WSCT client John Doe, who wishes to remain anonymous, spent more than eleven years wrongfully incarcerated and sentenced to die in prison for a murder he did not commit.

His conviction was based on two documents that the detectives claimed were statements of two different witnesses to the murder.  But according to the witnesses themselves, Philadelphia Homicide Detectives fabricated those statements and coerced the witnesses to sign them, by threatening the witnesses, subjecting them to prolonged detention and interrogation, and even deploying physical abuse.

Doe was exonerated after prosecutors revealed that one of the detectives involved in this unconstitutional misconduct had a hidden documented history of mistreating witnesses and suspects in homicide investigations.  

WSCT represented Doe in a civil rights lawsuit against the detectives who procured Doe’s wrongful conviction and against the City of Philadelphia for encouraging the detectives’ misconduct.  WSCT’s creative and aggressive litigation tactics led to a 1.955 million dollar settlement just months after the lawsuit was filed.  Today, Doe is a thriving entrepreneur, whose success was facilitated by the settlement.