Shot after his release
American sat innocently on death row for 25 years
Christopher W. was in prison in the USA for more than two decades – and wrongly so. Then he finally came out. But he could not enjoy his time in freedom. He was shot on the way to a funeral.
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He could not enjoy his time in freedom: Christopher W. was shot after his release.
It was one of the largest judicial scandals in Philadelphia history. Christopher W.* (62) had been innocently on death row for 25 years – for six murders that the public prosecutor’s office had pinned on him despite clear evidence of his innocence.
After his release, he himself became a plaintiff against the authorities. The tragic thing is that the 62-year-old will no longer experience justice. The father of six has now been shot on the way to a funeral, as reported by the “Philadelphia Enquirer”.
W. was sentenced to death in 1989 for six murders, including one triple murder. He always insisted on his innocence. It was three decades before a newly formed committee of the Philadelphia Attorney’s Office revisited the case. It came out that the main prosecution witnesses and informants had demonstrably lied, and a whole mountain of forensic evidence that ruled out W. as the perpetrator was covered up by the public prosecutor at the time from the defense.
He didn’t get any compensation
W. was declared innocent in all murder cases by an appeals court in February 2021 and was released. Since then, the ex-prisoner has worked as a self-employed carpenter and on becoming a part of society again. He founded his own construction company and was committed to helping people who were innocent in prison.
According to his family, returning to work was difficult. Especially since he received no monetary compensation for the years he spent innocently in prison. The state of Pennsylvania, where the city of Philadelphia is located, does not pay punitive damages to wrongfully convicted persons.
“Although we are actually innocent, not everyone believes that”
In December 2021, he sued the city of Philadelphia, former district attorney Lynne Abraham, trial district attorney David Desiderio, and 17 police officers in the Supreme Court for damages. Due to delays caused by Corona, the first hearing should not take place until the new year.
W. will not experience that again. Last Friday he drove to a funeral for a former cellmate. As he was getting out of his car, an unidentified man approached him, pulled out a gun, and shot him in the head. According to investigators, there are many indications that the crime was planned. But so far there is no trace of the shooter.
Theophalis W.*, who was also convicted as W’s alleged accomplice in 1989 and subsequently acquitted, now fears for his life. “I have to be very careful – like everyone who was connected to Chris,” he says to the “Philadelphia Enquirer”. However, W. did not explain exactly what he meant by that. He only added: “Although we are actually innocent, not everyone believes that.” (jmh)
* Names known