiercely religious elderly grandmother who never had as much as a traffic ticket. Countless lawsuits were filed against the city and its Police department for violating the civil rights of its citizens and millions of dollars were awarded in and out of court settlement, cases for wrongful conviction were reopened and hundreds of innocent defendants were released from prison. In this climate of injustice it is not difficult to understand how a young poor twenty-four year old African American man ended up on Pennsylvania death row.

In 1995 I was awarded $85,000 dollars in an out of court settlement after a cop pumped five bullets into me in the streets of Philadelphia and than logged countless bogus charges against me for which I was acquitted. Three months later on September 1996 I was arrested for the shooting death of two men in a bar in Philly. I was arrested two hours after the murders. The Police seized my clothes, checked my hands for powder burns, they found none on the night of this crime and when the eyewitnesses are most fresh. They gave statement that the shooter was a "bald headed male". They repeated this statement - under oath - the culprit was a "bald headed male", numerous Police Officers testified I did not have a "bald head" on the night of this crime and that I had a full head of hair. Can a totally "bald man" grow a full head of hair in two hours. I wore a box hair cut.

There was no motive given for this senseless double murder nor did the prosecutor ever attempt to establish one. More egregious Police Officer Charles Jackson seized the clothes of his brother Bernard Jackson and another victim Randall Rogers and took these clothes home for two days. There was no authorization or official reason given for Officer Jackson to disappear with a "bullet" forensic evidence and bloody clothes essential to a murder investigation. This should have moved up the chain of custody, but every single Police procedure and official protocol was violated in this case what did Officer Jackson do with this evidence that was in his possession. This evidence is tainted, compromised and therefore untrustworthy. The witness testified I turned, moved in and shot Bernard Jackson at close range firing. But in the autopsy report issued by Carolyn H. Revercom she wrote: No evidence of close range firing. So how did that gun residue get on Bernard Jacksons shirt?

A 357 magnum produces a powerful explosion and gun residue, but there's not a single trace found anywhere on me even after the seizue of my clothes. The "bullet" extracted from the body of the victim Randall Rogers are conclusive. Proof that I didn't commit these murders. But the "bullet" was withheld by the prosecutor for well over a year. Despite a flurry of defense motion the prosecutor Bill Fisher refuses to turn over exculpatory evidence. Saying I will not turn over this "bullet" because it will help your case. So why did my lawyer put forth a flimsy and idiotic tale about self-defense? A fair-minded Jury could have found a mountain of reasonable doubt to acquit me of this double murder. But young Timothy Rice never got that chance.

Or e-mail me here please put my name in your letter I share this box with several others.

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